While each of the Great Lakes offers the rider scenic Ontario roadways, Lake Superior possesses an innate spiritual draw. Much of the route passes through wilderness—forests, rocks, sand, and water. Sacred sites dot her shores.
As the largest of the Great Lakes, there’s plenty of surface area for reflection. When she’s calm, riding along her shores is perfect for introspection. When she’s wild, she demands your full attention, skills, and courage.
What begins as a circle route when you ride around Lake Superior, becomes a spiral. As the deepest of the Great Lakes, she will lead you deeper into yourself. She’ll teach you that no matter what is happening on her surface, the treasures are in her depths. She’ll show you what you’re ready to know.
Crossing into Michigan from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, you begin gently, clockwise, unaware she is leading you into new inner territory. The cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore stand testament to her fierce side. She’s sculpted striking landforms from the rock, exposing veins of ore and millions of years of history. She reminds us that not only can hardship and change expose our inner beauty, but outward changes can be spectacular in unexpected ways.
Sand Point, about 6 km northeast of Munising, Michigan, offers a direct contrast to the ruggedness of Pictured Rocks. Sand beaches, shallow water, and grasses that dance in the breeze call you to park your motorcycle, remove your boots and socks, and dip your toes in the water. Then walk barefoot in the sand, communing with Mother Earth as she cradles the Lake. It’s such a simple, yet profoundly powerful connection.
