Locks & Boats At “The Soo” – Sault Ste. Marie, MI
When we started this year we couldn’t have predicted it would turn out like this. We had plans, bold and crazy plans that included several months exploring the Northern Rockies from high in Canada all the way down to Glacier NP. In fact, had all our plans turned out we would be there right now.
But life happened not just once but three times (isn’t it always three?) and here we are. I have zero complaints mind you. What we’ve experienced so far has been amazing despite it all, but I was a tad bummed that we wouldn’t make it to the border with our northern neighbors.
All that changed when we decided to stop over in Sault Ste. Marie.
“The Soo”, as everyone calls it has the interesting designation of being the oldest city in Michigan aaaand Ontario. It crosses borders in several ways, not just between Canada and the US (half in one, half in the other), but also between Lake Superior and Lake Huron. And as a key gateway it’s got hundreds of years of history. First with the Native Americans (specifically the Ojibwe (Chippewa)), later with the Europeans (specifically the French missionaries who founded a Jesuit mission here in 1668) and even later with the massive growth of shipping and iron ore mining in the area.
This makes The Soo the third-oldest European city in the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains, and the oldest permanent settlement in contemporary Michigan state. That’s a lot of history for a town where the average winter highs are just over 20F (brrrrrrrrrr!!)
“Welcome To Canada”
These days what most folks come to the Soo to see are the boats going through the locks…oh, and to wave to Canada of course. We arrived n a sunny afternoon and headed straight for the water-front site we’d reserved at the local Elks**. Situated on a little peninsula next to Soo Locks Boat Tours it’s an awesome spot to watch activity on the water, plus it’s literally right across the river from Canada. In fact we were sooo close our phones texted “welcome to Canada” right as we drove into camp. We may not have made it physically over to our neighbors this year, but I figured this was pretty darn close.
As soon as we’d settled in (and turned off data on our cells) we headed over to nearby Soo Locks Park to watch some of the activity through the canal.
It’s All About the Locks…
The strategic location of Sault Ste. Marie between two Great Lakes means that folks have been creating man-made navigation across this water passage since the fur trade days. The first locks were crude canoe passages created in 1798, and they’ve gone through many iterations to the modern 21-foot drop (1,200 and 800 feet long) passage we have today. These days over 7,000 vessels pass through the Locks annually hauling 86 million tons of cargo. Interesting little side-fact -> 90% of the world’s iron ore moves through the Soo Locks (who would’ve known?).
The locks are operated by the Corps Of Engineers and there’s a nice museum (free!) and very cool (free!) viewing platform right above them for folks like us to enjoy the process. For anyone who’s even remotely interesting in engineering this just can’t be missed.
On our visit we didn’t catch any “big boats” but we enjoyed 2 of the Soo tour boats going through and watched the entire process from entry into the canal, gravity dumping of 22 million gallons of water (the amount it takes to lift or lower a boat) through to exit on the other. Frikkin’ awesome!
VISIT NOTES: The Soo Locks Visitor Center is FREE to visit and is open from 9AM to 10PM in summer. For more info click HERE and HERE.
BRING DOGGIE? NO. Sadly, no dogs allowed inside the visitor center or within the surrounding (gated) park.
And The Views..
Apart from the locks there are a few cool views which are well worth seeing, as long as the weather cooperates. The “Tower of History” is a brutalist-style building that literally dominates the water-view less than a mile east of the locks. At first look it seems like some kind of enormous 70’s concrete experiment, but it was actually built in 1968 by the Catholic Church as the Shrine of the Missionaries. Look closer and you’ll see a modernistic representation of three crosses.
For visitors like us the real attraction is its height. It soars 210 feet above ground and on clear days you’ll get a panoramic 360-degree view of The Soo from the viewing platform. It costs $7 to visit and there’s an elevator right to the top, but if you’re able I actually recommend climbing up the 29 flights of stairs. It’s an interesting experience and makes the views at the top even more worth-while once you get there.
VISIT NOTES : The Tower costs $7 to visit. If you’re also visiting the Museum Ship you can buy a “combo” ticket for the two attractions for $18. In summer months it’s open Monday to Saturday 10AM to 5PM, and Sunday, 12PM to 5PM. For more info click HERE.
BRING DOGGIE? NO. No dogs allowed in the tower.
And Of Course There’s A Lighthouse!
