Road trip through Ontario -- advice?

[Kacie Jane]

I'm planning a road trip that may or may not happen next summer, and I'm interested in hearing other people's thoughts.

The route would probably cross into Ontario at either Grand Portage, MN (old US 61) or Sault Ste. Marie, and would then cross back into the United States somewhere in Northern New York (i.e. I-81, I-87, or somewhere in between).

My main question is whether anyone can recommend either Highway 11 or 17 over the other through Ontario.  Mileage is of no particular concern, scenery would be the top selling point, although road quality and moderately frequent services would be fairly important as well.

My other question is if anyone has any other ideas for cool routes and/or sites to hit up in etiher the southernmost portions of Canada or north of US 2 in the United States.  (Glacier NP is the obvious one.)

[agentsteel53]

I alas do not know much at all about Canada between ON-11 and Calgary.  I did a stretch of ON-11 from ON-66 all the way to Toronto (at some point it becomes a 4xx freeway) and I don't remember much since most of it was at night, but there was a very nice sunset near the 11/66 junction over some usual Canadian farmland scenery.

200 is a cool drive to do as an alternate to 2.  I've done both 2 and 200 and yes, 200 is south of 2, but it is well worth doing.  Scenic across the Rockies in Montana, at the Missouri river crossing in ND, and then also again in Minnesota, and there's even an old MINNESOTA/US/71 shield if you know where to look.

ND-5 is pretty non-descript, I must say. 

in fact, so is North Dakota in general, except for the Missouri river crossing.  but from what I have seen photos of, Manitoba isn't all that much more exciting.

I'd recommend heading up to Banff, which is like Glacier except even more pointy.  then, east of there, who knows until you get to Ontario, you're honestly looking at a whole lot of farmland.

[Alps]

Given the scope of your trip, I'd recommend checking out old Ontario 17 along the St. Lawrence River east of Ottawa. In a couple of places, the widening of the river for commercial purposes has submerged the old road. My TCH 17 page has photos of one such location.

[mgk920]

Also, east of Thunder Bay, ON 17 via SSM passes through some of the most rugged and scenic countryside in all of North America (it is so incredibly rugged that I have zero doubt that if the Canada-USA border was not where it was though Lake Superior, the two mainline railroads that closely parallel ON 17 across the top of Lake Superior would never have been built there), while ON 11 crosses rather boring, never-ending muskeg.  Then stay on ON 17 to the Ottawa area.

Yes, take ON 17 all the way east from Thunder Bay.

Mike

[agentsteel53]

Also, east of Thunder Bay, ON 17 via SSM passes through some of the most rugged and scenic countryside in all of North America

now this I had absolutely no idea about!  must go check this out sometime for sure

[NE2]

Nice... chose a completely random spot on 17 north of SSM: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=47.182237,-84.676958&spn=3.233309,10.546875&z=8&layer=c&cbll=47.182237,-84.676958&panoid=DRLGk7N207XFi7x_ihBfXQ&cbp=12,233.86,,0,-11.3

[triplemultiplex]

Having done the Lake Superior Circle Tour on a family vacation a decade ago, I can also vouch for the scenery on ON 17.  Craggy cliffs of billion-year-old bedrock frequently loom above the highway and there are too many great vistas of Lake Superior to count.  If you're up there before mid June, there will still be frozen waterfalls on the north facing cliffs.  And the many, many passing lanes means you won't be stuck behind a logging truck for more that a few K's.
I was most impressed with Pukaskwa National Park on the east coast of the Lake.  It's pretty close to being a temperate rain forest by virtue of being down wind from the world's largest freshwater lake.
If you don't see at least one moose, you're not paying attention.

I was also impressed with the Nipigon River, Lake Superior's largest tributary, immediately west of the eastern 11/17 split.  Our Lake Superior tributaries stateside are piss-trickles compared to some of the streams that pour in from Canada.

The other advantage of entering via Grand Portage is before you even enter Canada, you travel along Minnesota's North Shore which just might be the most scenic highway in the Midwest.  So if it's still a toss-up between Grand Portage and Sault Ste Marie, I'd recommend Grand Portage.

If you've never been to Ontario before and are in need of booze, just look for the big green "LCBO" sign.  Also remember you can bring one case of beer OR one liter of the hard stuff over the border duty free.  And with their higher alcohol tax in Canada, you might as well.