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Great Lakes Tours & Trips

Find the right tour package for you through Great Lakes. We've got 37 trips going to Great Lakes, starting from just 3 days in length, and the longest tour is 12 days. The most popular month to go is September, which has the most tour departures.

37 Great Lakes tour packages with 806 reviews

Niagara Falls Toronto & 1000 Islands – 3 Days

Leif and Peter, were excellent.. tour guides very knowledgeable, as well as Roberto the driver, made us safe during 3 days travel

• Hiking & Trekking

Algonquin Log Cabin 3-Day Canoe and Hike Adventure

We had an amazing time at the Algonquin log cabin! The group was fun and got along really well. We enjoyed all the activities (paddling and hikes specially) even though the weather was not at its best. Evan and Emily were incredible guides: apart from being so nice and great entertainers they also have deep knowledge on the place and its ecosystems. Food was always delicious and the cabin itself is really cozy and comfortable. Really recommend it!

• In-depth Cultural

Best of Eastern Canada (End Montreal, 9 Days)

Optional excursions were reasonably priced. Suggest you put together other places in each city as a walking guide or short taxi or uber ride. Example access to close by museums open late and could walk to from hotel. Free time activities and what they are and where located is helpful.tour guide can offer to accompany a group interested to explore more during free leisure tome.Provide more detail info about the logistics of site visits. Niagara falls..suggest more water proof gear clothing and shoe types etc. Terrain to expect when visiting certain sites and possible alternatives.climbing and how difficult-easy or more strenuous or advanced climbing activity. Overall, small groups so much better than filling up bus. Thank you for giving single travelers their own bus space. Would love to watch more travel videos on longer driving distances.

• €100 deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Algonquin Park 3-Day Canoe Trip

• Coach / Bus

Ontario & French Canada (6 destinations)

Peter was awesome and knew his stuff.

Mackinac Island featuring Niagara Falls

5 stars for the sights, scenery, hotels and food. Janet did a great job stepping up as our guide. She prepared us for the day ahead giving us details and times and was sensitive to our needs. Domingo did a great job driving. He can turn that bus on a dime.

• Christmas & New Year

USA & Canada - Niagara Falls, Toronto and a Thousand Islands

• Train & Rail

Ontario & French Canada with Ocean Train to Halifax

• Sightseeing

Toronto, Niagara and New York

Toronto and Niagara

Mackinac Island & the Great Lakes

Eastern Canada Discovery (Classic, 8 Days)

Niagara Falls Singles Weekend

Tour items were changed without notice

Canada's Niagara Falls

3 - Day Niagara Falls USA & Canada Combo Tour

• 10% deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

What people love about Great Lakes Tours

Great Tour, compared with last year tour, which way excellent The tour this year was good

I had many firsts in this trip, first time canoeing, staying in cabin with strangers, first time in Algonquin, seeing the night sky. We had the A-team for sure, Nicolene, Baris and Reese (I hope I did not mess the spellings, my apology)it would not have been a great experience without you. Forever grateful.

Great Lakes Tours starting in:

• Toronto (9)
• Chicago (8)
• Family (28)
• Fully Guided (27)
• Explorer (23)
• In-depth Cultural (11)
• Personalized (10)
• Partially Guided (8)
• Coach / Bus (5)
• Small Group (6)
• 3 Day Tours (6)
• 7 Day Tours (5)
• 10 Day Tours (19)
• Spring 2024 (12)
• Summer 2024 (26)
• Fall / Autumn 2024 (24)
• Winter 2024 / 2025 (1)
• Spring 2025 (9)
• Summer 2025 (9)
• Fall / Autumn 2025 (8)
• May 2024 (16)
• June 2024 (23)
• July 2024 (21)
• August 2024 (23)
• September 2024 (24)
• October 2024 (19)
• November 2024 (8)
• December 2024 (1)
• April 2025 (5)
• May 2025 (10)
• June 2025 (8)
• July 2025 (8)
• August 2025 (9)
• September 2025 (8)
• October 2025 (7)
• April 2026 (1)

Travel Styles

• Singles and Solo (25)
• For Couples (19)
• Seniors (12)

Great Lakes Cruises

On our unique Great Lakes tour boats, you will traverse great depths, watch the sun rise and set over distant horizons and learn compelling details about the region — both on- and offshore. Along the way, enjoy stops at local wineries, historic lighthouses, museums, aquariums, renowned restaurants and so much more! Niagara Great Lakes Cruise As you’ll discover when you click on the individual Great Lakes cruises listed below, each and every one of our trips has something to write home about.

With our Niagara and the Great Lakes trip , for example, you can write about the sheer volume of water cascading over the world-famous Niagara Falls. (For the record, more than 3,000 tons of water cascade over the falls every second!) The roar can be heard for miles, and you’ll have a front-row seat to this magnificent natural wonder.

Or a bird’s eye view if you opt for the helicopter .

And that’s just the beginning! What follows is a trip that comprises eight days and seven nights of splendor aboard the sleek, modern Viking Octantis . Your cross-two-countries trip will include visits to Point Pelee, Ontario, Detroit, Michigan, the Thunder Bay National Maritime Sanctuary, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where you’ll disembark.

Intrigued? There’s more where that trip came from. USA River Cruises offers a multitude of Great Lakes cruises — something for every taste. Chicago to New York City Great Lakes Cruise Our Great American Waterways: Chicago to NYC trip is a case in point. Onboard the Grand Caribe , which was refurbished in 2009 and carries 84 passengers, you’ll have a grand time cruising across several great lakes. Starting in the Windy City, you’ll traverse Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. You’ll even get a taste of life on the famous Erie Canal and the Hudson River as you wind your way toward the Atlantic Ocean.

This cruise takes its time: 16 days and 15 nights, to be exact. With scenery that rivals any in North America, you’ll see vast cityscapes and picturesque villages in abundance.

Stops include Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Mackinac Island, Michigan, where horse-drawn carriages are likely the only traffic you’ll see, and Cleveland, Ohio, home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The itinerary also includes Buffalo, New York, Rochester, New York, and finally New York City. We promise you’ll be a changed person once you disembark in the Big Apple. Seeing the country from a USA River Cruise is a special kind of experience, after all. USA River Cruises: Great Lakes Cruises That’s just two of our exciting cruises. There’s so much to explore, and we try to design cruise itineraries that make time for both natural and manmade wonders.

Give us a call today to get started on your own Great Lakes Cruise adventure!

Niagara & the Great Lakes-Viking Polaris

Toronto to Milwaukee

• May 11, 2024, September 17, 2024, September 24, 2024 -- 8 more dates available.
• From $6,295
• Viking Polaris

St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes

Quebec City, QC to Milwaukee, WI

• September 20, 2024, September 19, 2025
• From $13,060

Great Lakes Explorer

Toronto, ON to Duluth, MN

• June 14, 2024, June 15, 2024, June 28, 2024 -- 1 more date available.
• From $11,580
• New Great Lakes Itinerary for 2024!!

Longitudinal World Cruise IV

Milwaukee, WI to Ushuaia, Argentina

• September 15, 2025
• From $44,995
• Viking Octantis

Great Lakes Collection

Duluth, MN to Toronto, ON

• May 23, 2024, June 6, 2024, July 6, 2024 -- 11 more dates available.
• From $14,495

Viking Great Lakes Explorer

Milwaukee to Thunder Bay

• June 1, 2024, June 27, 2024, July 11, 2024 -- 4 more dates available.
• From $6,995

Undiscovered Great Lakes

Thunder Bay to Milwaukee

• June 8, 2024, July 4, 2024, July 18, 2024 -- 4 more dates available.

Niagara & the Great Lakes-Viking Octantis

• May 25, 2024, June 15, 2024, June 20, 2024 -- 16 more dates available.

