Motorcycles on the Great River Road

Hi Jamie,

Love your book, so much in fact that I'm planning on taking my motorcycle on the Great River Road. Problem is that we are leaving from the Washington DC area, and I want the first stop to be Niagara Falls NY, then head around Lake Superior through Canada, then over to Bemidji to start down the Great River Road.

Any suggestions for the Niagara area, and around Lake Superior?

Thanks,

Steve

===

Hi Steve --

Many thanks for your nice words about Road Trip USA, and the seeing the Great River Road from a motorcycle sounds ideal. I just hope you are not planning to take your motorcycle any time soon -- riding in the snow has never seemed like much fun to me. Apart from those ice bikes with the spikes on their tires...

Some suggestions: in Niagara Falls, aim for the Canadian side. The US side has some memorable viewpoints at the brink of the falls, but the NY side is very post-industrial depressed, while the opposite side is cheerful, sparkly and clean and, well... Canadian. The Fallsview Hotel (URL: http://fallsviewcasinoresort.com/hotel/rooms.aspx ) has the best views, nice rooms, and a big lively casino. If you're riding all the way up from DC, you deserve a nice place to recover!

From Niagara to Bemidji, I think I would cut across into Michigan, and head up along the Lake Huron shoreline -- there's a good, looping scenic road all the way from Port Huron to the Macinac Straits.

Then you hit the Big Time: the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, which is spectacular! The Lake Superior shoreline at Pictured Rocks / Marquette area is pretty, but the western part, up the Keeweenaw Peninsula, looks more like Montana than the Midwest.

The Apostle Islands in Wisc are also very pretty (try the Rittenhouse Inn in Bayfield), and I personally find Duluth nice, not just for the Skyline Parkway tour.

And staying with Lake Superior, you won't regret it if you can find time for a run along US61 north of Duluth, before heading west to start the GRR!

Sounds like a great adventure - hope it all goes well.

Happy Trails,


Jamie Jensen
---
Road Trip USA