I was wondering if anyone had any input about driving around Chicago versus cutting up through Michigan to Canada to get to the Quetico? We would be leaving from Virginia. Thanks!

I just used Richmond as a starting point in Google maps and it says its about an hour shorter to go by way of Chicago - assuming you miss rush hour I suppose. If you are planning to route around Chicago, it may add that hour in to make it a draw.

Can I suggest you do the trip through Sault St. Marie at least once? The North Shore of Lake Superior is a spectacular drive with sparse traffic. You won't regret it.

I'm not sure what your question is . . . ? What's your plan? Are you asking about which way to go to Atitkokan . . . ? Or are you asking about a southern entry to Q vs. a northern entry to Q?

I've been driving to the BW in MN from WV for quite a few years. I find the route through MI and Upper Peninsula to Duluth to be a much nicer way to go. I went around Chicago the first couple of years but have gone via MI ever since. I have also driven back from Grand Marais via CA and Sault Ste. Marie and it's a lovely drive that's about an hour longer than the other route I take. I don't know where you are in Virginia but Google will tell you it's an hour shorter via Chicago but I think that's a lot more variable with traffic than the other route. It's certainly a lot less traffic after you get half-way up lower MI and a lot more scenic.

Interstates through Chicago are a disaster this summer, I recommend taking the more scenic route.

My vote would be through Michigan and the UP (one of my favorite places). I live just an hour north of downtown Chicago and avoid it as much as possible.

I've lived in the Chicago suburbs since 1976. Avoid going through Illinois, especially near the city of Chicago due to crime. These include car jackings, drive by shootings, etc. Earlier comments about traffic are absolutely a big deal. A number of expressways around the Chicago area are tollways, so there is that additional expense for the privilege of going through Illinois.

One suggestion not mentioned, if you are not in quite such a hurry either going there or back, is to take the SS Badger Ferry from Ludington, MI to Manitowoc, WI across Lake Michigan. My wife and I did it once, and it is pretty cool to go on a trip across Lake Michigan for a hundred miles or more on a coal fired steamer. It takes about 4 hours for the trip, but cuts off a lot of driving. Probably takes more time than just driving, but definitely a cool experience. It should not be an issue taking a vehicle with a canoe on top, as the vehicle storage area is quite tall. You can sit inside the ferry, or sit outside.

In Manitowoc, near where the Badger docks, there is a WW2 US submarine on display that I think you can tour. We didn't go there, but it could be a good mid-trip diversion.

Tom

Thanks everybody! We have been driving through Chicago up to Ely/Crane Lake to do the BW/Quetico since 1986. We got hosed on our Q permit this year, so we flew up to MPLS and got a cabin on Lac La Croix. We were up there last week and the fishing was crazy good, so we are hoping to go back next year. We will be towing our own Lund up there and putting in near the First Nation village and motoring over to our cabin. That's the plan, anyway!

quark2222: "I've lived in the Chicago suburbs since 1976. Avoid going through Illinois, especially near the city of Chicago due to crime. These include car jackings, drive by shootings, etc. "

Oh come on.

Minding your own business on the highway isn't going to get someone carjacked or drive by shot. The odds of that are as close to zero as possible, no need to spread this type of fear.

There is probably a much greater chance of meeting your maker hitting a moose driving the north shore than taking a bullet driving through Chicago.

quark2222: "I've lived in the Chicago suburbs since 1976. Avoid going through Illinois, especially near the city of Chicago due to crime. These include car jackings, drive by shootings, etc. Earlier comments about traffic are absolutely a big deal. A number of expressways around the Chicago area are tollways, so there is that additional expense for the privilege of going through Illinois.
Tom"

Tolls suck, your other comments are silly.

I'm not sure what the route from VA to the BW would be, but if you are going through Indianapolis instead of going north from there to Chicago you can go west on I-74 to Bloomington/Normal , ILL, and then north on I-39 into WI etc. That's the way I always go when travelling to Ohio to visit relatives.