Canadian Discovery

New York to Toronto

• August 3, 2024, August 15, 2024, April 11, 2025 -- 1 more date available.
• From $10,995

7-Night Great Lakes & Georgian Bay Cruise

Milwaukee to Toronto

• August 15, 2024, August 22, 2024
• From $6,480

Great Lakes and Georgian Bay Cruise

• May 13, 2024, May 24, 2024, June 4, 2024 -- 5 more dates available.
• From $9,160
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FIVE GREAT LAKES

One grand adventure.

Cruise the Great Lakes on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to experience the unparalleled majesty of the Great Lakes with luxury small-ship cruises complete with personalized service, world-class dining, dynamic activities, and the adventure of a lifetime.

Choose from dozens of itineraries as you explore iconic destinations along the Great Lakes. From the rich history of Mackinac Island and French Canadian villages to the breathtaking shoreline of Lake Superior and the cultural epicenters of iconic cities such as Detroit and Chicago, you can create memories to last a lifetime.

CRUISE LINES

These ships offer intimate experiences combined with crewmembers who anticipate your every want and need. It’s everything you desire on a larger cruise ship, minus everything you wish you could cast away. Adventure is on the itinerary. We invite you aboard one of our participating cruise lines.

American Queen Voyages

Pearl Seas Cruises

St. Lawrence Cruise Lines

Great lakes cruise benefits, enjoy a more intimate cruising experience, visit multiple u.s. and canadian ports, experience excursions rich with culture and history, traverse along a safe and secure border, featured ports.

Experience unique ports of call in the surrounding states and provinces as you cruise through the magnificent Great Lakes. Discover hard-to-reach destinations, thriving cities, and breathtaking landscapes.

Bay City, Michigan

Buffalo-Niagara, New York

Cleveland, Ohio

Detroit, Michigan

Duluth, Minnesota

Holland, Michigan

Houghton, Michigan

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Muskegon, Michigan

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Great Lakes cruise guide: Best itineraries, planning tips and things to do

The Great Lakes probably isn't the first place that comes to mind when you think of cruising. But in recent years, the region has grown enormously as a cruise destination — and for good reason. Touring the Great Lakes by ship is by far the easiest way to see a wide range of the area's attractions — from vibrant cities to natural wonders — in a single trip.

When planning Great Lakes cruises, you have many things to consider: when to go for the best Great Lakes cruise experience, which cruise line is best suited to your travel style, the best Great Lakes cruise ports to visit and which shoreside activities you want to prioritize. It's not the kind of trip you want to throw together at the last minute, especially since the best fare deals typically go to organized travelers who book early.

For more cruise guides, news and tips, sign up for TPG's cruise newsletter .

Here, The Points Guy offers up a guide to everything you need to know about planning a sailing in the Great Lakes.

Why cruise the Great Lakes?

The Great Lakes region may not be a bucket list destination on the scale of Alaska or Antarctica. But it has a lot to offer — more than many people may realize.

Along the banks of the five lakes that are at the core of the region — Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan and Lake Superior — you'll find some of Middle America's greatest cities, charming small towns, historic sites and wonders both natural and human-made. Plus, there are the lakes themselves, which together are roughly the size of the U.K. and make up the largest freshwater ecosystem on the planet. Accounting for 21% of all the world's fresh water, they truly are a marvel.

All this can be seen via an overland trip, of course, and many people explore the Great Lakes region by car or on motorcoach tours. But the region is so sprawling — the Great Lakes touch eight U.S. states and the Canadian province of Ontario — that logistically it's almost impossible to experience the area in a broad way on a single trip without going by ship.

On a single Great Lakes cruise, you can see the world-class architecture and museums of Chicago, take a carriage ride through the carless streets of Mackinac Island, Michigan, and gaze upon the splendor that is Niagara Falls along the New York border — all without having to get behind the wheel of a car or unpacking and re-packing your suitcase more than once.

When do cruises go to the Great Lakes?

The Great Lakes cruise season is a short one, due mostly to the weather. With winters being cold and snowy in the region, cruise lines stick to the warmer months of May to September for Great Lakes sailings.

The weather isn't the only limiting factor. The cruise season in the Great Lakes is also limited in its length by the opening and closing of the St. Lawrence Seaway — the system of locks, canals and channels that connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Cruise vessels that operate in the Great Lakes can't access the region until the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway open for the summer, something that typically happens the last week of March. They need to be out of the Great Lakes before the St. Lawrence Seaway closes for the winter (typically in December).

Great Lakes cruise weather can be chilly at the start of the season, with low temperatures in the 40s in May in some areas and highs in the 60s. It warms up considerably by July and August, with high temperatures in the 70s and 80s.

When you want to go will depend on which activities you want to do, how you feel about cool weather and the price. Cruises at the beginning of the Great Lakes cruise season in May are generally a bit less expensive than those in June, July, August and September.

Best Great Lakes itineraries

A relatively small number of ships sail in the Great Lakes during any given year. But, even so, they offer a wide range of Great Lakes itineraries. Some of the ships that operate in the region will alternate between three or even four different routes during the short summer season, giving you lots of choices.

Lengthwise, you'll find Great Lakes voyages ranging from seven to 15 nights. Some of the sailings travel across all five of the Great Lakes. Others focus on just three or four of the interconnected bodies of water. Some of the ships also offer sailings that combine travel on one or more of the Great Lakes with a passage through the St. Lawrence Seaway. In some cases, these latter trips include travel all the way to Montreal.

The diversity in Great Lakes itineraries extends to their start and end points. A large percentage of all Great Lakes cruises begin or end in Chicago, Milwaukee or Toronto. But there also are Great Lakes sailings that begin or end in Thunder Bay, Ontario; Duluth, Minnesota; Montreal and Detroit.

In most cases, Great Lakes sailings are one-way trips. You'll start in, say, Toronto, and work your way west to Chicago — or vice versa.

Some Great Lakes itineraries only include stops at relatively small towns such as Midland, Parry Sound and Little Current in Ontario; and Muskegon, Marquette and Houghton in Michigan. Others mix in calls at some of the bigger cities of the Great Lakes region, notably Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland and Toronto. On longer sailings, vessels often will overnight in such places as Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Thunder Bay.

Car-free Mackinac Island at the top of Michigan is a common stop on Great Lakes voyages, as is Niagara Falls, which sits between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario.

Pro tip: If your Great Lakes cruise begins or ends in Chicago, Milwaukee or Toronto, add a pre- or post-cruise stay of a night or two in the cities to see them in more depth.

Best Great Lakes cruise lines

Most of the world's biggest cruise lines — including Royal Caribbean , Norwegian Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line — can't operate in the Great Lakes because their ships are too big to enter the region through the St. Lawrence Seaway. This has turned the Great Lakes into an exclusive zone for a handful of smaller cruise operators that focus on very small vessels.

The two main players in Great Lakes cruising are Viking (a newcomer in 2022) and Pearl Seas Cruises. Each has one vessel devoted to the region (Viking Octantis and Pearl Mist, respectively).

Both cater to a generally older crowd, which is the main market for Great Lakes cruises. Viking's itineraries have the most outdoorsy options, while Pearl Seas Cruises offers trips with a lot of small-town stops.

Two more lines that occasionally operate sailings in the region are German line Hapag-Lloyd Cruises and France-based Ponant. Tour organizer Smithsonian Journeys also occasionally offers Great Lakes sailings using chartered Ponant vessels.

All of the above lines operate ships in the Great Lakes that carry fewer than 400 passengers. Some carry as few as 202 passengers. In general, the vessels are intimate and relatively high-end, with pricing to match.

As a rule, Great Lakes sailings don't come cheap. For example, seven-night Viking sailings in the region start at $5,995 per person.

