Next summer, a friend of mine (one of my fellow roadgeek friends) and I are planning on taking a 5-day road trip that includes circling Lake Superior. On the second day of our trip, we will be driving from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay, spending the vast majority of the day on King's Highway 17 in Ontario.
Are there many people here who have traveled that section of Highway 17? Google Maps says it's approximately 440 miles from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay. I'm just wondering what the road is like as far as whether it's busy, if there are plenty of services along that stretch, and so on. Are there plenty of gas stations, restaurants, rest areas, etc. along that stretch? It seems like that would be some pretty remote territory and was just wondering.
Services are a little scarce along that highway, nothing to worry about but you do need to think about where you'll stop for fuel, eats, etc.
Off the top of my head, the stops with a decent variety of services will be Wawa (jct ON 101) and Nipigon (jct TCH 11). Both have Tim Hortons and Subways, if you want fast food, but there's not a single McDonald's between SSM and Thunder Bay. Other places along the way with at least some gas and lodgings include Marathon, and little towns I don't remember (other than stopping for gas) between Marathon and Nipigon and maybe one between SSM and Wawa.
It's an unpleasant drive at night between Marathon and Nipigon, but you should have no trouble doing SSM to Thunder Bay in daylight in the summer, even working in stops to take in the awesome scenery where the road hugs Lake Superior.
Bonus tip: Services are even more limited on ON/MN 61 south of Thunder Bay. I don't know how far south of the border is the nearest U.S. gas station, so I suggest at least a partial fill-up in Thunder Bay, rather than striving to cross back into the U.S. on a nearly empty gas tank just to beat higher Canadian gas prices.