Question: John Suhumskie asks: We would like to plan a trip along Lake Superior's north shore.  When is the best time to visit, what attractions should we see, and what is the best route coming from the south?

Answer: Vickie Sievert-Leclerc, business support consultant at the AAA office in Dearborn, Mich., says:  Minnesota Hwy. 61 is a AAA-designated scenic byway along the north shore of Lake Superior that offers beautiful scenery and many historical landmarks.  Lodging and State Parks fill up fast and early for the peak summer season and a visit in the fall will offer beautiful fall foliage.  Buy an annual State Park sticker for unlimited access to a multitude of State Parks along Hwy. 61.  Any portion of this trip will afford many picturesque photo opportunities.

Take I-35 to Duluth, Minn., where you can start the drive by watching a beautiful sunrise at the overview from the Visitor Center bluff on Hwy. 61 at the west end of the city.  The drive through Silver Creek has tunnels through mountains and Lake Superior overviews.  Other highlights along the drive include Gooseberry Falls State Park with waterfalls and hiking and Split Rock Lighthouse, a historical site if you are a history buff.  Stop at the 3M Museum in Two Harbors that offers a AAA member discount on the admission.  There you will see historical exhibits about the Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing company.

One of the most outstanding sights is Palisade Head, Minn., where you’ll see more spectacular Lake Superior overviews (accessible by car to the top overview).  Tettegouche State Park is a hiker’s dream, with 22 miles of hiking trails (Shovel Point is a beautiful shoreline hike).  Be sure to see High Falls and Two Steps Falls while in the park.

Continuing east on Hwy. 61, stop at Temperance River State Park & Falls, Cascade River State Park, and Lookout Mountain (Lookout Mtn. is a rugged hike).  Several canoe and kayak outfitters are in the area, some offering AAA member discounts.  Be sure to stop in Grand Marais where you will find great restaurants.

The Grand Portage Historical Center is a Trading Post historical center with more Lake Superior overviews.  The Grand Portage State Park and Falls demarcates the Canadian border, and has the largest water falls in Minnesota.

Beautiful scenery isn’t limited to the lake shore though.  The entire area north of the lake is the Boundary Water recreation area with very scenic inland forests and small lakes and rivers.

Depending on the amount of time you have for your trip, your route could continue east from Grand Portage, Minn., and cross into Canada’s north shoreline.  Travel through historic Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, and view the silhouette of the reclining Indian Chief across Thunder Bay.  Continuing east across Lake Superior’s Canadian shoreline, Hwy. 17 travels through miles of beautiful wilderness and national and provincial parks (two stretches are AAA-designated scenic byways).

Crossing back into the United States at Sault Ste. Marie views the engineering wonder of the historic Soo Shipping Locks.  Return west via Michigan Hwy. 28 across Lake Superior’s southern shore back to Minnesota where you will see many sights en-route, including Whitefish Point Lighthouse & Maritime museum (the Edmund Fitzgerald iron ore freighter sank near here), beautiful Tahquamenon Falls (Ernest Hemmingway wrote of this area), Grand Marais, and spectacular Grand Sable sand dunes to the west.  Be sure to stop at Seney National Wildlife & Wetland Refuge (95,000 acres created by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935) and unique Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore.

You’ll want to spend some time in Marquette, the largest city in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, very historic and known for iron ore shipping.  See the Olympic training center at Northern Michigan University and beautiful Presque Isle Park which has views of the Lake Superior shoreline.  The National Ski & Snowboarding Hall of Fame in Ishpeming offers members a discount on admission.  Divert onto US Hwy. 41 north into the Copper Harbor peninsula, another AAA GEM attraction and spectacular scenic drive, especially at fall foliage time up to Copper Harbor and historic Fort Wilkins.  Continue west to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (60,000 acres) with beautiful panoramic vista view of Lake of the Clouds and Lake Superior (accessible by car to the top overview).

Cross through Wisconsin along the Apostle Island National Lakeshore (a AAA GEM attraction) to return to Minnesota.  This 1,000 mile Circle Tour of Lake Superior is fabulous!