Things to do in the Great Lakes

As noted above, the Great Lakes offer a wide mix of attractions and experiences. During a Great Lakes cruise, you might find yourself climbing aboard the bus where Rosa Parks took a stand at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit on one day and kayaking through the wild marshlands of Point Pelee, Ontario, the next.

Of the two lines operating in the Great Lakes, Viking has the greatest focus on outdoorsy stops such as Point Pelee (a tiny sandspit that juts into the northwestern corner of Lake Erie and is famous as a stopover for migratory birds). Some of Viking's sailings include a call at Alpena, Michigan — the gateway to a National Maritime Sanctuary, where passengers can kayak past shipwrecks in shallow waters. Another destination that Viking visits, Silver Islet, Ontario, brings the opportunity for a trail walk through Ontario's 94-square-mile Sleeping Giant Provincial Park — a rocky, forested park named for a long line of mesas that resemble a giant lying on its back.

The city-oriented stops that Viking and the other lines make, such as visits to Milwaukee or Chicago on Lake Michigan, give you time to explore the urban sensibility of the region. Brew-town Milwaukee offers the chance to explore the city's craft beer and brewing scene or to take a walking tour to the city's many outdoor sculptures. Chicago is famous for its world-leading architecture (which you can see on walking and boat tours), its Magnificent Mile lined with more stores than you've probably ever seen in one place and its world-class cultural institutions.

Then there are stops at quieter places such as Mackinac Island, where your sightseeing might include an excursion by horse-drawn carriage to historical sites. Of the three main lines operating in the Great Lakes, as noted above, Pearl Seas Cruises focuses the most on the region's small towns, with fewer stops at bigger cities.

One thing that all three of the main lines operating in the Great Lakes have in common is that they include tours during at least some stops and sometimes every stop in their base fares. Pearl Seas Cruises and Viking are particularly known for including lots of shore excursions in their base fares.

Included tours are part of what you're paying for when you pay the high prices noted above. So you can go off on your own in any of the places these ships visit. But you might just have a no-extra-charge outing including many of the highlights of each place already planned for your voyage.

Best Great Lakes cruise ports

The best Great Lakes cruise ports include the handful of relatively big cities in the region, such as Chicago, that are loaded with cultural sites, nightspots and restaurants, as well as charming small towns such as Holland, Michigan. Great Lakes cruises also bring days that are all about getting up close to wonders both natural and human-made — from towering Niagara Falls to the engineering marvel that is the Welland Canal.

Thunder Bay, Ontario

Known as "Canada's Gateway to the West" because it's the final navigational point on the Canadian side of Lake Superior, Thunder Bay is one of Ontario's most vibrant cities and a center for art and culture. It's also a hub for outdoorsy pursuits including mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking and angling, as it's nestled within boreal forests.

Great architecture and cultural institutions such as the Art Institute of Chicago — along with lots of nightlife, shopping and world-class dining — make Chicago the premier city destination in the Great Lakes region. Many Great Lakes cruises begin or end in Chicago, with some including an overnight in the city, allowing time to explore. Don't miss a stroll down the Magnificent Mile and a sightseeing boat ride on the Chicago River (a great way to get an overview of the city and see some of its architectural gems).

Wisconsin's biggest city is often surprisingly delightful to first-time visitors, home as it is to a Santiago Calatrava-designed art museum with a world-class collection, a Harley-Davidson Museum that our sister site Lonely Planet has dubbed "badass" plus stylish eating and shopping enclaves. Settled by Germans in the 1840s, "Brew City," as it's known, also is a mecca of sorts for beer lovers — and not just because it's home to the original Miller Brewing Company complex, which is open daily for tours. You'll also find lots of craft breweries that you can visit on your own or as part of a tour, and you can tour (and drink at) the original Pabst Brewery.

Holland, Michigan

As the name suggests, Holland is a little bit of The Netherlands transported to the Americas. Settled by Dutch immigrants in the 1800s, it's home to the annual Tulip Time Festival, which takes place every May, and offers up such Holland-themed attractions as Windmill Island Gardens, where you'll find a working Dutch windmill, canals and dikes. Holland's downtown is a charmer with cobblestone sidewalks and more than 100 specialty shops, breweries and restaurants.

Sault Saint Marie, Michigan

Located at the northeastern edge of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Sault Saint Marie is the site of the Soo Locks, a marvel of engineering that connects Lake Superior to Lake Huron. The locks themselves are the big attractions in Sault Saint Marie — head to the observation deck at Soo Locks Park to watch freighters passing by and learn more at the Soo Locks Visitor Center.

But there are other allures, including the Museum Ship Valley Camp. It's a retired Great Lakes freighter (named Valley Camp) that you can climb into and explore. In addition to touring the living quarters for its 29-person crew, you'll find a 20,000-square-foot maritime museum in its cargo hold with exhibits on the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and more.

Mackinac Island

The Jewel of the Great Lakes has been a summer getaway for Midwesterners since the Victorian era and it retains much of its Victorian-era charm. The iconic attraction on the island is the 135-year-old Grand Hotel , with its seemingly endless, rocker-lined front porch (the longest in the world). Afternoon tea in the hotel's parlor, or a game of croquet at its Tea Garden, are among Mackinac Island's allures. Tours in a horse-drawn carriage are another popular pastime; cars are banned on the island, leaving horse-drawn carriages as one of the main ways of getting around, along with bicycles. When visiting, don't miss Fort Mackinac, which dates to the 1700s.

Niagara Falls

Located on the short waterway between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, Niagara Falls is one of the world's most spectacular waterfall complexes (it's actually three waterfalls, not one) with a flow rate greater than any other waterfall in North America and a vertical drop of more than 160 feet. Visitors can take it in both from viewing areas on land and from a tour boat.

Note that Great Lakes cruise vessels don't travel directly on the 36-mile-long strait that connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which is known as the Niagara River (lest they go plunging over the falls). Instead, they use the Welland Canal — another marvel of engineering and an attraction in its own right.

Motor City should probably be called Museum City, as it's home to a wonderful array of museums worth a visit, from The Detroit Museum of Art and the Motown Museum to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History. Passengers on Great Lakes cruises will find that stops in Detroit often revolve around an included visit to the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, a sprawling history museum complex that is home to the limousine that President Kennedy was in when he was assassinated, George Washington's camp bed, Buckminster Fuller's prototype Dymaxion house, the bus on which Rosa Parks was arrested and countless other rare artifacts.

When to book a Great Lakes cruise

The best time to book a Great Lakes cruise is right when a cruise line first opens bookings on that sailing, often more than a year in advance. You'll have your pick of itineraries and cabins and often the best fares.

Because the Great Lakes has such a short season with a limited number of ships, sailings in the region are often in high demand and people plan early. Newcomer Viking, notably, has told TPG it has seen brisker sales this year for its Great Lakes trips than sailings to Antarctica — one of the world's ultimate bucket list destinations.

If you wait to book, you're not entirely out of luck. Cruise lines often run sales in the fall or in the early months of the year (a period known in the cruise industry as "wave season" ). You can take advantage of discounted fares and other perks. Some of the most desirable cabins might be sold out; being flexible about your sail date or itinerary can help.

In general, waiting until the last minute is not the best idea, unless you live in a gateway city such as Chicago, Milwaukee or Toronto and don't need to book flights. While some less preferred sail dates or cabin categories may have availability a few months out, spurring cruise lines to drop rates, you might have trouble finding affordable airfare and pre- or post-cruise hotel accommodations that do not eat up your cruise savings.

What to bring on a Great Lakes cruise

When it comes to packing for a Great Lakes cruise, your mantra should always be: dress in layers. It can be chilly in the morning in the more northerly parts of the Great Lakes, particularly at the start of the Great Lakes cruising season, but then warm up fast.

If you're planning to do some outdoorsy pursuits, such as kayaking or hiking, be sure to bring appropriate activewear. And don't forget to pack a rain jacket, if not a complete rain gear outfit, including a wide-brimmed waterproof hat, rain pants and waterproof shoes or boots.

