Ride Lake Superior (Ontario Travel Guide) | GTAMotorcycle.com

Ride Lake Superior (Ontario Travel Guide)

J

JAMUS

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Hi Friends!

I've always wanted to do a roadtrip adventure and see more of Canada - in my case, stepping outside my box of a 200km radius of the GTA. My plan is to "Ride Lake Superior" (Link:http://ridelakesuperior.com/) some time in either mid-July or early August. I've seen a few riders do the circuit on Youtube but couldn't find videos/stories of anyone local. I'm hoping to make this a 4 or 5 day trip as I have some vacation time to use.

Has anyone done this journey? Any places to definitely see or avoid? Better route option? Inn/motel recommendos? Speed traps? Best eats/patios?

Cheers!
 
I've only ridden the north shore of Superior along Hwy 17. My advice is to leave early; you'll need lots of extra time to take lots of pictures. At times, the scenery looks like the Pacific coast.
 
The scenery is A-1 but I found the Trans Canada somewhat sad. In a lot of places where I would have liked to stop there wasn't a paved shoulder but rather an abrupt drop to a poor gravel patch and an 18 wheeler on your tail.

I stayed at the Algoma in Wawa. Older but clean and park in front.

Keep an eye on the gas gauge. It's not a big problem unless you make it one and your cell phone may not work.

Watch for deer, moose, bear and the idiots that stop in the middle of the highway for them.

Restaurants are sketchy in places so if you're fussy carry trail mix, bottled water or your choice of get-me-bys.
 
JAMUS said:
Hi Friends!

I've always wanted to do a roadtrip adventure and see more of Canada - in my case, stepping outside my box of a 200km radius of the GTA. My plan is to "Ride Lake Superior" (Link:http://ridelakesuperior.com/) some time in either mid-July or early August. I've seen a few riders do the circuit on Youtube but couldn't find videos/stories of anyone local. I'm hoping to make this a 4 or 5 day trip as I have some vacation time to use.

Has anyone done this journey? Any places to definitely see or avoid? Better route option? Inn/motel recommendos? Speed traps? Best eats/patios?

Cheers!
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I would honestly use my vacation time and go Ride Pennsylvania instead, in 3.5 hrs you are in the mountains with so many good awesome twisty roads and nice scenic views
 
ZX600 said:
I would honestly use my vacation time and go Ride Pennsylvania instead, in 3.5 hrs you are in the mountains with so many good awesome twisty roads and nice scenic views
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+1 to that you can't beat pa... it's close...barely any leo...food is cheap...accommodations reasonable and great roads
 
nobbie48 said:
The scenery is A-1 but I found the Trans Canada somewhat sad. In a lot of places where I would have liked to stop there wasn't a paved shoulder but rather an abrupt drop to a poor gravel patch and an 18 wheeler on your tail.

I stayed at the Algoma in Wawa. Older but clean and park in front.

Keep an eye on the gas gauge. It's not a big problem unless you make it one and your cell phone may not work.

Watch for deer, moose, bear and the idiots that stop in the middle of the highway for them.

Restaurants are sketchy in places so if you're fussy carry trail mix, bottled water or your choice of get-me-bys.
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Thanks for the advice. I'll be sure to remember to bring food. I'll need to start researching some saddle bags and extra storage.

ZX600 said:
I would honestly use my vacation time and go Ride Pennsylvania instead, in 3.5 hrs you are in the mountains with so many good awesome twisty roads and nice scenic views
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Two trips in one year couldn't hurt! I will definitely add to the bucket list....or organize a group ride.. :headbang:
 
matthew said:
I've only ridden the north shore of Superior along Hwy 17. My advice is to leave early; you'll need lots of extra time to take lots of pictures. At times, the scenery looks like the Pacific coast.
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I can't wait to see it for myself. I love North of Bracebridge for it's greenery and less traveled roads. Plus going for a quick swim after a hard ride in the sun all afternoon is pure bliss. I anticipate this journey would be far more incredible. Time to get a larger memory card.... Can summer come now?
 
The only road going along Superior is Hwy 17. It's very scenic but it cant be somewhat desolate.

Eats and patios will be hard to come by. The non major towns are pretty much one horse towns, on the Canadian side anyway, I'm not familiar with the American side.

Speed traps could be anywhere.
 
matthew said:
The only road going along Superior is Hwy 17. It's very scenic but it cant be somewhat desolate.

Eats and patios will be hard to come by. The non major towns are pretty much one horse towns, on the Canadian side anyway, I'm not familiar with the American side.

Speed traps could be anywhere.
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Thanks again for the head sup Matt. Hopefully i'll see you out at the meets this summer.
 
If you've never been up that way it's beautiful. The scenery is stunning... driving through the Canadian shield you'll see giant granite hills that have been blasted to make way for the highway... lots of twists and turns when you get up near Sudbury as well.... Sometimes back roads with less on them are better than pit stops every 50 kms and people everywhere. Desolate can be very soothing, especially when it's just you and your bike.

Beware, cell phone service cuts in and out up there with the rocks so make sure you plan your pit stops accordingly!
 
A good route includes taking the ferry between Tobermory and Manitouilin Island. This way, you avoid a bunch of boring highway between Toronto and Sudbury and you also get to ride on #6 just south of Espanola.

