Great Lakes shoreline tour 4,000 miles
- Mike and Jennifer Wendland’s RV Lifestyle guide recasts a U.S.-only Great Lakes loop as a 4,000-mile shoreline trip across all five lakes and eight states, pitched for travelers to drive in sections. - The route starts on Lake Ontario in New York, runs west along Erie, Huron, Superior and Michigan, and totals 4,062 miles across two time zones on the U.S. side. - The idea updates a much older regional driving tradition: the official Great Lakes Circle Tour, created in 1988, spans about 6,500 miles and includes Canadian segments. (glc.org)
A 4,000-mile Great Lakes road trip making the rounds online is not a new official route. It is a U.S.-only shoreline itinerary published by RV Lifestyle’s Mike and Jennifer Wendland. (rvlifestyle.com) The Wendlands say their Great Lakes Shoreline Tour follows the U.S. shore of all five lakes, covers more than 4,000 miles, and passes through eight states. Their current store listing sells the digital guide for $19.99. (rvlifestyle.com) (rvlifestyle.myshopify.com) Their published route begins on Lake Ontario in New York, drops to Lake Erie, then heads north along Lake Huron, crosses the Mackinac Bridge, reaches Lake Superior, and returns south along Lake Michigan through Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. (rvlifestyle.com) In one account of the trip’s final leg, Wendland put the total at 4,062 miles across eight states and two time zones. He wrote that the shoreline drive ended south of Ludington, Michigan. (rvlifestyle.com) That makes the viral map more of a packaged travel product than a newly created touring system. RV Lifestyle says the guide is designed to be traveled “in sections over weeks, months, or even several seasons,” not as a single short vacation. (rvlifestyle.myshopify.com) The older, official version is the Great Lakes Circle Tour, a scenic road network backed by the Great Lakes Commission. The commission says that system was approved in 1988 and runs about 6,500 miles around the five lakes and the St. Lawrence River. (glc.org) The official Circle Tour also differs in geography. The commission says it connects eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, while the Wendlands’ route stays on the American side because some Canadian shoreline areas do not have continuous road access. (glc.org) (rvlifestyle.com) RV Lifestyle markets the shoreline guide around campgrounds, waterfront towns, hikes, lighthouses and side trips, with at least four or five RV-friendly campgrounds listed for each lake. The sales page names stops including Watertown, Grand Island, Geneva-on-the-Lake, Vermillion and Mackinaw City. (rvlifestyle.myshopify.com) So the story behind the “4,000-mile Great Lakes shoreline tour” is less about a new route debuting now than an older RV itinerary finding a fresh audience online. The map borrows the pull of the lakes, but the underlying idea has been on the road for years. (rvlifestyle.com) (glc.org)
