HyPOTHeTrip WEDNESDAYS: Lake Loop

Credit: U.S. NOAA

So, the basic plan is: Start in Chicago, head up to Manitowoc, Wisc. by train and bicycle, hop the ferry across Lake Michigan to Ludington, Mich., and then bike to Amtrak at Holland, Mich., which takes you back to the Windy City. I'm frankly, not sure how many days this would be: assuming each of the two, roughly, 90-mile bicycle stretches (Milwaukee>Manitowoc/Ludington>Holland were divided into two days each, with one night at one of the two ferry termini, and factoring in the availability of trains, this could be as little as a three-day, two-night excursion, or as much as a five-day, four-night trip.


From Chicago, head on Amtrak to Milwaukee. There, a combination of trails will lead to--research shows--the Ozaukee Trail, which is a dedicated bike trail. Ultimately, this takes you near Manitowoc. Either you decamp here for the night, or grab the 12:55 a.m. ferry, and sail in the moonlight to Michigan. Once there, you can either hit the ground biking, or decamp again for the night. Holland is almost 100 miles south of Ludington, and it looks as if you can either follow the lakeshore, or head inland where you will find, a) the 22-mile Hart-Montague Trail State Park, a linear bicycle-friendly park/rail-trail through farmland, and b) a possible place to camp: the Huron-Manistee National Forest.

It's a very pretty part of Michigan. Who knew? I guess folks are grumpy there because of the long winters--but this is a summer trip. Once in Holland, Amtrak conveys you back to Chicago. Great side-trips might be Wisconsin's Door Peninsula, just north of Manitowoc, and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, just north of Ludington. Have at it.