It's all about your timing really. Your departure time and how long you want to drive to before needing an overnight (especially if towing a trailer) and what lays
you up for a well timed drive to get to your final destination on time. Could land you in a city, could land you near nothing in the middle of WI or MI. Your route through IL and WI can equally go around the city just as much as through the city. Probably less funneled in traffic going around the city.

It's a long distance and I'm sure the route could tell you 5 different ways that could all change by next year due to road construction/closures. I wouldn't underestimate the summer season road construction in Michigan and especially the UP. That's where you get into to stop and go single lane type construction closures that can be frequent in some years. Saving an hour is not much over a multi-day journey.

As for scenic, yes you get to cross the Mackinaw Bridge (tolls too) and drive along the shore briefly, but after that it's a lot of not much until you near MN. More rural through the UP than WI. The Bridge can also close if you happen to have a high wind event though.

The comments about Chicago read like they are from someone who has only visited from the comfort of their living room watching cable news. But just my perspective as a actual resident living it every day for the last 20 years. It's the 3rd largest city in the US, not a quiet village in the countryside.

allfish: "Thanks everybody! We have been driving through Chicago up to Ely/Crane Lake to do the BW/Quetico since 1986. We got hosed on our Q permit this year, so we flew up to MPLS and got a cabin on Lac La Croix. We were up there last week and the fishing was crazy good, so we are hoping to go back next year. We will be towing our own Lund up there and putting in near the First Nation village and motoring over to our cabin. That's the plan, anyway!"

What does getting "hosed" on a Quetico permit mean?

Also, exactly where is your driving destination? Is it the LLC village in Canada? You are driving there and boating to a cabin on LLC? Is the cabin in Canada or USA?

Many thanks for the input, we have driven thru Chicago a bunch of times, no huge deal, we were just thinking there might be a better way? With 3 guys, we would probably just drive straight thru to LLC. If we left No. Va. in the morning, we would I guess be driving thru all the scenic north shore Lake Superior stuff in the dark anyhow!

I think you may feel better going thru MI. You may save time or it may take just as long as the Chicago route. But you will likely have a smoother trip that way.

I just moved from Chicago suburbs into the north side of the city. I am dealing with traffic on all the roads, i.e. 294, 94, 90, 290 this year (2023).

I-294 is under construction for many miles from OHARE and running as far south as 95th St. They are adding a new lane in each direction and also building several connectors to other interstates along the route, e.g. 394 and 494. Any kind of fender bender holds up traffic for many minutes to an hour.

The Kennedy Expressway in-bound from OHARE is under construction in 2023. 2 lanes are closed.

In 2024 the Kennedy Express lanes will be under construction. Again traffic will be impaired in both directions.
In 2025 Kennedy outbound to OHARE will be under construction.

The tollways and expressways in INDIANA have ongoing construction projects, but those are not as major as the Chicago area projects.

I love the comments about the crime rates ect in Chicago coming from people who don't live there/have no first hand info about the area, but yet feel free to disparage those who do. Typical "I know everything" attitude.... sigh..

Anyway, coming from central Ohio (don't know crap about Chicago other than the traffic sucks), I recommend going through the UP/across the Mackinaw bridge then to route 2 or 28. Pretty drive either way.

Other option, for me at least is to take I70/74 to Bloomington, IN then 39/90 to Madison, 94 to Eau Claire and US 53 the rest of the way. I find it to be comparable to the Chicago route, assuming good traffic, and Interstates are typically easy driving.

Regardless, calm winds and good fishing.

It could be 6 hours longer and I would still whatever route didn't involved going through or close to Chicago.

I travel from SW OH and agree with the posts above to go west from Indianapolis towards Bloomington and then turn north towards Rockford and Madison, WI. It is a few miles longer, but a much better drive and less chance of getting stuck in Chicago. Yes, a few tolls, but nothing like closer to Chi-town.

I live in the eastern U.P. and travel from here to Ely takes about 9 hours without many stops. Just thought I’d throw that out there.