You can hardly spit in Michigan without hitting a lighthouse, and of course The Soo is no different. There’s not a ton of lighthouses out here, but there is a rather gorgeous girl just 20 miles away in the smaller town of Brimley. Point Iroquois Light was first illuminated in 1857 and guarded the busy entrance to the St. Mary’s River and the Soo Locks for over 100 years.
The 65-foot tower and adjoining house are now owned by the Forest Service and provide a delightful little visit for both humans and paws alike (the grounds are entirely dog-friendly!). It was grey, dark and humid when we visited, but both Polly and us enjoyed the trip and it was fun to hike up to the tower and see the view.
Any day you get to see a lighthouse is a good day, right?
VISIT NOTES: Point Iroquois Lighthouse is FREE to visit. It’s open May 15th through October 15 from 9AM to 5PM. More info HERE and HERE.
BRING DOGGIE: YES, if there’s two of you! The grounds around the lighthouse are all dog-friendly and there’s a lovely little hiking trail to the shoreline too. You can’t enter into the tower/museum with doggie, but it’s a self-guided tour so if there’s two of you it’s easy to swap out and visit individually while the other person walks the grounds with pooch.
We enjoyed a few other outings around town including a nice brew and a burger at The Wicked Sister pub as well as walking around the grounds of the historic hydroelectric plant and a few of the water-front parks (none of which are dog-friendly, sadly). But the best part of everything was simply sitting at home watching the slew of cargo ships crossing the river by our campsite at the Elks. The Great Lakes & Seaway Shipping Online Vessel Passage Map (say that one really quick 10 times) manages a real-time map of every shipping vessel on the Great Lakes. It’s actually quite fun to follow the map and see the ships pass by on the river right in front of you. Oh and waving to Canada too, of course 🙂
This is as far North as we’ll go, at least this time around. Up next we find a castle and enter the fairytale land of a girl from far, far away….wonder where that’ll be?
**Where To Park The RV
If you come to Sault Ste Marie I really recommend paying for a waterfront site so you can enjoy the shipping activity on the river. If you’re an Elks Member the waterfront Elks (Lodge 552) is in a superb location, but it is more expensive than other options in town. It has 4 reservable sites (electric/water) that cost $35/night. Soo Locks Campground is just one block west of the Elks and offers water-view sites for $30/night. Aune Osborn is a few blocks east of the Elks and offers water-view sites for $32-$40/night. For those that want to save some $$ and don’t mind being away from the water Kewadin Casino offers both electric hookups ($20/night) and FREE parking (no hookups) in their lot.
Useful External Links:
Great post and fotos….brings back some wonderful memories…Besides the book giving you the schedule of the freightors that go through, I believe, it also gives you a pictures with the names….we were lucky enough that we had friends there eith boats so we could go out on the river to get up close and personal! I look forward to reading about the “princess” and the castle!
Yes the online, interactive map gives you info on the ships, their size, their speed and where they’re going. It was fun to track them and see them pass by.
Nina
Thanks for the inspiration. We are native southern Michiganderes and are returning in September to visit family and retrace many of our “up north” childhood haunts. We’ll be sure and include Point Iroquois in our ramblings. You don’t say which way you’re leaving Michigan, but if you go south through Indiana, be sure to take in the quaint Amish community of Shipshewana. There’s nothing like it in the west. We grew up and lived many years just a few miles north over the border and have been there many times. Fabulous food, the family friendly Blue Gate Theatre, one of the largest flea markets anywhere, authentic Amish buggy rides driven by an Amish man and a chance to drive through the neat and tidy farmland of the second largest Amish community in the U.S. It’S worth driving out of your way to see, if you haven’t already done so…actually, even if you have!
Nice little tip. If we head that way we’ll check it out. Thanks!
Nina
We were in Sault Ste Marie in June and loved it. We were so enchanted that we switched sites 4 times at Aune Osborn campground just so we could stay longer 🙂 Wish we had known about http://ais.boatnerd.com/. We asked around if there was such a website and no one seemed to aware of one. In fact, the campground host said they used to post when ships were coming through but had to stop after 9/11. If you haven’t been, it’s a nice day trip to Whitefish Point and the lighthouse. We ate lunch at The Inn Gastropub and Smokehouse in Paradise and it was yummy. Definitely a place we will go back to! BTW – you guys are doing the reverse route that we have been taking this summer 🙂
We didn’t make it to Whitefish Point (sadly), nor Tahquamenon Falls both of which would have been longer day-trips from Sault Ste. Marie. Glad you’ve been able to enjoy the place. It really is more fun than I imagined watching the boat traffic between the lakes.
