I live in Hayward and have driven the routes hundreds of times on different routes. My suggestion is from the St. Paul go up I-35E to I-35 to Hwy 70 (just south of Pine City) and take that east into Grantsburg, Siren and then Spooner. In Spooner catch hwy 63 and take that through Hayward and on up to Ashland. From Ashland take U.S. 2 east to Wakefield, MI where State Hwy M28 heads towards Marquette, porkies, Copper Harbor..
The worst stretch of road on this route is 70 in Minnesota and it'snot that bad and only about 20 miles or so. Once you hit Wisconsin, 70, 63 and 2 are all excellent 2 lane highways. Nice wide shoulders, 3 ft aprons and good visibility.
I would avoid highway 8 because of congestion and having to low speed limits most of the way from Forest Lake to Taylors Falls. Once you cross into Wisconsin on 8 there is a pretty long climb out from St.Croix Falls. The only part of the hwy 8 trip I like is Taylors Falls but again the congestion is an issue at times.
We've been to the U.P a few times, depends on your destination up there. The Prokies are nice, Copper Harbor is awesome, I like Munising for the Pictured rocks and shipwrecks in the area. The Soo locks are fun. Whitefish Point is a must if you like the Great Lakes Maritime history.
Cheddarhead wrote: I live in Hayward and have driven the routes hundreds of times on different routes. My suggestion is from the St. Paul go up I-35E to I-35 to Hwy 70 (just south of Pine City) and take that east into Grantsburg, Siren and then Spooner. In Spooner catch hwy 63 and take that through Hayward and on up to Ashland. From Ashland take U.S. 2 east to Wakefield, MI where State Hwy M28 heads towards Marquette, porkies, Copper Harbor..
The worst stretch of road on this route is 70 in Minnesota and it'snot that bad and only about 20 miles or so. Once you hit Wisconsin, 70, 63 and 2 are all excellent 2 lane highways. Nice wide shoulders, 3 ft aprons and good visibility.
I would avoid highway 8 because of congestion and having to low speed limits most of the way from Forest Lake to Taylors Falls. Once you cross into Wisconsin on 8 there is a pretty long climb out from St.Croix Falls. The only part of the hwy 8 trip I like is Taylors Falls but again the congestion is an issue at times.
We've been to the U.P a few times, depends on your destination up there. The Prokies are nice, Copper Harbor is awesome, I like Munising for the Pictured rocks and shipwrecks in the area. The Soo locks are fun. Whitefish Point is a must if you like the Great Lakes Maritime history.
Have fun!
Wow! Alot of good info here. This forum is so awesome! We will be at the FMCA Covention too. We are FMCA's special quests because we refered our friends to FMCA who just happened to be FMCA's 400,000 memebrship. FMCA is paying ours and our friend's entry fees and putting us up in their "executive circle." Can you believe having F400000 on your FMCA tag! Thanks everyone for such valuable information. And if you are at the FMCA Convention, we'll see you there.
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The route I suggested will take you to the south shore of Lake Superior. The southern route on hwy 8 over to US Hwy 2 will bring you Escanaba and Lake Michigan. If you have the time and don't mind driiving a few extra miles, I would opt for the Lake Superior Route. The city of Ashland has a nice public RV park on the water right next to the old Ore Dock. Has water-Electric and a dump station. Just up the road from Ashland on WI Hwy 13 is the Bayfield area and the Apostle Islands. If you have the time and have never been there, I would make the short detour. The campground at the Porcupine Mountains state park is very nice and right on the big lake. At Copper Harbor there are a couple of options, one is the state park at Fort Wilkins, the second is a private CG on Lake Fannyhoe.
My picasa page has a bunch of pics from around Lake Superior
East of Munising, MI 28 is a straight, and relatively flat drive past miles of forest. In that area the Lake Michigan shore is more interesting. But there is a nice detour off of 28 to Tahquamenon Falls (north on 123).
Lots of good suggestions here........ The Old 2 lanes, in the U.P., are really not too bad at all, lightly traveled(compared to big cities) and lots of small towns, and other stops along the way, to find interesting things.
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We took Hwy 8 across WI. Be prepared to slow down every few miles for the next small town. And at Night watch out for the deer. We were comeing from Sault Ste. Marie to St. Paul in Hindsight I would have taken the interstate from Greenbay down to Madison and then over (I think that's the way it runs) It would have had to been quicker.
WI 29 bypasses most towns. It's not full-blown freeway, but should be relatively fast from Eau Claire to Wausau. NE of Wausau towns are further apart, so other roads won't be so slow.
We're from Illinois but know the area well. Head north and listen to the locals. While I will not comment on a specific route (WI 70, US 2 and US 8 are all beautiful), you will be passing through what we all refer to as the "Northwoods". It may be the prime wilderness vacation area in the Midwest. When we escape Chicago, that's a top destination. Take your time, smell the pine forests, marvel at the glacial lakes, and enjoy the trip!
* This post was
edited 05/08/08 10:39am by JSGlow *
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