THE Great Lakes of North America cover 11,000 miles of shoreline which encompass the world’s largest area of freshwater lakes and a fifth of the globe’s water supply.
Like vast inland seas, the Great Lakes of Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie in the US, and Lake Ontario across the border in Canada, are similar in size to continental Europe.
The six US states in which the lakes are situated – Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin – are not that familiar to the UK holiday market. But they represent a varied mix of touring and recreational opportunities that are just beginning to appear in operators’ programmes.
With the Great Lakes bounded by the Appalachian Mountains in the East, the Ohio River in the south and the Mississippi further west, growing awareness of the region is also helping to open up more general interest in the midwest states.
There are more than half a dozen gateways into the region with direct air service from the UK, including Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis/St Paul, Cincinnati and a new route to Cleveland from Gatwick, as well as via Toronto and Ottawa in Canada.
Product includes water-based activities, houseboating, fishing, riding and golf in summer, as well as traditional winter-adventure sports.
ILLINOIS
Description: situated in the heart of the US midwest on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Mississippi to the west, Illinois has 4,300 miles of scenic shoreline, 1,100 historic sites and 1.5m acres of state parks. The state was also the home of President Abraham Lincoln, at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.
Gateway: Chicago.
Getting there: British Airways, United and American Airlines from Heathrow; also American from Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.
Main attractions: Chicago, with its Magnificent Mile of shops on Michigan Avenue; nearby discount retail malls; blues and jazz clubs; 46 museums and 150 theatres. Within the state there is the Shawnee National Forest, the start of the historic Route 66, the pre-Civil War town of Galena, and scenic drives including Lake Michigan Circle Tour and the 500-mile Great River Route stretching the length of Illinois along the Mississippi. Elsah is a 19th-century river town and the first in the US to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Product sample: a wide range of Chicago city-break packages from all the major operators. North America Travel Service features three and seven-night room-only stays in Chicago from £231 and £539 respectively, per person. Premier Holidays offers stays in Springfield for £77 per room per night and the state is featured in several self-drives.
More information: Great Lakes of North America UK office, tel: 0171-379 7526; Illinois Bureau of Tourism, 01784 497086.
INDIANA
Description: Indiana is named as the crossroads of America because of its central location and well developed road system. State capital Indianapolis is renowned for staging international motor-racing events, including the annual Indy 500, staged on its famous 21-mile oval speedway track. The state is less known for its Amish country communities, rich farmland and forestry, old river settlements and growing number of wineries.
Gateway: Indianapolis.
Getting there: most convenient connections from either Chicago or Cincinnati – the latter served by Delta Airlines from Gatwick.
Main attractions: its automotive history, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame and the Auburn-Cord Duesenberg Museum of classic automobiles at Auburn; Brown County State Park in Nashville; Conner Prairie frontier village; and Indian Dunes National Lakeshore and State Park. There is also the Lincoln Heritage Trail and the Indiana Main Street Programme featuring 150 small historic towns to visit. These include Newburgh on the Ohio River, the antiques town of Centreville and the 1800s town of Rockville, as well as Zionsville. Driving routes include the Ohio River Scenic Route and the Old National Road.
Product sample: the state is not packaged in itineraries but can be included in a tailor-made itinerary. For example, Premier offers the Inn at Amish Acres, in Amish Country, from £72 per room per night, and the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis from £103.
More information: Indiana Tourism Division, tel: 001 317 232 8881.
MINNESOTA
Description: the state is bordered by Canada on the north side, Wisconsin in the east, Iowa to the south and the Dakotas in the west. Lake Superior forms the northeastern border of Minnesota, while the Mississippi flows through more than 700 miles of the state, including the capital, St Paul. Adjacent is the city of Minneapolis.
Gateway: Minneapolis/St Paul.
Getting there: Northwest Airlines from Gatwick, Icelandair from Heathrow via Reykjavik, KLM from Heathrow and most UK regions via Amsterdam.
Main attractions: in the twin cities, the Riverfront Science Museum opening in December; Victorian-style Summit Avenue; the giant Mall of America shopping and entertainment complex; Mississippi river cruises; the riverfront Omnitheatre; Minnesota Museum of American Art; Minnesota History Centre; Ordway Music Theatre. Outside the cities, there are 12,000 lakes, the 150-mile Lake Superior hiking and biking trail in the Sawtooth Mountains and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area for wilderness and adventure enthusiasts. Scenic driving routes are US 61 along the Mississippi River between Red Wing and Winona, and between Duluth and the Canadian border; and Route 59 between Fergus Falls and Detroit Lakes – this crosses some of central Minnesota’s best lakes country.
Product sample: this year, Travel 4 introduced a three-day Mall of America package with two nights’ accommodation which can be combined with a stay at the Superior Shores Resort on Lake Superior, a 3hr drive away. The city break, excluding flights, costs from £126 per person twin-share; nightly room rates at the four-star Superior Shores cost from £70 for a lodge room sleeping up to four. A two-bedroom Lake Home, sleeping up to eight, is from £221. Travel 4 also features a nine-day Scenic Shores of the Great Lakes self-drive, starting in Detroit and finishing in Minneapolis, from £505 in July and including accommodation and car – flights are extra.