Nina
We were there years ago and enjoyed the area and the locks. We almost see many smaller lift locks in Ontario places we frequently visit. Enjoy your time there and thanks for waving at us Canadians.
One of these days we’ll actually make it across the border and explore some of your great country in the RV. It’ll happen…someday!
Nina
Lots to see here as well, and hope you make it here someday. We have a lot more exploring to do down south but only have 6 months a year to do it.
Keep travelling safe.
Fabulous!!! I’ve always wondered how “locks” work. Your site on the water is not too shabby 🙂
Box Canyon Mark
Our site was definitely pretty sweet and we only had one or two other RVs the whole time we were there. It was worth the few extra $$ to stay there IMHO.
Nina
Question for you if I’m not being too nosy … how did you become an Elks member as a full time RV’er? We full time as well and can get a sponsor but we don’t “reside” in that city.
The key is to find an Elks that has initiation while you’re in town. It takes a bit of timing (took us 2 years to figure it out), but if you’re in town while it’s going on, and you can find a lodge member who will sponsor you (most will) you can get in. Some Elks Lodges will post their initiation dates online, but typically you have to call ahead. We were initiated into the Wilcox AZ Elks Lodge in Feb while we were spending a few weeks nearby.
Nina
I grew up 2 miles north of New Castle, PA. One of the first shipments of iron ore from the upper pennisula of Michigan, passing through Sault Ste. Marie, was delivered to a Mill in New Castle. There was a very strong connection between The Great Lakes, Iron Ore and Western PA (Sharon, New Castle and Pittsburgh) http://www.clevelandmemory.org/glihc/oretrade.html
Thank you for your posting. It pushed me to do some research on my own because I remember watching the barges of iron ore being pushed by tugs down the Allegheny and through the locks after I had moved to Pittsburgh many years ago. I only lived in Pittsburgh for 5 years but I really loved watching the activity on the rivers.
Very interesting! Cheers for sharing.
Nina
A castle on the straits, perhaps? You’ve got Diana and I stumped on the fairytale, though.
Very cool freighter-viewing campsite! Glad you found boatnerd.com, Nina. We used to camp at Algonac State Park to watch the big boats…they were so close, we could actually feel the vibrations from the diesel engines.
Aaaallll will be revealed soon 🙂
Boatnerd.com is a great website. Sooooo much fun to check out all the activity on the lakes and watch the boats as they actually pass.
Nina
You’ve added a destination to our compass – Thank you! We’re in the Muskegon area of Michigan now (Great town and the State Park is wonderful) but we will be around the Mackinac area for a week or so on Monday. I think a day+ trip over to the SOO is now on the map! This is our first time to travel through Michigan… and we’ve already re-named it to Michigan…Again.and.Again.and.again…..!
Sweet! You’ll love Mackinac Island and Mackinac (Mackinaw) City too. Wonderful place.
Nina
So sorry you didn’t make it into the Canadian Rockies. We went last summer. The milky-turquoise blue rivers and lakes are like nothing you’ve ever seen. I’m sure with your photography skills you’d get some wonderful shots. The Canadian Rockies combine the rugged granite beauty of the Rockies with the lush greenery of the Oregon coastal range. Quite a treat, at least in summer! Wonder why you didn’t just go later in the summer, were you concerned about winter weather setting in?
I spent several weeks around the Canadian Rockies (car camping and hiking) as a solo traveler in 2001, but Paul has never been. At the time I remember thinking it was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever been. I hope we get to go there in “the beast” so Paul and the paws can enjoy it too.
As for why we didn’t go after ID -> Once we lost our reservations (because of the whole Polly surgery) we decided it just made more sense skip the Canadian portion of our plans. We weren’t sure if we were going to need more rehab for the dog. Plus no reservations would have made it harder to do without waiting until *much* later in the season. Sadly the parks all book out solid for the summer months, and very, very few of the first-come-first-serve campsites fit our size. With a smaller rig we might have considered it, but not in “the beast”.
Nina
We’re leaving “our” Lighthouse in the morning! Been a great summer hosting. 40 Mile Point Lighthouse is worth checking out! 336muffin.
