For more than 650 miles, from Canada`s Sault Ste. Marie to Duluth, a twisting highway has been carved through huge rocks and massive outcroppings of Lake Superior`s rugged, ever-changing shore line.
Along the way are thick brambles of overgrown forests with moose and black bear; blurred cascades of all manner of waterfall, from large rumbling giants to the barely noticed bubbles hidden in a dark crevasse; centuries-old Indian pictographs; provincial parks; small towns, which even include the Jackfish ghost town; and a 350-foot-deep, 2-mile-long canyon called Ouimet.
”Difficult” was what the north shore route used to be called, and few braved the terrible roads and detours. Then, in the early 1960s, Canada Highway 17 was opened.
Visitors finally had the first direct route along Superior and they started to come to enjoy the same things that draw them today-an almost magical mix of the jagged landscape of the Canada Shield; the rough, windblown, wave-pounding lake; and the people.
Recently the drive has become even better because Canada 17 has been repaired and repaved. Along with Minnesota Highway 61, from the Canadian border to Duluth, the north shore route is part of the several-highway Lake Superior Circle Tour, a marked circumnavigation of the largest Great Lake.
For westbound drivers, it all begins far northeast of Chicago, along the shores of the St. Mary`s River in Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced ”soo-saint-marie”), Ontario.
One of a pair of identically named sister cities (there`s another in Michigan directly across the river) the ”Soo” is filled with historic buildings, specialty shops and spots that bespeak its more than 300-year-old history. With an easy street layout and well marked points of interest, Sault Ste. Marie is a fun city to explore.
Take time to walk the footstep-worn bricks, or to drive slowly along the St. Mary`s River near the mini-aquarium and Canadian Coast Guard Station. A small riverfront park continues all the way to below the huge International Bridge, where the view on a foggy morning is great.
There`s lots more to do, too.
You can take a boat tour of the harbor and the Soo Locks; visit The Nargoma, a retired Great Lakes Cruise ship; walk through ruins of Ft. St. Joseph; take in galleries and shops; or, if you want some unspoiled wilderness, spend a day or two visiting the Agawa Canyon.
Board the polished aluminum cars of the Algoma Central Railroad and take a daylong, or two-day, round trip ride along narrow rock-cut ledges and over long trestle bridges to the Agawa Canyon.
The 114-mile train ride is famous for its rugged scenery, and the Agawa Canyon is a fitting destination.
Reservations recommended
The tour, which leaves at 8 a.m. and returns at 5 p.m., is very popular, so reservations are strongly recommended. For more information, call 705-946-7300.
It`s time to head west on Canada 17.
Almost immediately the hills of Sault Ste. Marie are quickly forgotten as the road starts to snake between the emerald-green water of Lake Superior and the huge gray bluffs and outcroppings. It becomes a ride of repeated expansive vistas from high points, sudden drops as the highway crests and descends, and closeup views of the lake.
Batchawana Bay is first.
Long beaches of small wave-smoothed pebbles and sand make the bay a popular stop. Rumbling waterfalls are another draw. Chippewa Falls, a good one, is directly along Canada 17. It`s about 30 miles west of Sault Ste. Marie.
Here you`ll find Batchawana Bay Provincial Park, a perfect spot to picnic, to rest among the dark evergreens, or to just walk along the lake listening to Superior`s tempermental moods.
An even larger provincial park is a short distance away on Canada 17 at Pancake Bay. It offers more than 300 campsites; and features a 3-mile-long sand beach. That park is open May 3 to Oct. 14.
Agawa Bay
Next is Agawa Bay. And, like the rest of the tour, the scenery is large.
It`s home to the Lake Superior Provincial Park, with an area of 924 square miles, one of Ontario`s largest parks. For the next 60 miles, the park is accessible from Canada 17.
Be sure to allow enough time to see Sand River Falls and the Agawa Rock Indian pictographs on the way through.
The 35 pictographs are on a rock face 80 feet above the lake. They`re believed to be more than 300 years old, and are thought to have been painted over the centuries by Ojibwa. Signs point the way to the half-mile trail to the rock.
Continuing west on Canada 17, you`ll pass Michipicoten Bay (known for salmon fishing) and then on to Wawa, known for its huge statue of a Canada goose.
Named for the bird, the town of Wawa is Ojibwa for ”wild goose.”
Fittingly, the town and the surrounding areas are rest stops for migrating geese.
This area, too, is packed with things to see and do. It`s also home to more provincial parks: the Obatanga, the Shoals, the Potholes, the Missinabi, the Wakami and the Ivanhoe. All offer hiking; most offer canoeing.