More information: Minnesota Office of Tourism, tel: 001 612 296 5016.
OHIO
Description: on the eastern edge of the Great Lakes and bordered on the north side by Lake Erie and on the south by the rolling Ohio River. Columbus is the state capital. There are more than 70 state parks, eight of which offer 16 designated resort areas with water sports, recreational pursuits and lodge accommodation. Cincinnati is on the Ohio River on the state’s southern border and on the state line of Kentucky, and Cleveland lies on the southern shores of Lake Erie.
Gateways: Cincinnati and Cleveland.
Getting there: Delta Airlines from Gatwick to Cincinnati, while Continental starts Gatwick-Cleveland service on July 1.
Main attractions: in Cincinnati, the city’s art museum; Playhouse in the Park – the new riverfront cultural and entertainment development; Newport Aquarium; Museum Centre at Union Terminal. Cleveland offers the first Health Museum in the US; the Playhouse Square Centre theatre district; and the new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Product sample: Getaway Vacations offers city stopovers in Cincinnati and Cleveland from £37 and £39 per person respectively; Up and Away Holidays features the Holiday Inn Lakeside in Cleveland for £82 nightly per room. Travelpack has a 15-day self-drive called Circle Lake Erie from £581 twin-share including car and accommodation only.
More information: Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland UK office, tel: 0990 168309; Cincinnati CVB, tel: 001 513 583 9110; Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism, tel: 001 614 466 8844.
WISCONSIN
Description: Wisconsin embraces lakes Superior and Michigan as well as the Mississippi. It has 15,000 inland lakes, nine state forests and 48 national parks.
Gateways: Milwaukee and Madison, the capital.
Getting there: connections from Chicago for Milwaukee by Lake Michigan, or to Minneapolis/St Paul for the northern Lake Superior region.
Main attractions: Milwaukee is the home of Miller beer and Harley-Davidson motorcycles as well as a host of national spectator sports. Also new is the Riverwalk in the heart of downtown featuring sports bars, micro-breweries and restaurants. The Historic Third Ward is Milwaukee’s is the home to the new Broadway Theatre Centre. Within the state is Door Country, a 250-mile peninsula of cliffs and sandy beaches; the fur trading centre of Green Bay; and the 300-mile Great River Road.
Product sample: both Jetsave and Cosmos offer escorted coach tours of the Great Lakes that include Wisconsin. The Cosmos package of 15 days from £1,165 includes Milwaukee, Green Bay and Door County peninsula. The price covers the tour, flights, accommodation and various excursions en route. Travelpack’s Grand Great Lakes self-drive of 16 days takes in overnights at Madison as well as Milwaukee, with prices from £612 twin-share, excluding flights. Premier offers resort accommodation in Door County at the Leathem Smith Lodge from £78 per room for two and the Holiday Inn City Centre, Milwaukee, from £101.
More information: Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitors Bureau, tel: 001 414 287 4227; Wisconsin Department of Tourism, tel: 001 608 261 6272.
MICHIGAN
Description: to many, Michigan means Detroit and the heart of the American automobile industry, namely General Motors. Few would probably credit it with miles of white-sand beaches, lakeside retreats and some of the world’s biggest sand dunes. The Lake Michigan shoreland extends from the southwestern corner of the state to the Mackinac Bridge, leading to Mackinac Island, where the car has to be left behind. Popular resort towns on the lake include St Joseph, Saugatuck and Douglas, while Keweenaw Peninsula is a good base for further exploration into the Lake Superior region.
Gateway: Detroit.
Getting there: BA and Northwest Airlines from Gatwick and KLM from most UK regions via Amsterdam.
Main attractions: in Detroit, the new Museum of African American History; Automotive Hall of Fame; Belle Isle wildlife park; the renovated Riverfront District where warehouses and factories form a new belt of nightclubs and restaurants; Detroit Institute of Arts; Henry Ford Museum. Scenic drives include Route BR-15 between Pentwater and Montague along the Lake Michigan shoreline; M-23 between Tawas City and Macinaw City (Lake Huron); and M-28 between Marquette and Munising (Lake Superior). There are 94 state parks, including 23 in the Upper Peninsula, some with spectacular waterfalls.
Product sample: American Connections offers an eight-day Around Lake Michigan escorted coach tour including Mackinac Island from £1,326 per person twinshare. This covers flights, accommodation and 11 meals. Premier features nightly resort accommodation at Mackinac and Traverse City from £111 per room, and in Detroit from £107. Travelpack has introduced a Circe Lake Michigan self-drive of 14 nights that includes some of these areas, priced from £635 per person twinshare, excluding flights.
More information: Travel Michigan, tel: 001 517 373 3186.