PM us if interested.
40 Mile Point is on our list!! I hope we make it over there before we leave MI.
Nina
Mackinac (pron Mackinaw) Island?
Could be, could be…. 🙂
Nina
Ha. This reminds me of Sarah Palin saying
“They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska” 🙂
Come on over, there is much to do and see in Canada!
Ha. That was Tina Fay who said that, not Sarah Palin. You could look it up!!
Sure sounds like Tina Fey LOL
Nina
Steve Hamilton wrote a series of books about an investigator based in the UP … I really enjoyed them because of the local flavor – speaking as someone who grew up in Michigan and vacationed in the YooPee.
Nice tip! I love reading fiction based in the area I’m visiting while I’m there. I’m going to pick a few of these up.
Nina
Well, almost welcome to Canada!
Nina and Paul, I’ve really been enjoying your posts as you move eastward. So many good recommendations for places to see, places to stay, and places to eat. Your vivid descriptions and incredible photographs bring it all to life.
Regarding the Soo, we passed within a mile of each other as I was going through the Soo on my way to a summer job working in the mines at Manitouwadge, north of Lake Superior. Oh, cept for 40 years or so. It was the summer of 1975 (I saw Jaws twice in a theater in the Soo that summer). The beauty of that whole area, upper Michigan and Northern Ontario, are something I’ll always remember.
Oh, and I also appreciate your Paws Friendly, or not, reviews. Willi, my border terrier, says thanks for thinking of her. She’s marking the paws friendly spots on her route planner.
Great memories. Thanks so much for sharing them.
Nina
Thanks for the tour of the Soo Locks. A waterfront campsite to watch the ship activity sounds wonderful. We made a day trip there from Mackinaw City a few years ago.
Having a waterfront site was definitely the highlight of our stay. So nice to be able to watch the boats pass by on the river.
Nina
Such a neat place and…much cooler:) Perfect camp spot!! Wow!!
Glad you had the opportunity to visit the Upper Peninsula of Michigan it is a beautiful area. (Being a “Yooper” I may be slightly biased.) Lower Michigan and Ontario are also beautiful areas to spend time in; with lots of things to do and explore. So I hope you have the opportunity to come back someday and spend a lot more time exploring. It is a guarantee you will not be sorry.
Enjoy your time in Mackinaw City and continued safe travels.
P.S. If you like fish be sure to try some Whitefish.
We had some local Smoked Whitefish dip yesterday….wow! Seriously yummy stuff. I think I might be hooked.
Nina
LOVE that you are in my beautiful home state right now! I hope you plan on spending a lot of time exploring our wonderful Upper Peninsula!
Hi there!
Wow, this brings back some fabulous memories. Back in the day (1988) my brother and I bicycled from Astoria Oregon to Bar Harbor Maine. We hit Marquette MI and then Sault Ste. Marie where we crossed into Canada. Back then all it took was your drivers license to cross back and forth. The border agent asked us if we had any drugs or guns. When we told him where we started and were going to finish he just waved us through. We road the Trans-Canadian hiway to Hiway 6 then down to South Baymouth and took the ferry over to Tobermory. Then we road to the Canadian side of Nigra Falls where we came back in the US. I think it took us a week or so. If you like German sausage then Bruce’s Peninsula in Canada is your place. Lots of Mennonite folks there who still make and sell the old world German foods. Thanks for the memories!!
What a bicycle trip!!!! From one end of the country to the other, literally!! I remember the days when the borders were more like a friendly wave-through than a legal crossing point. Seems like so long ago, but it really wasn’t. Love German Sausage, by the way. Hard to find really authentic versions. Cheers for sharing your wonderful memories.
Nina
Wow, you did find the perfect spot with water views and boat views. For us we have to drive back to Mackinaw City after taking the boat tour and crossing the border. It was fun and your pictures brought back lots fun memories in the Upper Peninsula.
If you haven’t already, you must sample some U.P. soul food AKA pastie.
Sure have! In fact I sacrificed my belly (wheat intolerance) to try one of the top 5 rated pasties in MI when we visited Marquette last week. It was very tasty, but I did pay for it dearly later.
Anyone know if there’s a shop somewhere that makes gluten-free pasties? I’d love to have more.
Nina
If you’re still in Mackinaw City, try the whitefish at Scalawags.
