We have one day to drive from Fish Creek, Wi to Duluth, Mn. The quickest route looks to be Hwy 29 west to Eau Claire and then Hwy 53 north. My second option is to go north from Green Bay to Iron Mountain, west on Hwy 2 in Michigan to Ironwood, then to Duluth.

Google Maps shows them to be the same distance, with the northern route through Michigan 9 hours, verses 7.5 hours through Eau Claire.

I've never been to Michigan and would like to get a small taste of the UP. Is the northern route scenic enough to make it worth the extra driving time? Are these times really accurate? We won't be getting out of the car for long walks or hikes, but I thought of driving around a portion of Lake Gogebic.

This is in the middle of a two week trip that includes Chicago, Door County, North Shore of Lake Superior and Mall of Anerica.

Thanks for your insight.

I have no comments on your actual question. I will caution you that I have never seen more mosquitoes in my life than I saw on the North Shore of Lake Superior. We wanted to hike but didn't have bug spray. We stopped a few local stores and all were out of bug spray. On the hiking trail, we found a guy with some, and paid him a buck to spray our legs.

I'd take 29 and 53, they're main highways - usually 4 lanes rather than 2. With 2 lanes you can get stuck behind slow moving traffic.

We have done this route and I would go thru Eau Claire. It is just faster and easier in my opinion. Just more convenient. You can take the other route if you really want to see some of the UP, however I don't really think you get the real feeling of the UP in just those areas. We spend part of every summer on the North Shore and there are mosquitos for sure but I must say that last summer there were very few as it was very dry. They say this summer may also be dry so you might have luck with no mosquitos. However, when it is dry, there is a big fire danger. Have fun!!