Also, and this is critical: Don't forget your passport. Many of the places you'll visit in the Great Lakes will be in the United States and do not require a passport. But every Great Lakes cruise includes at least a few — and sometimes many — stops in Canada, where a valid U.S. passport, passport card or NEXUS card is required to enter if you're a U.S. citizen.

Bottom line

There's a lot to see and do in the Great Lakes region, and it's hard to argue that there's a better way to see and do it than on a cruise. Cruise vessels departing from such cities as Chicago and Toronto can take you to all of the highlights of the region — from the breweries of Milwaukee to thundering Niagara Falls — in a single trip. That's something that you'll be hard-pressed to accomplish any other way.

Planning a cruise? Start with these stories:

• The 5 most desirable cabin locations on any cruise ship
• The 8 worst cabin locations on any cruise ship
• A quick guide to the most popular cruise lines
• 21 tips and tricks that will make your cruise go smoothly
• 15 ways cruisers waste money
• 12 best cruises for people who never want to grow up
• What to pack for your first cruise

• Expeditions
• Complimentary Brochures

Great Lakes Cruises

Discover natural wonders: from outstanding beauty to historic cities and a deep connection to nature, the Great Lakes are an undiscovered treasure, boasting stunning national parks best explored via tranquil kayaking and hiking. This area is also rich in culture, with world-class museums, vibrant cities and areas steeped in First Nations traditions.

NEW! From the Arctic to Antarctica

• PRICE & BUILD

Great Lakes Collection

Niagara & the Great Lakes

Undiscovered Great Lakes

Great Lakes Explorer

NEW! Great Lakes Treasures

NEW! Niagara & Great Lakes Treasures

NEW! Canada & Greenland Explorer

NEW! Canada & the Northwest Passage

Canadian Discovery

Canada & the Atlantic Coastline

NEW! Canada & East Coast Explorer

NEW! Longitudinal World Cruise V

NEW! Longitudinal World Cruise IV

NEW! Longitudinal World Cruise VI

Longitudinal World Cruise II

NEW! Longitudinal World Cruise VII

Highlights of great lakes cruises.

America’s Great Lakes are a little-known, unspoiled wonderland, boasting diverse natural beauty, scenic wildlife and some of the most interesting cities in North America. Over 750 miles across with 10,000 miles of coastline, the Great Lakes cover an area twice as large as Pennsylvania. Glide silently by kayak past otters in Georgian Bay, hear the roar of Niagara Falls, hike through verdant old forests or visit Canada’s prominent museums to marvel at art inspired by these shores. Here are some highlights you may experience during your journey:

• Explore the largest freshwater ecosystem on earth—the Great Lakes
• Watch for wildlife, from bald eagles to moose, bears and beavers
• Hike through stunning forests in this pristine environment
• Learn about Canada’s colonial past and the St. Lawrence River
• Kayak in stunning Georgian Bay—a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve
• View the world-class collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum
• Explore tranquil, scenic Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
• Transit engineering marvels like the Welland Canal and Soo Locks

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Cruising the Great Lakes: Chicago to Toronto

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Select the direction, and the year, you would like to travel.

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Uniquely Tauck

experience with tauck

View the distinctive architectural styles of the Chicago skyline on an informative river cruise in Chicago, hearing the stories behind iconic works by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan and others

Enjoy an early morning, private opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

tauck value includes

Gratuities to Tauck Directors, ship staff and local guides

Tauck's private shore excursions and distinctive inclusions valued at $4,500

Two nights in Chicago at your choice of Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park or Four Seasons Hotel Chicago (additional cost)

Two nights in Toronto at your choice of Fairmont Royal York or Four Seasons Hotel Toronto (additional cost)

Seven nights aboard a Ponant ship, cruising Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Michigan

SEE WHAT YOUR JOURNEY INCLUDES

Guests should be able to easily walk one to two miles, which may include climbing one or two flights of stairs and walking over uneven pavement, groomed hiking trails or cobblestones. Standing up to one hour or more may be required.

Moderately paced, and may include some early morning hotel departures, one or two on-tour flights, and extended motor coach travel.

Cultural journeys and expeditions

The mighty Great Lakes have played a vital role in the history and cultural fabric of North America for centuries... explore their storied waters... and unique cities and towns... that have grown along their shores...

See for yourself what small ship cruising is all about, the majesty of niagara falls, experiencing the thunder of niagara falls on the us-canadian border.

North America's most powerful waterfall – and one of its most famous and often-visited natural treasures – Niagara Falls actually comprises three distinctive waterfalls on the Niagara River, perched on the border of Ontario, Canada and New York. Every minute, some six million cubic feet of water plunges over the crests of the Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil Falls and tumbles down nearly 200 feet into the rocky gorge below into a thundering cauldron of water and mist. Experiencing the raw power of Niagara Falls firsthand is something you'll never forget... and just what you'll do as you first view the falls from a panoramic spot high above... then don a hooded raincoat and board a private boat for an up-close – and very wet – encounter with this iconic "wonder of the natural world."

Traverse the Welland Canal

A marvel of engineering two centuries in the making....

Comprising eight locks that enable ship traffic to travel between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario by bypassing the Niagara River and Niagara Falls, the Welland Canal is a 200-year engineering marvel that actually represents four successive canals. Originally designed and built in the 1820s, a second canal replaced it in the late 1840s, and a third opened in 1887. The construction on the fourth and current Welland Canal – which your ship on "Cruising the Great Lakes" will traverse in about 11 hours, accompanied by an expert guide – began before World War I was not completed until 1932 and expanded some 40 years later.

Mackinac Island, Michigan

Step back in time on michigan's mackinac island.

Vehicle-free Mackinac Island – off the Michigan coast in the Straits of Mackinac connecting Lakes Michigan and Huron – has been a popular retreat since 19th-century industrialists built imposing summer "cottages" here, and remains serenely lost in time. The only way to get around is by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage, as you make your way past impeccable Victorian mansions and out to the fringes of forest, marshes, beaches and 19th-century Fort Mackinac. The island is home to the palatial Grand Hotel, which lays claim to the longest porch in the world. Since 1887, the Grand has hosted many presidents, as well as the likes of Mark Twain and Thomas Edison (who first demonstrated his phonograph on the hotel's iconic porch).

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Deluxe Suite

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Prestige Suite

(Two combined Prestige Staterooms)

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Overnight Accommodations

Extend your stay

Arrive Early

Nights 1-2 Option 1

Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park

Chicago, Illinois

Nights 1-2 Option 2

Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

Nights 3-9 On Board

Tauck Small Ship

Nights 10-11 Option 1

Fairmont Royal York

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Nights 10-11 Option 2

Four Seasons Hotel Toronto

Your Journey

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Four Seasons Hotels Additional Cost Per Person:

Four Seasons Hotels, Chicago and Toronto:  Double $795, Single $1,590, Triple $530 

Hotel accommodations on this cruise are at Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park and Fairmont Royal York (Toronto); if you wish, hotel accommodations at Four Seasons hotels in Chicago and Toronto are available (additional cost per person, subject to availability).

About Booking This Tour

Travel Documents

If you are a U.S. citizen traveling internationally , you will need a passport valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay for entry into Canada; however, you do not need a visa for the short duration of this tour.

If you are a citizen of another country traveling internationally, you should contact the embassies or consulates of the United States and Canada to determine what travel documentation is required.

Please Note: Longer stays abroad for any purpose may require additional travel documentation.

We recommend that you make at least two photocopies of all the travel documents that you bring with you. Include copies of the photo page of your passport that contains the date of issuance, the date of expiration and your citizenship. Secure one set of copies in the safe in your room while traveling and leave one set behind with someone at home who will assist you in the event your documents are misplaced, lost or stolen.

