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First Trip Ideas For Next Year

S

sarmay

Junior Ranger
We're planning to put down our deposit for a 560 Ultra in the next couple of months (for a late-June pickup), and so I'm thinking about our first trip. I am hoping some of you will have some good advice because I don't want to plan an overly ambitious trip that will make everyone miserable, ha.

We will be driving from Tucson, AZ to Necedah (which also means we need to plan 3-4 days of driving on the way back, too). I was thinking that we could head up and do the Lake Superior Circle Tour for our first trip, but as I try to plan it, I am a little overwhelmed by how much there is to do, and the amount of driving needed every day. And then I started to worry that maybe we need to stick closer to Necedah in case of emergency?

What have been your experiences with the first trip? Is something big like Lake Superior a bad idea? I don't know when we'll be able to get back up in this part of the country with the kids since it is such a long way, and we're slaves to both school calendars and earned vacation time.

If we were to stick to a small section of the circle tour, what part would you recommend? Keweenah? Duluth and Grand Marais?

Thanks.
 
Hi Sarmay, I think it is pretty unlikely that you'll have trouble with the trailer on the first trip requiring help from the folks at Camp Inn. In fact I don't recall a single anecdote of someone needing a repair on a new unit. I don't think that many people use the 2 year warranty. Most of the repair work seems to be on well used trailers from normal wear and tear.

It'd be helpful to know how much time you have for the first trip and if you have any special interests (hiking, canoeing, visiting historic areas, etc). The day we picked up our 550 we headed up to the Porcupine mountains in the most western part of the upper peninsula of Michigan. It's a beautiful/rural area with nice hiking but little else to entertain little ones. We did leave a bit early though when a big storm/cold front pushed in. In retrospect, it might have been nice to have been close to civilization for the first couple of days as we needed to do lot of outfitting for galley tools and other small stuff but I don't regret seeing that part of the country.

One nice thing about the Camp Inns is that you can adjust your style of camping depending on how long you'll be staying at any given area. If you are only staying one night at each location, you'll probably not want to set up much in the way of shelters/tents etc. However if you're going to pick a few choice areas and stay a few days then you can set up a more comfortable camp. It might be easier to circumnavigate Lake Michigan - Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on the Upper Peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dunes on the Lower peninsula of Michigan are 2 places that are definitely worth the trip. planning and researching your trips is a good part of the fun. I've passed many a cold otherwise miserable winter day by researching our next trips. Have fun!
 
Oh, geez. First, our kids are 11 and 14 (so 12 and 14 when we get our camper). One or both of them may need to sleep in a tent if they are too tall for the bunks. Our interests are varied. The kids love to collect junior ranger badges, so the national lakeshores and parks are high on our list. I like to mix things up with a little bit of museum time, some fun town stuff, and a lot of outdoor stuff. The 14 year old is a girl and likes to shop in the little towns. The 11 year old likes to hike and bike. We are all interested in taking at least one kayak or boat trip. Mackinac Island has been on my bucket list ever since I was young, and who doesn't love a waterfall?

Honestly, that's why I thought the Lake Superior Circle Tour sounded like so much fun, but I also don't want to spend every day in stuck in a car, and I don't want to put so much into our plans that we don't get a chance to relax and enjoy ourselves. I'm wondering if we should just skip the Canadian side and give ourselves more time on the U.S. side.

I am thinking we can manage about 12-14 days for the Circle Tour; the rest will have to be travel time to/from Arizona (plus a day for picking up the camper and getting it set up).
 
I'm sure there are others on the forum who know the area better than me and who can provide more informed suggestions but I think you could have a great trip just touring parts of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan and not trying to cover it all. Based on what you're describing with the 2 kids that age you'll be setting up a tent for them to have a place to sleep, I'd pick out 3-4 areas that you want to explore that are reasonably closely located to one another so you're not spending too much time in the car and divide the time between them. I think that too much driving and then having to constantly set up and take down your campsite with kids that age will sour everyone's mood. Focusing more on fun activities that you can all enjoy and especially having the best possible food you can muster is the way to start off your maiden voyage. Another piece of advice is to make sure the kids sleeping arrangements are super comfortable - ie nice ground pads or cots and bedding. You don't want them cranky from poor sleep and complaining that it's not fair that you have the comfy bed while they have the crummy tent.

