The Great Lakes
The statistics of the Great Lakes are very impressive:
Lake Superior
31,700
Lake Michigan
22,300
Lake Huron
(including Georgian Bay)
23,000
Lake Erie
9,910
Lake Ontario
7,340
All the Great Lakes taken together
94,250
Lake Superior alone is the largest body of fresh water in the world. (The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world, but is not fresh water. Lake Baikal in Russia is the world's deepest lake and is said to hold one fifth of the world's fresh surface water, but its surface area is less.)
Georgian Bay is a major arm of Lake Huron, almost separated from the rest of the lake by Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula.
A tour of the Great Lakes region is recommended as a possible basis for a holiday.
While there are a number of scenic roads which run along the shores of the Great Lakes, many of the roads in the area are in fact located some distance away from the shores with no views of the lakes. One of the best scenic roads is that which runs along the north shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. The road along the north shore of Lake Ontario in Ontario is also scenic in places, especially as you head east away from the heavily built up areas near Toronto.
Niagara Falls lies on the Niagara River which runs northward from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The names of the Great Lakes can be remembered by using either of these mnemonics:
Show Horse Must Eat Oats = Superior, Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario
HOMES = Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
The Great Lakes States are those states bordering the Great Lakes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, plus perhaps the Canadian province of Ontario.
According to a report in the Daily Brief on 9-Mar-98, "President Clinton signed a bill Friday [i.e. 6-Mar-98] making Lake Champlain an official Great Lake. The lake is on the border of New York and Vermont." Despite this I doubt if many people would regard Lake Champlain as being one of the Great Lakes.
State and Region Names
Places & useful connections
Before you set out
Confirm current access, opening arrangements, reservations and the suitability of your planned roads and walks. Photographs may show earlier conditions.