To facilitate Travel Requirements, destinations are increasingly utilizing online forms that require digital proof that you've successfully completed your submission (via an email, QR code, etc.) To ensure smooth travels and peace of mind, we strongly recommend all guests carry a personal smart phone and sign up for international data plans before traveling overseas.

Cruise Regulations

International Maritime Security guidelines require that your passport information be provided to us prior to your embarkation. You need to provide this information to us as soon as you book your cruise or boarding may be denied.

TRAVELING WITH CHILDREN AS A GUARDIAN:  If you are traveling as the guardian of a child/children, we strongly suggest that you carry a letter from both parents of the child authorizing emergency treatment in the event of illness or accident. For travel abroad, many foreign countries have specific entry requirements for children under 21 who are traveling internationally without BOTH parents. (These requirements are in response to the increased incidence of children being abducted and taken abroad.) PLEASE NOTE THAT TAUCK IS NOT RESPONSIBLE for the disruption of travel caused by improper documentation for children traveling without both parents.

How to Book a Tour

See your travel advisor, or call Tauck at 800-468-2825 to make a reservation.

At the time of booking, please have the following information ready for all members of your party:

• Tour Name and Departure Date
• Traveler's Name: First and last names as they appear on your passport or driver's license
• Traveler's Address(es)
• Email Address*
• Traveler's Phone Number(s)*
• Emergency Contact Information: Please provide the name and phone number  of a relative or friend (not travelling with you) whom we could contact during the tour in the unlikely event of an emergency
• Interest in purchasing a travel protection plan (US and Canada)
• Interest in extending your trip by staying in a Tauck recommended hotel before your trip begins or after it ends
• Interest in our specially negotiated airfares

* Required Fields

Deposits & Final Payment

The deposit and the fees for the optional Protection Plan or Cancel Fee Waiver [CFW] coverage are due at time of booking.

The deposit amount is $1,500 per person

Final Payment is due to Tauck  60  days before departure for lands trips, and  120  days before departure for cruises and rail journeys. If your deposit was made by credit card, final payment will be automatic unless you opted out at time of booking. Bookings without full payment at this time may be subject to cancellation without notice. Failure to make payment will be a considered a cancellation by the guest and all applicable cancellation fees will apply.

Cruise Protection Product

Effective for plans purchased as of July 1, 2021:

Tauck's Cruise & Event Protection

Tauck's Cruise & Event Protection provides you with cancellation protection before your journey begins as well as insurance benefits while you are traveling. Guest Protection includes the following:

Cancellation Waiver – Provided by Tauck:

Under Tauck's Cancellation Fee Waiver you can cancel your tour for ANY REASON and Tauck will  reduce the regular cancellation fees outlined herein, provided we are notified of cancellation before your cruise departs. Certain terms and restrictions apply (see below*).

*Extreme Circumstances:  In the event of an act of God, war (whether declared or undeclared), terrorism, accident, natural disaster, outbreak of disease, or other event or circumstance beyond our control that contributes to or results in cancellation rates above our historical cancellation rates in the absence of such event or occurrence, Tauck reserves the right to issue a credit to you in lieu of a money-back refund, applicable to a future Tauck journey. Travel Insurance Benefits – Underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company.

• Trip Cancellation –  Should you cancel for covered reasons, the plan reimburses cancellation fees imposed, up to your total trip cost. 
• Trip Interruption –  If you have to interrupt your tour for covered reasons, the plan provides reimbursement to catch up to your tour or return home.
• Travel Delay –  Provides reimbursement for missed, prepaid travel arrangements if you are delayed by a common carrier, natural disaster, unannounced strike, or other reasons as cited in the plan.
• Medical Expense –  Reimburses covered medical expenses incurred in the event you become injured or sick during your trip. 
• Baggage / Personal Effects Protection –  Provides reimbursement in the event your luggage or personal effects are, lost, stolen, damaged or delayed during your trip.

Worldwide Emergency Assistance Services –  Provided by Carefree Travel Assistance; 24-hour emergency telephone assistance hotline for medical and travel related problems.

The cost of Tauck's Cruise Protection is  $699  per person.

This plan provides cancellation coverage for your trip and other insurance coverages that apply only during the covered trip. You may have coverage from other sources that provides you with similar benefits but may be subject to different restrictions depending upon your other coverages. You may wish to compare the terms of this policy with your existing life, health, home and automobile policies. If you have any questions about your current coverage, call your insurer, insurance agent or broker.

This optional Cruise & Event Protection must be requested at time of booking and fee must be included in initial payment. Details will be provided with written confirmation of your reservation. Cruise & Event Protection does not protect travel agent commissions. Reimbursements will be made according to original method of payment. The amount of any refund shall be reduced by any recoveries obtained by you from any third parties.

To obtain your state-specific Certificate of Insurance that contains the complete terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions of the certificate, visit   affinitytravelcert.com/docs/TACCREDOM

If You Have To Cancel

If you cancel within 10 days of initial deposit

Within the first 10 days after you place your initial deposit, you may cancel your reservation for any reason with no cancellation fees.

If you cancel more than 10 days after initial deposit

Regardless of reason, cancellations result in costly charges from our travel and hotel providers covering penalties and fees incurred by canceling confirmed bookings. These fees vary from tour to tour. Therefore, the following fees apply for this tour.

Cancellation Fees with Tauck's Cruise Protection Plan:

120 days or more before departure: Loss of cost of Tauck's Cruise and Event Protection fee per person 119 – 60 days before departure: Loss of 25% of the cost of the cruise, not including air (if applicable), plus loss of Cruise and Event Protection fee, per person 59 – 1 days before departure: Loss of 50% of the cost of the cruise, not including air (if applicable), plus loss of Cruise and Event Protection fee, per person Cancellation Fees without Tauck's Cruise Protection Plan: 120 days or more before departure: $1500 per person 119 – 60 days before departure: Loss of 50% of the cost of cruise, not including air (if applicable), per person 59 - 1 days before departure: Loss of 100% of the cost of cruise, not including air (if applicable), per person Time of cancellation will be when notice is received in our Wilton Woods, CT office.

Tour Interruption Fees

If you have to interrupt your tour en route, you may be entitled to a refund for the unused land portion if it exceeds 24 hours; certain restrictions apply. Such refunds are based upon the number of overnights missed less a fee of $40 per person per day for unused transportation and other fixed expenses.

Partial Room Cancellation

A person who cancels or leaves a tour while a roommate remains constitutes a cancellation of one type of accommodation and rebooking of another type of accommodation. The price charged to the remaining person is the new, higher price for the new accommodation.

In the event of an unforeseen circumstance beyond our control, Tauck reserves the right to amend the cancellation and transfer terms outlined herein. Note: All Guests, regardless of residency, who book a Tauck journey have the option of purchasing the Cancellation Waiver provided by Tauck in the event they need to cancel their trip after making their reservations. Tauck's Cruise & Event Protection, which includes both the Cancellation Fee Waiver and the Travel Insurance Benefits and Assistance Services described above, is not available to residents of Puerto Rico.

Travel Terms and Conditions

Click here  to find Tauck's Travel Terms & Conditions.

Travel Requirements For This Tour

Air Information and Luggage Restrictions

AIRFARE: Airfare to and from this destination is not included in the journey cost. If purchasing your air elsewhere, it is very important to provide us with your confirmed arriving and departing flight information no later than 3 weeks before your arrival date. Flight information can be submitted to Tauck (or verified, if you've already provided it) in the My Account section of Tauck.com.

TAUCK AIRPORT TRANSFERS are included at the start and end of the journey between the airport and the Tauck hotel. Airport transfers are available for any pre tour or post tour hotel stays immediately consecutive to the tour, providing flight information is received in the Tauck office no later than three weeks in advance. Details on locating your transfer upon arrival to the tour start city will be included in your final documents.

