Lake Superior (Gitchigoomie)

by Richard L. Weaver II, Ph.D.    

Our confusion was not whether or not we wanted to take this trip around the north side of Lake Superior, it was, rather, which way to go.  We could start from the east and proceed west and then farther west through Canada, or we could travel west first (north through Michigan, then west through Wisconsin and Minnesota) then east along the north side of Lake Superior.  The latter was our choice.
    
Why Lake Superior?   Lake Superior contains ten percent of all the fresh water on the planet Earth.  Its average depth is 483 feet, it covers 31,700 square miles. and by surface area, it is the largest lake in the world.  It contains as much water as all the other Great Lakes combined, plus three extra Lake Eries.  Also, there have been about 350 shipwrecks recorded in Lake Superior.  Why not Lake Superior?
    
With one night in northern Michigan (Indian River), one night in Wisconsin (Iron River), and two in Minnesota after driving through the towns of Two Harbors, Beaver Bay, Silver Bay, Tofte, Lutsen, and landing at Grand Marais with its shops, galleries, and cafes around a Lake Superior harbor.  On one of the days in Grand Marais, we traveled the entire Gunflint Trail.
    
We crossed the border into Canada northeast of Dulluth and just beyond Grand Portage and then drove through Thunder Bay to Nipigon, Ontario.  One of the problems we discovered along this route was the limited number of campgrounds that included full hook-ups (30 amp electricity, water, and sewer) that accommodated 5th-wheel campers.   
    
For the next two weeks (as we traveled close to the shore of Lake Superior and beyond) we encountered rain for all except two days — sometimes intense downpours.  Not only did we have to set up and break camp in the rain, in a couple of campsites we had trouble escaping the wet clay or sloppy mud.  Also, the rain prevented us from any extensive exploration of the territory we traveled.
    
We arrived at Nipigon early enough to explore the little town of Red Rock then drive Route 11 (we were told it was scenic) north for about 5 miles.  Route 11 was truly scenic driving right along the edge of Lake Nipigon while enjoying the wooded hillsides to our right; however, we had just driven 166 miles along Lake Superior, and the scene was not dramatically different — besides, we were tired.
    
Farther along the trans-Canadian highway (after passing through the little towns of Rossport, Schreiber, Terrace Bay, and Marathon), we drove around the Pukaskwa National Park (away from Lake Superior) through White River, Ontario, to Wawa.  We chose Wawa as a destination and the RV Resort & Campground (a 3-night stay) because there weren’t a lot of other choices for campgrounds.  Also, we were facing the Labor Day weekend and thought we better secure a place before the crowds of weekend campers would fill the campground.  Although there were some additional campers over the weekend, it didn’t come close to filling up.
    
Wawa is known for its 28-foot-tall metal statue of a Canada goose which was built in 1960 and stands at the information booth a couple of miles east of the city. Wawa takes its name from the Ojibwe word (wewe) for "wild goose."  The town itself is small and rural.  Their farm market on Saturday morning consisted of one truck, but as many as ten people stood in line for the fresh produce.
    
While at Wawa we visited “High Falls” of the Magpie River then, too, “Silver Falls.”  On the next day we drove through Lake Superior Provincial Park visiting Old Woman Bay, Katherine Cove, Agawa Rock, and the Visitor Center — a very pleasant drive and then a hike down to the Agawa Rock, even though the sky was overcast and threatened more rain.
    
Just an observation about the north side of Lake Superior.  Please remember, however, as I make this observation, we drove the length of it without stopping very much.  We were close to the lake many times, and the combination of trees, hills (with changing fall colors), and lake views was beautiful — even though most of our trip was under cloudy skies and rain.  There are a lot of trees and views of the lake, but there is little else.  Small towns are few and far between, and even though gas was available, often we would fill up just to make certain we would not run out before the next opportunity (not knowing for certain where that might be).
    
From Wawa, we drove east away from Lake Superior toward Larder Lake, Ontario, then from Larder Lake to Mont Tremblant where we camped at La Diable at a campsite that overlooked a river.
    
After Mont Tremblant, we headed for Quebec City where we stayed at Camping Transit, a large, well-advertised, camping location. We traveled about 15 minutes into Levis, then down through town to the St. Lawrence Seaway waterfront where we took a 15-minute ferry ride (without the truck) across to Quebec City.  For about an hour-and-a-half we walked through the old city — and promised ourselves we will return some day.
    
The name Quebec is an Algonquin (Kébec) word meaning "where the river narrows." The city was founded in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain, and it is one of the oldest cities in North America. I learned from reading Wikipedia that: “The ramparts surrounding Old Quebec (Vieux-Québec) are the only remaining fortified city walls that still exist in the Americas north of Mexico, and were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985 as the 'Historic District of Old Québec.’”
    
One unusual and yet prominent characteristic of Quebec City and the entire province of Quebec, too, is that everyone speaks French.  That may not be unusual, however, most people we encountered do not speak English as a second language and those who do, do not speak it well.  In addition, all of the signs in Quebec are in French with no English subtitles or translation.  This may not seem important, however, we were traveling in late summer/early fall when a great deal of road construction was going on.  Instructions about how to proceed through construction areas (we were towing a fifth wheel) were all in French.  When you leave Quebec going east, all the signs in New Brunswick are in English once again.
    
When we left the area of Quebec City, we did not have a specific destination.  We found a “campground” called Cozy Cabins and Motel in Woodstock, New Brunswick, where we set up our camp in a field overlooking the St. John River.   It turned out that the Motel, although not advertised on the motel marquis, was a popular (but small) gambling hall with slot machines and an active bar.
    
From Woodstock we proceeded to St. John, New Brunswick, where we stayed one night at a campground (Rockwood Park Camping) high above the city.  After visiting with a friend we acquired on one of our Caribbean cruises, we haded for the U.S. border in Maine and stayed at Sunset Point Campground just outside of Harrington, Maine.
    
What was interesting after our two weeks in Canada is that when we crossed the border into Maine, the skies cleared, there was no more rain, and with the exception of a single thunderstorm and heavy rain, we had clear skies and no more rain for the remaining two weeks of our vacation in Bar Harbor, Maine, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, and Woodstock, Vermont.
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The Lake Superior Circle Tour website offers everything you want to know about the area from accommodations, adventures and activities, local attractions, boating and canoeing, camping and resorts, casinos, towns and cities, restaurants, family fun, fishing and resorts, local marinas, and shopping.  It is a terrific website.

Although we did not take the complete Circle Tour on this trip, you can find a great map of the Circle Tour at the website supported by Lake Superior Magazine.  Scroll down the webpage about half way to where it says “Map of Lake Superior Circle Tour,” and click on the map there.

At RVLifestyle the feature article by Frank and Lucy Spence, “Exploring Ontario's Parks: There’s so much to see and do in central Canada!,” proceeds from Sault Ste. Marie around Lake Superior in the opposite direction we traveled; however, they include many more specifics about each park and campground along the way.   
 
Copyright October, 2011 by And Then Some Publishing, L.L.C.