Our trip circumnavigating Lake Superior is probably my favourite. For a full month, we meandered from gorgeous spot to gorgeous spot. During work days, I’d break up coding and meetings with cycling, running and swimming, while Hendrika would set up her art table and break up her art studies with gentle bike rides, walks and yoga. The weather was nearly perfect, and there were hardly any bugs. Having Starlink meant solid connectivity anywhere.
We took our time getting to the closest edge of Lake Superior. Hendrika started at her annual gathering at a cottage on Lake of Bays, while I stayed home then drove up and met her a couple of days later.
We bummed around Muskoka, picking up a concert in Huntsville. We boondocked in the town Huntsville (near the theater where we saw the show) Hutcheson Lake, Buck Lake and a Boondockers Welcome host on Fox Lake.
After spending the morning in the town of Lake Rosseau and the meeting with a friend and business partner at his cottage on Lake Joseph, we spent a few days at another friend's cottage, also on Lake Joseph.
Then, on Saturday afternoon, we started moving in earnest and put in a decent drive, with a stop at Grundy Lake Provincial Park to hike and dump. We spent the night at a rest stop and the next day biking near Espanola and hiking in Chutes Provincial Park.
That night we parked on the street in Blind River on the north shore of Georgian Bay. It was a great little beach and we spent most of the day there.
The next night, we boondocked at a great little rest stop. The following day was a bit of maintenance day in Sault Ste. Marie. Hendrika got some blood work done; the van got an oil change and wash.
That afternoon we crossed into the States and found a great boondocking spot on Pendills Beach. The quiet, the great beach, the great cycling made it such a wonderful spot that we broke our "one night only" rule and stayed for two nights. We did attract the attention of a sheriff, but he was very friendly and we were on our way when he came. Interestingly, he said parking on the other side of the road was legal and there were a few parking spots there, just not as nice.
Then we went to Paradise. The town of Paradise, Michigan, that is. We just boondocked at a trailhead before spending the day at the nearby Tahquamenon Falls State Park.
Our next target was Grand Marais, Michigan. Google took us on a terrible gravel road to get there. It was miles and miles of ruts that banged the hell out of poor Winnie. We crawled along as the shelves and cutlery rattled away. We were treated to the most spectacular sunsets and sunrises when we finally got there.
We had booked a kayaking excursion for Saturday and met the tour company in Munising. We paddled out to the Pictured Rocks. The morning was nice and sunny, and we got rain in the afternoon.
On Saturday night we boondocked at a rest top at Agate Falls Scenic Site. On Sunday, we spent time at Porcupine Mountains State Park and put on some miles to get to the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota.
We boondocked at a Scenic Overlook at Silver Bay and took advantage of the pay-what-you-can dump station and nearby laundry mat, then spent the day at Black Beach Park.
The next night we boondocked at the Taconite Harbor parking lot and the next day we spent time at Grandview Park, where I took a bike ride up the skill hills and then into the surrounding wilderness.
That afternoon we made it to Grand Marais, Minnesota. We had planned to stay at a trailhead in the nearby Pincushion Mountain Trail System, but when we arrived at the parking lot there were three other vans and it didn't look like they were going anywhere, so we thought we'd stay there. We met a nice gentleman van lifer from California and chatted for a while. Then the police showed up and told all the van dwellers to move on, so off we went to the planned spot at the trailhead.
The next day we crossed back into Canada and stayed at the Slate River Dairy farm, a Harvest Hosts location. In the morning, Hendrika went to the Fort Williams Historic Park, while I got my bike fixed, worked in a parking lot and went for a jog around Thunder Bay. That evening we boondocked at the Silver Harbour Conservation Area and spent the following day there and then picked our way further east to Red Rock and Nipigon.
We boondocked at Schreiber Beach and hiked the coastal trail the next morning. The next night found us boondocking again at Terrace Bay Beach after more hiking and a fun little art meet up for Hendrika.
The weather became a bit rainy, so we were able to grab three nights at the very popular Neys Provincial Park. It's a magically beautiful spot and it was nice to have a fire and electricity and stay put for a few days.
We continued east, spending a day in Marathon before staying at Algoma Highlands Wild Blueberry Farm and Winery, a Harvest Hosts location near Wawa, where we spent the following day.
The next night we parked on crown land identified by iOverlander and the following day at Batchawana Bay Provincial Park. The next night we boondocked back at Sault Ste Marie in the parking lot for our train tour to the Agawa Canyon. After the train tour, we drove back to Blind River to return to the beach spot we enjoyed on the way out.
And then it was a five-or-six hour drive home with a stop at the French River.