Dooger: "I live in the eastern U.P. and travel from here to Ely takes about 9 hours without many stops. Just thought I’d throw that out there. "

Wow! I would have guessed it was a much shorter trip than my 9.5 hrs from Chicago. But the mileage is pretty close: 510 mi from UP, 550 mi from northern Chi-town. But I bet it is a MUCH prettier drive across the UP.

I live in Michigan so I am biased. LOL

My first trip there we went through Chicago on the way there. We left at 4am and travelled through Chicago in the dark early on a Saturday. No traffic but the tolls really kill the time plus it's ugly to be honest. On the way back we went through the UP. Takes an hour more but worth it.

Couple things to note:

If it's a weekend travel along US 2 at the top of Lake Michigan can be a slow go. Lot's of tourists. Hit 117 north and then cut west.

We had to leave early by a day one year and Ely was booked so we decided to go down through Chicago just in case we got too tired to drive and needed a place to crash. (Tough to find an available motel in the UP on a whim).
When we got home we found out that the Mackinac Bridge had been closed (bomb threat if I remember) and traffic was delayed by like 6 hours. Pure luck on that one.
I still take the UP every year. Little longer, little slower speed limits but it helps to set the tone for easy going.
One of the challenges for me going to the BWCA is slowing the heck down when I get there. Normal life has me at 110mph and that's no way to enjoy the BWCA.

quark2222: "take the SS Badger Ferry "

As the Air Quality Index shoots through the 100's and lands in the Very Unhealthy 200's, most notably in Michigan, Wisconsin & Illinois, all states bordering Lake Michigan, I cannot believe that anyone would book a ride on a coal fired vessel.

But hey, some folks enjoyed the fiddle whilst Rome burned.

And as others have noted, quark2222's "other comments [on everything but tolls] are silly."

Well thanks everybody for this wealth of information!

NMJim: "

quark2222: "take the SS Badger Ferry "

As the Air Quality Index shoots through the 100's and lands in the Very Unhealthy 200's, most notably in Michigan, Wisconsin & Illinois, all states bordering Lake Michigan, I cannot believe that anyone would book a ride on a coal fired vessel.

But hey, some folks enjoyed the fiddle whilst Rome burned.

And as others have noted, quark2222's "other comments [on everything but tolls] are silly.""

No longer coal. Natural gas.

S.S. Badger Converts to Natural Gas

PS: It occurs to me that moving hundreds of cars across Lake Michigan instead of them all driving around the lake through Chicago may be a good thing for the environment. iirc it saved me like 150 to 200 miles in my car, heading from Fish Creek WI to NY through Canada.

Hey QuietSolo, You make a very good point when you implicitly praise the Green Choice in

moving hundreds of cars across Lake Michigan instead of them all driving around the lake through Chicago may be a good thing for the environment. iirc it saved me like 150 to 200 miles in my car..."

Thanks for adding to the discussion.

Despite my best research efforts, I could not find any source reporting that the Badger has already been converted to natural gas. I did find many reports of plans or efforts to do so, but nothing confirming that rubber has met the road on this.

Thanks again.

From the website ssbadger.com:

"The S.S. Badger is the last coal-fired passenger steamship in operation in the United States. She has provided a fun, reliable and affordable shortcut across beautiful Lake Michigan for more than 70 years and has transported millions of passengers since her re-birth in 1992.

Her unique, bold character takes you back to a period of time when things were simpler – offering valuable time to slow down, relax and reconnect with those you love. She is the continuation of a unique and vital maritime tradition, and we celebrate that heritage on board in fun ways that educates and entertains. Her mission has changed from the days of carrying railroad cars 365 days a year, but the Badger’s role in the hearts of the areas she serves has not."

It is a fun trip, and I saw cars and trucks with trailers being loaded on the steamship, so I assume that is still OK.

Tom

WHendrix: "I'm not sure what the route from VA to the BW would be, but if you are going through Indianapolis instead of going north from there to Chicago you can go west on I-74 to Bloomington/Normal , ILL, and then north on I-39 into WI etc. That's the way I always go when travelling to Ohio to visit relatives."

This is the route I take when traveling to the northwoods, I am just west of Indianapolis.

Check prices for the ferry. Not super cheap.
Tom