The Great Loop

Louisville and Mammoth Cave National Park

Kentucky, Road Trip, The Great Loop

Side Trip via Road and Rental Car: Stop – Louisville and Mammoth Cave National Park

Indianapolis, IN

Road Trip, The Great Loop

The best part of this road trip was stopping in Indianapolis to help Cory settle into his new house!

Knoxville, TN

Road Trip, Tennessee, The Great Loop

Knoxville is situated at the foothills of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The city was super fun with a wide variety of cultural diversity and fun bars and restaurants and orange everywhere!

Gatlinburg/Smoky Mountains, TN

Road Trip, Tennessee, The Great Loop

Such beauty, such traffic, such steep hill (ok, mountains) and so, so many people!

Chattanooga, TN is along the Tennessee River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. A fun place with an eclectic feel but a little more of a city than we had envisioned. When we were navigating to our hotel, we were confused by all the roads being closed.

Nashville, TN

Road Trip, Tennessee, The Great Loop

We made a last minute decision to leave a day early for our road trip and stop in Nashville for an evening of live music and fun. Initially, we decided against visiting Nashville because we have been. But, when the time came to pack and leave, we thought why not stop, even for one night. So, we found a hotel and off we went!

Grand Rapids, KY — Road Trip!

Inland Rivers, Kentucky, Road Trip, The Great Loop

We had planned on a side trip to Chattanooga via cruising the Tennessee River. Well, in boating we say you have intentions, not really plans. Even though the side trip was our intention, it was not in the cards, so we needed to readjust.

Paduca, KY

Inland Rivers, Kentucky, The Great Loop

Pulling up the anchor from our beautiful spot was a bit unnerving knowing we had one engine and a lock. We had a good plan, a back up plan and an ‘oh shit’ plan, so once we untied from Ship Faced and Sweet Equity, we said a prayer and off we went.

The Mississippi River

Inland Rivers, The Great Loop

Turning off the Illinois River, we enter the Upper Mississippi River. The mighty, murky, barge filled, few places to stop Mississippi but it has a strong current going our way, The Mississippi Push! We traveled 188 Nautical Miles over 4 days to move down the Mississippi to the Ohio River.

Alton, IL

Illinois, Inland Rivers, The Great Loop

Alton, IL is a bit of a milestone since it means we have completed travel on the Illinois River and entered the Upper Mississippi River.

Illinois River

Illinois, Inland Rivers, The Great Loop

Some loopers like them, some tolerate them, and a few say they are the worst part of the loop. Our next leg is the the inland rivers running from Chicago to Mobile covering 1,300 miles of rivers and canals.

One Year!

The Great Loop

September 17, 2024

One year ago, we left Westport, MA to start America’s Great Loop! Three Hundred and Sixty Six (yes a leap year) days later and 5,658 Nautical Miles later, we are still talking to each other! We have made 167 stops with an average speed of 7.1 knots.

Chicago, IL

Illinois, Inland Rivers, Lake Michigan, The Great Loop

What fun! Three Sons docked at DuSable Marina for 6 days in downtown Chicago. It was a perfect location to take in all the sights. But the best, most wonderful part is Zach flew in and toured the city with us!

Racine, WI & Waukegan, IL

Illinois, Lake Michigan, The Great Loop

Quick stops in small towns and they each had live music and a brewery!

Milwaukee, WI

Lake Michigan, The Great Loop, Wisconsin

Leaving Door County, we were excited to get to our next big stop, Milwaukee! Since it is best know for breweries, beer and Laverne and Shirley, this stop was made for us. Milwaukee is a 117 Nautical Mile cruise from Sturgeon Bay. Since Three Sons cruises at 7 knots, it took us 3 days, stopping at Manitowoc for a night and then Port Washington for a night.

Door County, WI

Lake Michigan, The Great Loop, Wisconsin

Door County is a region in the ‘left thumb’ of Wisconsin. The skinny peninsula’s west shore abuts Green Bay and the eastern shore is runs into Lake Michigan. Door County stretches from the southern point of Sturgeon Bay to Washington Island in the north. The area’s name is from the rough water that can erupt quicky during a storm, in the strait south of Washington Island where Green Bay and Lake Michigan meet. Early explorers referred to this piece of water as “Death’s Door” and it is still know by that name today.

Fayette, MI

Lake Michigan, MIchigan, The Great Loop

We switched sides! Once on Lake Michigan, boaters have two options to get to Chicago. One route takes the east side of Lake Michigan, exploring the west shore of Michigan; the other is the west side of the lake, exploring the east short of Wisconsin. Both sides have much to offer, but they are different in flavor. Michigan is more touristy with safe harbors and cute little towns every 30 or so miles. Wisconsin has a mix or remote stops in park like settings, big cities and some cute little towns.

Charlevoix, MI

Lake Michigan, MIchigan, The Great Loop

We only stayed one day in this quaint, little town but we hit it hard!

Petosky, MI

Lake Michigan, MIchigan, The Great Loop

We had a great four days playing tourist in Upper Michigan!

Mackinac Island, MI

Lake Michigan, MIchigan, The Great Loop

Mackinac Island will rank high on our favorite stops list, if for the only reason being it’s uniqueness. Beautiful, historic Mackinac Island sits on Lake Huron between Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas and is world famous for its homemade fudge and poop smell. Mackinac Island State Park is filled with trails, woods and limestone covering most of the island. The island combines natural beauty, rich history, top notch architecture, award-winning gardens, and very good restaurants and shops. But, the most interesting feature is NO cars are allowed on the island. The only transportation is horse drawn carriages/wagon (hence the poop smell) and bikes.