Lake Superior Circle Tour - Economical Scenic Vacations. Interesting places to see and things to do without breaking the budget
In 2008 airline price increases and gas prices hitting $4 a gallon threatened to alter vacation plans. Now in 2009 its the economy.
Here's the news flash. Put a pencil to it and you'll discover the travel regions around Lake Superior offer an affordable yet uniquely scenic travel and vacation opportunity to get away and be renewed. ( See our travel directories for Minnesota, Wisconsin, Upper Peninsula, and Ontario )
Consider some mileage and fuel cost statistics using as an example one of the most popular destination areas around Lake Superior: the Bayfield Peninsula and the Apostle Islands. Ashland, Wisconsin is the gateway to this travel region.
Round Trip Mileage & Fuel Consumption
to Ashland and return (@ 20 mpg):
From Chicago - 886 miles. 44 gallons of gas
From Madison, WI - 602 miles. 30 gallons of gas
From Minneapolis, MN - 442 miles. 22 gallons of gas
Now lets run the numbers. At the 2008 record $4/gallon of gas the round trip from Chicago would have cost you $177 in gasoline. Turning the clock back to when gas was $3/gallon, the same trip would have cost you $132. So compared to that more sanguine time, the round trip to Ashland, WI from Chicago, Illinois would have costed an additional $45. . . in our opinion an easy amount of money to offset. Go out to eat one less time than normal and you've paid for the difference. Stay at a budget motel one or two nights and you've made up the difference.
In 2009 the prices look like they may stay in more reasonable territory so the cost of that Lake Superior vacation trip will be even more reasonable. Heck you can travel through Canada from Grand Portage, Minnesota to Sault Ste. Marie Michigan (about 460 miles) with only having to fill up in Canada one time.
So "put a pencil to it" - compute your anticipated mileage and mpg - and I think you'll find a way to fit a unique Lake Superior travel experience into your vacation budget.
Did you know
-- Lake Superior is the largest fresh water in the world!
-- The total population of all the cities, towns, villages, and settlements around the lake is less than 700,000 people.
-- Some of the oldest rocks in the world exist along the Lake Superior shoreline in Ontario.
See more Lake Superior Facts here
Here's some regional mileage maps to help you plan your trip.
Travel Planning Guide
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