AIRLINES and CHECKED LUGGAGE: Due to space limitations during your Tauck journey, we ask that you please limit your checked luggage to one average-size suitcase per person. Besides complying with the Tauck restriction noted above, you should also be sure to research and comply with all airline baggage restrictions relating to your flights to and from your Tauck journey. Airlines have become much more strict in enforcing size and weight limits in recent years, and are free to revise luggage policies without notice. Researching and complying with airline luggage restrictions is the responsibility of the guest, and Tauck cannot be held responsible for any costs or disruptions to travel caused by the failure to research and comply with airline policies. PLEASE NOTE that if you are booked on a tour that includes on-tour flights, the checked luggage weight restrictions for these flights may be lower than the weight restrictions for your international flights.

Checked Luggage – General

Due to space restrictions, we ask that you please limit your checked luggage to one suitcase per person weighing no more than 50 pounds (23 kg) and with overall dimensions (length + width + height) not exceeding 62 inches (158 cm).

Besides complying with the Tauck restriction noted above, you should also be sure to research and comply with all airline baggage restrictions relating to your flights to and from your Tauck journey.

Airlines are free to revise luggage policies without notice, and certain airlines have different baggage allowances for different classes of service. Researching and complying with airline luggage restrictions is the responsibility of the guest, and Tauck cannot be held responsible for any costs or disruptions to travel caused by the failure to research and comply with airline policies.

Tauck luggage tags will be provided by your Tauck Director on Day 1 of your itinerary. Please do not attach a Tauck luggage tag to any carry-on items, as the Tauck tags designate luggage that is to be handled and transferred by ground operators and hotel staff during your journey.

Health, Safety and Mobility

HEALTH CONSIDERATIONS

Please check with your health insurance provider to determine whether you are covered while traveling. If you will not be covered under your current policy, we strongly suggest that you arrange for adequate coverage while on tour.

The Ponant Explorer-Class Ship is registered in France. If you have a medical condition that might limit your participation in activities, please consult your physician for pre-departure health advice and notify us as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. We will advise your Tauck Director accordingly. 

The Ponant Explorer-Class ship has a licensed and registered physician onboard for professional and emergency services, which are available at customary charges. The ship's small infirmary is designed to provide medical care for certain temporary illnesses and accidents, and is not intended to or capable of providing on-going treatment of pre-existing medical conditions.

VACCINATIONS

If you are a resident of the U.S. traveling internationally, no vaccinations are currently required for travel to Canada. For complete vaccination and inoculation information, contact your physician, the public health service in your area, or the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. The Travelers' Health Section of the CDC operates a 24-hour "Travelers' Health Hotline" at 800-232-4636 (toll-free in the U.S.). You may also log on to the CDC website by clicking here .

If you are a resident of another country traveling internationally, please contact an embassy or consulate of each of the countries on the itinerary to determine what vaccinations may be required for you to visit.

You should be in good health and able to walk reasonable distances over uneven terrain that may, at times, be uneven, as some of the most memorable sightseeing can only be accomplished on foot. Therefore, roads and walkways may present difficulties for some guests with physical disabilities. For the most part, however, the amount of walking you do is at your discretion. Pack sturdy, comfortable walking shoes that have already been broken-in in order to appreciate fully the sometimes challenging terrain.

Onboard ship, health and fitness devotees will find a spa and fitness center on Deck 7.

We regret that we're unable to provide individual assistance to guests with walking difficulties or other personal needs. The responsibility of the Tauck Director who accompanies your trip is to ensure that the larger group enjoys a relaxing and informative journey, and he or she cannot be relied upon to provide ongoing individual assistance to any one guest. Guests requiring such individualized assistance must be accompanied by an able-bodied companion who can provide it.

SPECIAL DIETARY REQUESTS

The restaurants, hotels, caterers and numerous other partners we work with all do their best to accommodate special dietary requests from Tauck guests. However, given the diverse nature of those food providers (from small wineries to grand hotels to world-famous restaurants in more than 70 countries worldwide), some of our partners are better able than others to accommodate such requests. We therefore cannot guarantee that all dietary requests can be accommodated at every meal. Also, please note that where dietary requests can be accommodated, choices will frequently be limited.  Guests must advise Tauck of any food allergies or special dietary needs at the time of booking.

Smoking is not permitted on the motor coaches or inside the ship, including inside staterooms. Smoking is only permitted on the outer decks in the designated smoking areas. These regulations pertain to e-cigarettes as well.

Reading List

We have compiled a reading list of recommended books to give you more information about the destinations you will be traveling to on your upcoming journey!

You can view the reading list  here.

Temperatures in this region typically range in the 70s to 80s degree Fahrenheit (21 to 27º C) during the summer and can range from the 40s to 70s degree Fahrenheit  (5 to 21ºC) during the spring and fall; be prepared for occasional extremes. We suggest that prior to departure you check a newspaper or the weather forecast on the Internet for up-to-date information. To read about current weather conditions, we suggest you log on to the Internet website, noaa.gov , by clicking here .

To read about current weather conditions, we suggest you log on to the Internet website, noaa.gov , by clicking here .

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Chicago and Great Lakes

The largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth, they’re more like inland seas with forested islands, rock caves and sand-dune beaches. Today, the lake-bordering states offer vacationers a first-hand look at the wilderness that inspired industrial innovation and powered great cities while furnishing scenic vistas of rural life. Great Lakes Region includes: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Wisconsin. With Chicago as the gateway to a world of new experiences, Illinois is a magnificent vacation destination. Cruise “The Mother Road: Route 66 " on your way to Springfield, see the mighty Mississippi while following the Great River Road or follow the Illinois Wine Trail. You’ll understand why the Associated Press declared Illinois the “most American state.” The Michigan shore of Lake Michigan has been described as “an American Riviera”, with mile after mile of blond-sand beaches, state parks, charming lakeside villages, lighthouses, artists’ colonies, designer golf courses and world-class resorts for holiday lodging. Michigan is defined not only by its vast expanses of water but also by the forests that cover more than half the size of the state. Lakes, wildlife refuges, and 9 state parks and recreation areas scattered throughout these vast forests create a wide variety of recreational pursuits and vacation opportunities. Rivers for canoeing, kayaking, fishing and swimming, and thousands of miles of hiking, biking, riding, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails thread their way among some 100 species of trees. Minnesota is at a crossroads of the United States, where east meets west and forest meets prairie. It is home to the headwaters of the Mississippi River and takes its name from the Dakota Indian word meaning “sky-blue waters”. A tour of Minnesota offers a glimpse of small-town America, with festivals and county fairs promoting music, food and crafts. Cities large and small boast theater, museums, concerts and other arts venues. The diverse cultures have created a melting pot of cuisines, offering a fusion of unique tastes from around the globe. For a naturally great vacation, come and explore Great Lakes Region.

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• Great Lakes

Great Lakes Overview

The Great Lakes is the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world. Comprised of Lake Superior, Huron, Ontario, Erie and Michigan, the five Great Lakes are surrounded by a total of 10,000 miles of shoreline and contain more than a fifth of the world’s fresh water surface. They span eight US states, as well as Ontario in Canada, and boast a fascinating maritime history that is best explored by ship. The Great Lakes region is home to big cosmopolitan cities, sweeping landscapes, diverse culture and small lakeside communities.

Lakeside you’ll find stretches of sandy beach, lighthouses perched on craggy coves, rolling dunes and a swathe of offshore islands. Away from the water, the landscape is just as full of surprises away, with cow-speckled farmland in Wisconsin; Amish communities dotting the horizon in Ohio; and moose wandering the dense forest of Minnesota’s Upper Peninsula.