Leaving the shoreline
Just northwest of Wawa, Canada 17 leaves the shoreline for the next 150 miles.
It`s along this stretch that you`ll arrive in the town of White River-a community set in the heart of the forest, and the birthplace of the bear cub that was the inspiration for Winnie the Pooh.
Here`s the story.
In 1914 a soldier was waiting in White River while his troop train took on coal and water. During his wait, he saw a trapper holding a small bear cub. The soldier bought the cub and named it Winnie.
A short time later, called to the front, the soldier left the cub in the London Zoo. And, in 1926, A.A. Milne wrote his famous book based on his son`s visits to the bear.
A short distance away just before Marathon, as Canada 17 slices between the gigantic cliffs, you can find the ”Yellow Brick Road” leading off to the right; it`s the access road to the Teck Corona Mines.
They mine gold there, and the area is booming.
Marathon, with a population of 6,000 and growing, sports apartment complexes, new home building, shopping centers, and all of those other things that make a town civilized. It is the halfway point between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.
As the highway curves back to the lake, a short drive west of Marathon on Canada 17 is the Jackfish ghost town.
An arduous hike
It`s not easily reached, but if you want to walk among the old buildings and foundations, it`s worth the walk.
The route to the ghost town is not marked, but it`s just before you reach the present town of Jackfish.
Just east of the town, look for a wide, gravel road running off toward Lake Superior to the left. This road leads to the Jackfish railroad siding.
As you enter the open siding area, a small fire lane runs to the right, then disappears into the woods. This is the road to the ghost town.
If you have a four-wheel-drive vehicle, you can follow the fire lane into the woods, where after about a mile it will pass a small clearing on the left, and then will descend suddenly to lake level. If you do not have a four-wheel- drive, park at the siding and walk.
As you walk down the hill toward the lake, you will have to walk over the remnants of the early ”corduroy” road-wood beams set into the ground as a road.
Eventually, the road will reach the railroad tracks, and Jackfish is all around you. To see more, cross the tracks carefully (trains still run regularly) and follow the well defined path to the beach.
Jackfish was officially established in 1890, and was last occupied in the early 1960s. It is also believed to be the site of the first Ontario gold strike in late 1870s.
Terrace Bay
Past Jackfish is the town of Terrace Bay, and the scenery just keeps getting more rugged.
Jagged house-size boulders sit at the bases of the crumbling bluffs that overlook Superior, while marked overlooks and chance vistas offer spectacular views and unlimited photo opportunities.
While in Terrace Bay, try to boat over to the Slate Islands. These islands are a wildlife preserve, featuring woodland caribou. Terrace Bay information is available at 807-825-3542.
The next part of the Circle Tour, past Schreiber and Rossport and finally to Nipigon, is probably the most spectacular.
As you drive west from Terrace Bay, the red streaks in the bluffs become more and more pronounced until the rock is entirely red.
And then there`s the canyon.
Twenty-five miles west of Nipigon is Ouimet Canyon, and if nothing has impressed you up to now, this surely will. Caused by a fault in the Canada Shield bedrock, this 2-mile-long canyon is more than 500 feet across, and more than 350 feet deep.
Rescaling the senses
The view is humbling, and is in some odd way fitting. Larger-than-life scenery fills the drive along Superior`s north shore, but the feeling you get as you step out of the forest onto the observation platform suddenly, powerfully, rescales your senses.
You don`t want to miss Ouimet Canyon.
As the tour continues on from Nipigon you`ll pass Mirror Lake Campground, areas for amethyst collecting, Sleeping Giant Provincial Park and, as the road descends suddenly to the left, Thunder Bay.
Just past Thunder Bay you will cross back into the U.S., and the city has all of the activities, attractions and cultural events that you would expect of a city of 120,000. For more information, call 800-667-8386.
The Circle Tour then leaves Canada 17 and follows Ontario Highway 61
(which becomes U.S. Highway 61) all the way to Duluth.
Along the way south you can stop at the restored trading post at the Grand Portage National Historic Monument, spend time in Grand Marais, follow the 63-mile-long Gunflint Trail highway into the Boundary Waters, ride a cable car at Lutsen or search out the many waterfalls.
If you`re interested in more information about the Circle Tour contact these offices:
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Ontario, Canada, 800-668-2746; Minnesota, 800-657-3700; Wisconsin, 800-432-8747. For more information on the complete Superior Circle Tour, write to North of Superior Tourism, 79 N Court St., Thunder Bay, Ontario P7A4T7. –