Perhaps a guidebook to the area to pique your interest and show you what is available would be a good place to start. Once you've narrowed down the places you want to visit then you can drill down to specific campgrounds and even specific campsites (ie nice views, privacy, etc). Here's a book that might fit the bill:

Moon Michigan's Upper Peninsula (Travel Guide): Paul Vachon: 9781631217470: Amazon.com: Books
 
A resource I use for travel in states/areas I am interested in is the specific state tourism website. One can get maps and info books free for the asking.

AAA also has maps for members.
 
I use AAA also and my first trip in my first teardrop was from coast to coast and took two months. Don’t be afraid to get out and have an adventure and if something does wrong just accept it as part of the adventure.
 
We’ve always looked forward to our layover days when car-camping with the CI or our previous rigs, and try to plan for a minimum of 2 nights at a campsite where we really want to explore the area.

On our recent CI inaugural, we did spend 3 nights in 3 different locations, but they were close enough together that we could be in-camp and setup by noon, with all afternoon and evening for exploration. That was good too!

For us, a relaxed pace is part of the experience. Mostly. I’m sure the time will come when we have miles to do every day, and, the CI is great for a quick setup and takedown in that situation too.
 
We just made the trip out in July to pick up ours. We were coming from CA and the trip to and from is A LOT of driving. I'd recommend picking a couple spots and taking it easy for your camping portion of the trip. You'll have plenty of driving to do when you turn west and head for home.
 
The UP of Michigan is a great place. I can't off you much about camping as we did it the year before we had our 560 Ultra. We loved the area and are planning on going back, maybe even next summer. From SC it is a long drive but are thinking of taking our Camp Inn to Necedah to checked over and since close by the UP, head on over. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a must if you go. Grand Marais and Munising are great areas around Pictured Rocks, lots of hiking, kayaking other outdoor opportunties. We liked Marquette too. Tahquamenon falls should be on your list too. From there you have to decide if you are to explore more of the UP or cross over into the rest of Michigan and explore that part. You can't go wrong. It is a beautiful place.
 
jsnrdy said:
We just made the trip out in July to pick up ours. We were coming from CA and the trip to and from is A LOT of driving. I'd recommend picking a couple spots and taking it easy for your camping portion of the trip. You'll have plenty of driving to do when you turn west and head for home.
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That is an excellent point, and I think the to-and-from driving is what is giving me the most difficulty. I'm fighting my desire for completion (I want the Circle Tour patch!) versus settling in for an enjoyable vacation with the kids and the dog.

Since this would be our big trip for the year with the kids, I don't want to just take them camping for a few days in a single spot, especially after all of the driving to get there, but I don't want to make it all-driving-no-fun, either.

I've been tinkering with an itinerary that I think will give us rest time, and still let us do the circle. It's a LONG trip, but we should be good for it. Our daughter will be starting her sophomore year in high school next fall, and our son will be headed to seventh grade, so I don't know how many more opportunities we'll have to take a long trip together.

This is the itinerary we have right now. We might even get that Long Haul sticker out of the gate. My in-laws live in Albuquerque, so that is our first and last night hub. They'll want to see us off, and see the photos when we get back.

Day 1: (Leave in the afternoon) Drive to Albuquerque. Arrive at night. 7 hr drive.

Day 2: Drive to Wichita KS. Overnight in pet friendly hotel.

Day 3: Visit Tallgrass Prairie National Reserve. Drive to Mauston, Wi. Overnight at Super 8 Wyndham in Mauston. Pet friendly. Breakfast included.

Spirit Mountain Campground – 3 nights.

Day 4: Drive to Necedah, WI to pick up camper. 19 min drive. Camper orientation. to Spirit Mountain Park Campground, Duluth, MN.

