Hi all, we are traveling on Hwy 2 from Michigan after going to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Around the lake, through Wisconsin, Minnesota and thinking of maybe continuing to N Dakota to see Theodore Roosevelt park. Ideally we would like to hit as many tourist, scenic drives as possible. Time is not limited as we are traveling to our house in Nevada. So we want to do Mt Rushmore, maybe Yellowstone. I could go on interstate and head West but heard that Hwy 2 is magnificant scenery. Would it make more sense to hop on the highways after the Great Lakes and forgo the rest of Hwy 2? Maybe it is not so scenic after Wisconsin. Planning to stop in Ashland and do the mural walk. Any ideas? Thanks.
US Hwy 2 from Mich to West Coast, ND, MN, & SD
Recent Activity
View all United States activity »
- 1 Restaurant Recommendations in Salt Lake City Area
- 2 Cedar Point Wait Times
- 3 Nashville Hot Fried Chicken
- 4 Using public transit in San Diego
- 5 Rafting trip on the Snake River (Tetons/Jackson Hole)
- 6 Seward to Anchorage
- 7 Little Rock, Arkansas, Clinton Library
- 8 Iteneray help: Santa Fe-Taos-Durango-Colorado Springs
- 9 Staying at the Andaz in West Hollywood with kids.
- 10 Ackislander or others- restaurants in Nantucket in 2013
- 11 State cracking down on vacation rentals?
- 12
Air Bnb Declared Illegal in NYC
by
Doug_Stallings
|
25 responses; most recent on May 22, 13 at 08:18 PM
- 13 San Francisco,Monterey, Yosemite etc.!
- 14 Boat hotel vacation for a few days in Midwest
- 15 Car trip from Seattle
- 16 New Orleans - Alligator Cheesecake???
- 17 Newport, RI Questions
- 18 Best place to raise a family in Florida
- 19 Kodachrome Basin State Park in Utah
- 20 Savannah restaurants
- 21 WHERE TO STAY FOR PROPOSAL WEEKEND IN FREDRICKSBURG
- 22 Bryce Canyon vs. Yellowsyone
- 23 Northern Idaho - Western Montana Drive
- 24 East coast tour - Part1: NYC
- 25 Planning Road Trip Seattle to Denver and Back
On your way north from Sleeping Bear, be sure to turn off on M-119 and drive the famous tunnel of trees along the bluffs overlooking Lake Michigan between Harbor Springs and Cross Village.
The Lake Michigan shoreline along US-2 is beautiful and there are a few nice stops along the way, such as Kitchitikipi springs or Fayette Historic State Park.
If you want to get out of the car and see things, there is much more off of M-28 which runs closer to Lake Superior: Tahquamenon Falls, Whitefish Point, Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, Grand Marias, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Lake of the Clouds.
Keith
I can tell you that the section of Hwy 2 from ND to Glacier is not particularly interesting and VERY long. Theodore Roosevelt NP is worth seeing but from there I would drop down and pick up the SD NP's and NM's. From there you can go to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Craters of the Moon, Crater Lake and any other spots on the way to Ashland. Have fun!
You will enjoy the mural walk in Ashland -- you might want to take a short side trip to Bayfield -- and the Apostle Islands(National Park) and even take the ferry out to Madeline island. Take the boat trip of the islands -- quite a lot of history in the area -- going back to the early 1600's - fur trading and logging. Then from Bayfield you could continue your trip on Highway 13 over to Superior/Duluth.
The ND and eaaster MT section doesn't have the scenic appeal of the area from East Glacier west, but there is a remote, isolated quality along the Missouri River that can be very appealing.
If I recall, the drive to Teddy Roosevelt wasn't particularly scenic, and it may be out of the way, but it's definitely worth visiting. Much less crowded than many of the other places you're going to visit on the trip and the wildlife in the park is really wonderful.
Bayfield/Apostle Islands are a definite yes.
Head west to Duluth and possibly drive up the North Shore a ways before continuing on to the rest of your trip. Northern Minnesota is not a bad place to drive through, plenty of state parks to stop in at. If you stay on Hwy 2 through Bemidji, you'll be pretty close to Itasca State Park.
Just based on google maps, there isn't a whole lot of time savings by taking the interstate as you'd have to detour down to Minneapolis for that, so I'd say stick with Hwy 2 to ND instead of the interstate.