If the city is more your scene, then don’t forget to explore the region’s big entertaining cities. Chicago has a standout skyline of modern skyscrapers, and is the place to head for amazing architecture, superb art, first-class shopping and a buzzing night scene. Milwaukee has a long brewing tradition, and is perfect for beer fans but also comes complete with interesting museums and sandy beaches. And Detroit’s famous love affair with the motorcar and Motown music speak for themselves.

From Motown to Harley town; Route 66 to Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the Mall of America to Amish country; this heartland of America has a wealth of natural beauty and an intriguing history all of its own for you to discover on your holiday to the Great Lakes of North America.

We offer all types of holidays in The Great Lakes region, which can be tailor-made to suit your interests, timeframe and budget. Whether your interest is in exploring the lakeside communities on an independent self-drive , or marvelling at the scenery on an escorted tour , we can help you experience The Great Lakes region in a way that suits you.

Great Lakes Highlights

Niagara falls.

Niagara Falls is comprised of three waterfalls; Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil Falls. Together, they span the US and Canadian border and contribute 6 million cubic feet of falling water every minute.

Porcupine Mountains

The Porcupine Mountains – or the ‘Porkies’, as they are often known – are a group of mountains situated close to the shore of Lake Superior. Once an important copper mining site in the 19th century, The Porcupine Mountains provide the perfect setting for a spot of hiking, especially should venture to the Lake of Clouds, which is home to a large population of black bears.

Georgian Bay

Situated in on Lake Huron in Ontario , Canada, Georgian Bay is sometimes referred to as the ‘Sixth Great Lake’. One of the most beautiful rural locations in the world, the Georgian Bay is noted for it’s rich maritime history as well as being a great place for water-sports such as kayaking and canoeing.

Mackinac Island

Unique, and with a remarkable Victorian ambience, a trip to Mackinac Island is highly recommended should you be visiting the Great Lakes. Situated on the narrow passageway that joins Lake Huron to Lake Michigan, Mackinac has a strict ‘no cars’ policy which means the main methods of transport are either a horse-drawn cart or bicycle. Mackinac Island was of extreme strategic importance during the War of 1812, which you can learn more about by visiting the island’s fort.

The Great Lakes Wildlife

Visiting The Great Lakes gives you the opportunity to spot several endangered species up close and in their natural habitat, including the Canadian Lynx, Grey Wolf, Moose and North American River Otter.  The area is also an important stop for migrating birds providing resting, breeding and feeding grounds for the Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier and the endangered Kirtland’s Warbler.

Best Time to Visit The Great Lakes

The climate of the Great Lakes region ranges from extremely cold winter temperatures, regularly as low as minus 30°C (minus 20°F), to pleasantly hot, humid and sunny summers.

The best time to travel is during the spring and autumn (May, June, September, October). For more information on the Great Lakes, make sure you check out our road trip itinerary on our blog!

Suggested Itineraries, Escorted Tours and Accommodation in the Great Lakes

We offer all types of holidays in The Great Lakes region, which can be tailor-made to suit your interests, timeframe and budget. Whether your interest is in exploring the lakeside communities on an independent self-drive, or marvelling at the scenery on an escorted tour, we can help you experience The Great Lakes region in a way that suits you.

Places to visit in Great Lakes

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The best driving route around the Great Lakes: hit the road on this epic round trip from Chicago

Apr 14, 2022 • 7 min read

This road trip around the Great Lakes is a wonderful way to experience the best of the region © Thomas Barwick / Getty Images

A happy marriage of open road and open water, of blacktop and blue swells, a looping tour of the Great Lakes – beginning and ending in Chicago – can take in five states, four of the lakes, and the birthplaces of two music legends.

As much country as it is town, this road trip delivers all the hazy, lazy romance of a beach holiday while staying firmly inland. Take your time, it's an epic journey.

Find beaches, art, and baseball on the drive from Chicago, Illinois to Toledo, Ohio 

Approximately 250 miles

Stick close to the Lake Michigan shoreline and it’s just 20 miles from downtown Chicago to the Indiana border. A handful more and you’ll be in Gary , a once-prosperous steel town that, though now heavily rusted, still has its fans – most of them musical. One of the few tended properties in a rundown neighborhood is the fenced-off two-bedroom bungalow at 2300 Jackson St. This was home to Michael Jackson and his nine siblings, and is where the Jackson 5 was launched. 

Gary is the western bookend of Indiana Dunes National Park , one of the country's newest national parks and a patchwork of beaches, marshland, prairie, scrub, and forest running for 25 miles alongside Lake Michigan. There you can swim, hike, go horseback riding, spot rare plants and birds, and bed down at Dunewood Campground.

Afterward, head east on Interstate 80, to Toledo , Ohio , at the western tip of Lake Erie . This former industrial metropolis is nicknamed "the Glass City" due to it making a lot of glass in its heyday. It was also something of a safe space for mobsters and bootleggers during Prohibition. More recently, Toledo has recovered its mojo, bringing in art lovers to visit the world-class  Toledo Museum of Art , sports fans who pack out the stadium to see the Toledo Mud Hens  (one of the oldest Minor League Baseball teams), and devotees of the Hungarian hot dog .

Stop for some great surf on your drive from Toledo, Ohio, to Bay City, Michigan

Approximately 340 miles

Before you head north up Hwy 23 to the university town of Ann Arbor, where you can fill up on experimental art, vegan cuisine and radical politics, make a detour to Luna Pier , a modest resort town just over the Michigan state line. Here be surfing. Yes, you can surf on the Great Lakes, and at any time of year, but you’re more likely to get the right blustery conditions to do so in fall, winter, and early spring. Lunar Pier has some of Lake Erie’s most popular breaks.

From Ann Arbor, pick up Interstate 69 at Flint and at Port Huron join Hwy 25, which clutches Lake Huron’s supremely scenic western shore – "the sunrise side" – all the way to Saginaw Bay. The coast is punctuated by quaint towns – Lexington and Ports Sanilac, Hope and Austin – and their beaches, lighthouses, marinas, and charter fishing.

Michigan’s Lower Peninsula is often referred to as "the mitten," and Saginaw Bay separates the thumb of that mitten from the rest of it. Bay City, the birthplace of Madonna, sits in the crook of that thumb. It’s one of the better spots for surfing.

Drive to Frankenmuth and onwards into Michigan's lower northwest for fresh fish and natural wonders

Approximately 360 miles to Mackinac Bridge

Before you head east across "the mitten" on Hwy 10, a visit to Frankenmuth , aka "Little Bavaria," is in order. The area was settled in the 19th century by Lutheran immigrants from Franconia, Germany, and the town – in its timber-framed architecture, beer and sausage festivals, and German spoken as a second language – has retained more than a flavor of the old country.

At the end of Hwy 10, on the east coast of Lake Michigan, is Ludington, one of the state’s best beach towns, with 28 miles of sandy shoreline, community beach bonfires, and a coal-fired car ferry to and from Manitowoc , Wisconsin. More salmon and trout are caught from Ludington each year than anywhere else, so hire a charter boat and get your catch prepped, broiled or poached at one of many local restaurants participating in Michigan’s Catch and Cook program .

Join Hwy 31, which skirts Lake Michigan for 366 miles and travels north to where the Lower meets the Upper Peninsula , or "the Yoop," via the five-mile Mackinac Bridge, an ethereally elegant piece of engineering that looks plucked from the pages of Greek mythology.

On the way, make time for the myriad virtues of northwest – that is, lower northwest – Michigan. Perhaps you'll stop by the vineyards, wineries and fine-dining establishments in and around Traverse City, a resort town producing 75 percent of the country’s tart Montmorency cherries. Or you could visit the Leelanau Peninsula, Charlevoix, Harbor Springs, Boyne City and Petoskey, all places with beaches that are mobbed in high season, but still feel untamed and isolated.