Day 5: Leave Tony at campground to relax, and take kids to Spirit Mountain Park for summer activities.

Day 6: Duluth

Judge CR Magney State Park Campground

Day 7: Gooseberry Falls State Park & Split Rock Lighthouse. Stop at Betty’s Pies. Get Circle Tour stamps in Grand Marais, MN.

Day 8: Grand Portage National Historic Site and Grand Portage hike.

Ontario

Day 9: Cross border, stop at Kakabeka Falls (1 hr drive, 1 hr stay), move on to Amethyst Mine Panorama (Question this stop?), stop at Nipigon to get Circle Tour stamps. Camp at Rainbow Falls Rossport campground (1 night).

Day 10: Walk along dog friendly beach, breakfast, then drive to Terrace Bay, stop at visitor’s centre for Circle Tour stamps. Drive to Wawa. Get Circle Tour Stamps and a picture of the Wawa Goose. Have lunch. Drive to Brimley State Park campground (MI). Settle in for the night.

Brimley State Park Campground MI

Day 11: Sault Ste Marie. (25 minute drive) Soo Locks tour. Take border bus to Sault Ste. Marie, ON to see Bushplane museum; take fireworks cruise for Canada Day.

Day 12: 1 hr drive to ferry terminal. Mackinac Island. Rent bikes. Dog can come.

Munising Tourist Park Campground – 3 nights.

Day 13: Leave Brimley State Park. Scenic Drive through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore to Munising; stop at Tahquamenon Falls State Park (short hike to falls) and Grand Marais, MI. Camp at Munising Tourist Park Campground. Reservations | Munising Tourist Park Camp Ground

Day 14: Downtown Marquette; Munising Fireworks.

Day 15: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore – kayak? Boat tour? Relax rest of day.

Hancock Recreation Area Beach & Campground – 4 nights

Day 16: Drive to Hancock Recreation Area Beach & Campground (2 ½ hr). Explore Copper Harbor. Stop at Jampot Bakery.

Day 17: Keweenaw National Historical Park.

Day 18: Seaplane to Isle Royale.

Day 19: Fort Wilkins Historical Park.

Little Sand Bay Campground – 2 nights

Day 20: Drive to Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park (Michigan) for lunch/hike. Drive to Little Sand Bay campground near Bayfield, WI. https://townofrussell.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/LSB-Brochure-2018-pdf-ver.pdf. Stop at Ashland to get final Circle Tour stamp.

Day 21: Go to Bayfield to check in with Rangers at Apostle Island National Lakeshore. Kayaking or boat tour of the Apostle National Lakeshore islands.

Day 22: Drive to Denver. 15 ½ hrs. Overnight in pet friendly hotel.

Day 23: Breakfast in LoDo (?)/look around before heading out. Drive to Albuquerque. 6 ½ hr drive.

Day 24: Albuquerque

Day 25: Drive home.
 
Sounds like quite an itinerary! I hope you'll start a new thread at the time and keep us posted on your progress during the trip.
 
Day 21: Go to Bayfield to check in with Rangers at Apostle Island National Lakeshore. Kayaking or boat tour of the Apostle National Lakeshore islands. .[/QUOTE] There is a city park in Bayfield that has sites long the shore of lake superior. [URL="http://www.cityofbayfield.com/dalrymple.html said:
Dalrymple[/URL]
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I looked at Dalrymple Campground, but they don't take reservations. If we go in July, I suspect it will be hard to get a spot, so I was looking at campgrounds that will accept reservations. That way we won't have to rush to be the first at a campground.
 
That might be true, we were there after the CICO a couple years ago, so late Sept., and getting a spot then wasn't an issue.
 
dustinp said:
That might be true, we were there after the CICO a couple years ago, so late Sept., and getting a spot then wasn't an issue.
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There are so many places along the UP and Minnesota's North Shore that look lovely. When the kids have grown, I think I will want to return to see the fall colors since we don't get fall foliage in Southern Arizona.
 
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