Here's a ride report from a trip I did out to Thunder Bay and back a few years ago. There's a bunch of info in there on roads and some places you might like.
 
ZX600 said:
I would honestly use my vacation time and go Ride Pennsylvania instead, in 3.5 hrs you are in the mountains with so many good awesome twisty roads and nice scenic views
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+2
Soo to Wawa is the only thing worth riding and just a 200km stretch of hwy and tame by Pennsylvania standards. There's another section in Marathon that's exciting but that's a 4 hour haul from the Soo and only about 50 km long stretch. Penn is where it's at.
 
rye said:
Desolate can be very soothing, especially when it's just you and your bike.
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Wild life in this part of the province is a serious danger. Your more likely to turn a corner and smoke a deer/moose in the dead silence up there. Your in their house and they don't move for **** when they hear a bike.
 
killerkeith said:
Wild life in this part of the province is a serious danger. Your more likely to turn a corner and smoke a deer/moose in the dead silence up there. Your in their house and they don't move for **** when they hear a bike.
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Well the chance to hit wildlife exists there too, PA is full of deer... besides, wildlife are more predictable than cagers. lol

But since they're both dangerous don't let that stop you from experiencing the ride! Do both, or...do whatever you want! :D
 
shanekingsley said:
A good route includes taking the ferry between Tobermory and Manitouilin Island. This way, you avoid a bunch of boring highway between Toronto and Sudbury and you also get to ride on #6 just south of Espanola.

Here's a ride report from a trip I did out to Thunder Bay and back a few years ago. There's a bunch of info in there on roads and some places you might like.
Click to expand...

Here's another one. http://www.gtamotorcycle.com/vbforum/showthread.php?160713-cbr-125-trip!&highlight=cbr125

IMO the best parts are off the TransCanada. Trouble is that once north of Wawa, there are no other roads that go through. There is a long inland stretch past Wawa. Once you get to the part that is near the shore again, there is scenery, just understand that this is a sceninc trip rather than an interesting-twisty-roads trip ... personally, at that point, I'd rather be in the car. I've never been on the US side but from poking around in Google Maps, a lot of it has no through-road access or visibility to the shoreline and what roads there are, look pretty straight.

The nice thing about modern technology is that you can open Google Maps and poke around in StreetView to get some idea of what you are in for ... like this ... https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&l...oid=5TFFO__F2F8Jczyt4I0NkA&cbp=12,288.35,,0,0
 
Highway 17 up to Thunder Bay is an incredible trip either by car or by bike. It is the most scenic drive in Ontario hands down. Personally i'd go to Thunder Bay and then turn around and come back, the American side is no where near as scenic or fun to drive. There's been alot of good points about fuel and good food being sparse so no need to touch on that. Also good points on the wild life, tons of it and lots of blind / semi blind hills and corners.

WATCH YOUR SPEED. It is very easy to get carried away in vast seemingly empty stretches of road on 17. For the most part the limit is 90 so you can do a safe 105. The trucks all seem to do 110+. The Wawa OPP detachment is very active on speeders and aggressive driving. I always take it easy 150km's either side of Wawa. I find enforcement is also stepped up in the Blind River area, but not nearly as much as Wawa.

I will say this again because it's important. Wawa OPP don't mess around. Better then half the ride reports i've read feature guys pinched by Wawa OPP.

Best part is SSM to Wawa, but Wawa to Thunder Bay is very nice as well. It's worth it to go both north and south on 17 as there is so much to see, making it a different experience each way. I've made this trip for work ~15 times in the last 3 years and I will look forward to it every time.
 
Did this ride last fall and highly recommend it. Good bucket list trip. Stick to the posted route since some of the other roads that run along the Michigan shoreline are soft sand. Was recommended to do it clockwise and I would agree since the road overlooks Superior with some amazing views on the Ontario side. Good roads, great scenery. I did the ride in four very long days with only a few scenic stops - 3,700 km. Recommend five or six days minimum to enjoy all it has to offer. Terry Fox memorial in Thunder Bay is a must stop moving experience. Build some seat time endurance before heading out, and drink a lot of water / poweraide since you'll get very dehydrated with long distance riding. Good luck!
 
I was thinking of a similar ride, but heard that the Manitoulin ride is pretty nice. Pennsylvania sounds like a neat option.

While I hardly have a touring bike - 690 Duke - I like the challenge of minimalist packing.


j
 
schnellschnell said:
I was thinking of a similar ride, but heard that the Manitoulin ride is pretty nice. Pennsylvania sounds like a neat option.

While I hardly have a touring bike - 690 Duke - I like the challenge of minimalist packing.


j
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I have a street triple. We're in the same boat. Now that Riding season is back in effect, we should meet since you're in Toronto. Let's talk trips, if you're game to go - then we go!
 
Awesome reply Torren. Thanks dude.
Torren said:
The Wawa OPP detachment is very active on speeders and aggressive driving. I will say this again because it's important. Wawa OPP don't mess around. Better then half the ride reports i've read feature guys pinched by Wawa OPP.
Click to expand...

It sounds like Wawa OPP have a fetish.
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