Great post. While there check out Antlers pub. Food might not be to liking but chock a block full of er.. Taxidermy…you know stuffed animals. Beer on tap. Fun place to see and drink amongst the furry creatures.
We were literally parked right down the road (I think I walked by 3-4 times while we stayed at the Elks), but I didn’t end up going in. Next time…
Nina
Paul and Nina
Welcome to Michigan. Longtime Lurker here. Your map shows that you are going to the eastern side of the state. You’ll be missing a great scenic drive along Lake Michigan between Petosky (a charming place) and Charlevoix. You’ll also miss Sleeping bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The East side of Lake Michigan has great sand beaches and numerous lighthouses :>) Just sayin.
If you need a couple of free nights with full hookups next to my house in Grandville, MI, just say the word. Polly can frolic in the fenced backyard with our 3 Corgis.
Awesome offer! We are going to hang at a friend’s place for a few weeks, but are considering a little mini-trip to the Western side of the “MI mitt” to explore all the stuff on that side of the State. It’s going to be after Labor Day though, where things will (hopefully) calm down a bit in the campgrounds.
Nina
You evoked great memories! Miss those days (1950s/60s) when Michigan plates and DL would get you waived into Canada and back. It was fun to visit both “Soos.” So glad you’re enjoying Michigan. Loved the pic of the Pt. Iroquois light, too, with the gray background. Just made the old gal pop. Two thumbs up!
You do a wonderful job of documenting the beauty and incredible engineering at the cross roads of the Great Lakes. The area has an independent resilient vibe not found in many places.
We made the UP trip years ago on a Harley traveling around the lakes to Niagara Falls. A wonderful and beautiful trip except for getting lost in Toronto in a downpour anyway. I still remember sitting on the Soo bridge mid span in a whistling June cross wind hoping the traffic flagger would give us a go ahead before we froze or blew over. Try as we may, we couldn’t keep from humming strains of “wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”
The weather gets pretty crazy up here. I didn’t realize how far NORTH we were until I really looked at it on the map and Googled the mean winter temps (brrrrr!!). That bridge would be pretty crazy in the wind.
Nina
well living in central wisconsin, we have bee there a few times..I have taken the bridge over to canada…but I WILL NEVER GO OVER THAT BRIDGE WITH MY FIFTH WHEEL…NO NO NO…that dang bridge is scary enough in a car, truck, or van….nope not going to canada with the fw…that way anyway….the locks are great to spend time around….cheers
I am sad that you missed a couple of my favorite places in the UP Doggy would have loved the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes. I’m glad that you found Higgins Lake State Parks. When I was young those were two out of the top 3 Michigan state parks despite what is on the internet today.
I’m not sure how accurate this will be. There were some farmers vegetable stands along US12 west of Saline back in the early 1980’s (really earlier than that back in the 1960’s) . At that time prices were lower than what we could purchase in the grocery stores. The current farmers vegetable stands close to us are normal grocery store prices. I know that you like farmer markets. This is for individual farmers though. So I thought that you might like to check it out if you go near A2.
Fear not…we’re not done yet! We’re going to go hang at a friends place for a while, but then we’re hoping to get more time to explore MI after Labor Day. Still lots and lots we haven’t seen.
Oh and I totally agree Higgins Lake rocks! What a great little hidden gem! Our friends (locals) convinced us to come here and I’m so glad they did. It’s been our most relaxing stop so far.
Nina
A few years ago the wife and I volunteered at a Lighthouse in that area. 40 mile point light house 8 miles north of Roger City, Mi. It’s a county park, that is operated by a very active support group. They offer full hook ups for 25 hours of volunteering at the light house area. My wife worked the gift shop and I did the tours of the lighthouse. There are 4 other couples that rotate with the schedules you work. It was a terrific place for the 3 months we were there. They have a web site on face book, I would recommend your checking it out . I remember your liking your time at Cape Blanco, Or.
We actually looked into volunteering at 40-mile several years ago. It’s one of the very few RV-friendly lighthouse volunteer spots in Michigan, and we’ve known several RV buddies who’ve done the gig. So glad to hear you enjoyed it! It’s definitely on our list!
Nina
If you visit the West side of the state, check out Big Red Lighthouse at Holland. It has daily access for a tour. Holland has camping right on the beach. Downtown Grand Haven along the channel is also a great spot to have a brew and watch the pleasure boats idle past. There are two lighthouses on the pier but no access inside or tours.