Special mention must go to the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Its steeply elevated bluffs – which help make up the largest freshwater dune system in the world – beech and maple woodlands and views of Lake Michigan at its most Mediterranean amount to a natural wonder. The Overlook , an observation point on the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive , gazes down on a 450ft near-drop. People are warned to not descend because few have the lung capacity to get back up. Surfers are welcome to chance their boards at the public beach in Empire , a candy-colored hamlet of weathered buildings Norman Rockwell could have painted.

Keep heading north into Michigan's Upper Peninsula for shipwrecks and ghost towns 

Approximately 325 miles

Nicknamed "the Deep North," heavily forested and formerly rich, the Upper Peninsula is a place of mystery and of ghosts. Hear some of their stories at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum , at Whitefish Point, west of Munising town. More than 6000 ships and 30,000 lives have been lost on the Lakes, in large part because they lack natural harbors in which vessels can wait out violent storms.

Keweenaw Peninsula , northwest of Marquette, a major port on Lake Superior , is likewise haunted. Native Americans were the first to mine copper in the area, some 7000 years ago, but it took the Ojibwe to sign a treaty in 1842 ceding their mineral-rich lands to the United States for the copper rush, which made more fortunes than California’s gold rush, to gain momentum. Almost all of the mines were shut down during the Great Depression, and relics of the industry – several ghost towns, the erstwhile opera house in Calumet – are all that is now left.

Leave the Upper Peninsula behind for charming small towns and a stop in the cool city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Approximately 555 miles

From Keweenaw Peninsula bear south on Hwy 141 and you’ll be in Wisconsin in a couple of hours. Overshoot Green Bay and hang a left on Hwy 57 into Door County , a narrow spit of land – 75 miles long by 3 miles at its tip – that juts out into Lake Michigan. Mesmerizingly tranquil and comfortably affluent, every square inch of this "Cape Cod of the Midwest" seems to carry a divine stamp. It’s a storehouse of biological diversity. And its towns, such as Egg Harbor and Fish Creek , are stuffed with charm, independent stores, and artisanal bakers.

As a way of weaning oneself off the cozy joys of bucolic Wisconsin and easing oneself into the raw excitement of Chicago, Milwaukee , off I-43, makes the perfect transitional stop. Brew City continues to make beer, but it has diversified its appeal, transforming itself into an assuredly cool arts, music, and festival hub , and some of its neighborhoods , such as Bay View , south of the downtown area, are so hip it hurts.

From there, it’s back to the Chicago. But not without a carful of memories, a camera full of photographs, and a head full of beach hair.

You might also like: Top 7 day trips from Chicago    The best time to visit Michigan: a season-by-season guide    Save your money and spend time enjoying free things in Milwaukee   

This article was first published Sep 25, 2019 and updated Apr 14, 2022.

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Classic Great Lakes self-drive tour

14 days from £3,560pp

• Day-to-day Itinerary
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Tour highlights

Visit the cosmopolitan city of Chicago.

Explore the tranquil shores of lakes Michigan and Superior.

Go walking or cycling on car-free Mackinac Island.

Look for wildlife in Michigan's unspoilt Upper Peninsula.

Price includes:

• Scheduled international flights
• Fully insured vehicle hire
• All accommodation
• 24-hour support while you travel

Itinerary idea in detail

Includes international flights from a choice of UK airports, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Today you begin your journey by boarding your international outbound flight to Chicago. Arrive in Chicago and make your own way to your city accommodation, where you will spend the next two days.

Upon arrival, make your way to your hotel which is located in the heart of the city. The rest of the evening is yours to enjoy.

Collect your hire car and drive along the western shore of Lake Michigan to the city of Milwaukee. There is time this afternoon to explore this lakefront city and enjoy its resurgent shops, restaurants and nightlife.

Spend a day exploring Milwaukee including the Pabst Theater, the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Greek Orthodox Church, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The highlight for many, though, is the Harley-Davidson museum which celebrates over 100 years of these iconic motorcycles.

Leaving Milwaukee, drive along the Door Peninsula to the little town of Ephraim. This scenic peninsula has 482 km (300 miles) of shoreline, 11 lighthouses, and is known for its cherry and apple orchards. Five state parks provide opportunities for walking, cycling, swimming, and fishing.

From Ephraim, drive along Highway 41, a scenic road that hugs Green Bay and passes through the Escanaba River State Forest and Hiawatha National Forest to Marquette, a town well-loved for its outdoor activities.

Michigan's Upper Peninsula is lightly populated and full of picturesque forests, lakes and mountains. Its many state parks are a haven for wildlife including black bears, wolves, and birdlife. Moose, in particular, thrive in large numbers here. There is also a wide variety of outdoor activities to enjoy including wonderful walking trails, fishing, kayaking and mountain biking. Marquette itself offers two lake-side beaches and is a diving hotspot.

Enjoy another scenic lake-edge drive today as you make your way to Mackinac Island. This coastline is dotted with small villages and pretty state parks. Park your car at Mackinaw City and then take the foot passenger ferry over to Mackinac Island. The afternoon is free to explore this car-free island.

Mackinac Island is a delightful natural retreat, with plenty of lovely walking and cycling paths affording magical sea views. Most of the island is a state park and transportation is confined to horse and carriage. Visit historic Fort Mackinac and the island's lovely limestone bluffs and emerald-green forests.

This morning, take the ferry back to the mainland and return to your car. Drive south along Lake Michigan, hugging Grand Traverse Bay as you go. Arrive at Sleeping Bear Dunes and explore for a couple of hours before retreating to your room overlooking the Crystal River and Lake Michigan.

Spend a full day exploring the amazing, and huge, sand dunes in Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. You may wish to take the ferry to the little islands of North and South Manitou or take the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. Other options include a visit to Grand Traverse Lighthouse or wine tasting at some of the nearby wineries.

Drive south along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan to Saugatuck. You may wish to stop at Ludington State Park and the little town of Manistee on the way for lovely views over Lake Michigan. You might also like to stop at Saugatuck Dunes State Park.

After leaving Saugatuck, take the two-and-a-half-hour drive along the shore of Lake Michigan back to Chicago. Drop off your hire car prior to boarding your onward flight.

Arrive home today to complete your journey.

Accommodation options

While the itinerary price reflects the suggested accommodation, Audley trips are 100% tailor-made, and a specialist can help you select the option best suited to your tastes and budget.

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• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

President   Biden Announces Key   Nominees

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:

Tonya P. Wilkerson, Nominee to be Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security

Abigail L. Dressel, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Angola, and to serve concurrently and without additional compensation as Ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe

James Holtsnider, Nominee to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Independent State of Samoa

Elaine Marie Clegg, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors

Ronald L. Batory, Nominee to be a Member of the AMTRAK Board of Directors

Marcus D. Graham, Nominee to be a Member of the Farm Credit Administration

Matthew Kaplan, Nominee to be Federal Cochairperson of the Great Lakes Authority

Tonya P. Wilkerson serves as the ninth Deputy Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Wilkerson brings a wealth of knowledge and over three decades of experience across the intelligence community, including leadership skills, experience across multiple mission areas, and deep expertise in the space sector.

Wilkerson previously served as the Associate Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for Science and Technology. She also held many prominent positions within the National Reconnaissance Office, spanning a range of activities including research and development, acquisition, and operations.

Wilkerson has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Master of Engineering Management from George Washington University.

Abigail L. Dressel, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Minister-Counselor, is currently the Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Maputo, Mozambique. Prior to that, she was Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. Embassies in Colombia and Brazil. As the Director of the Office of International Media Engagement in the Bureau of Public Affairs, Dressel led the U.S. Department of State’s outreach to major international media outlets. Previous assignments include tours at the U.S. Embassies in Lisbon, Portugal; Luanda, Angola; Lima, Peru; and San Salvador; El Salvador. Prior to joining the Foreign Service, Dressel worked in international development. A native of Connecticut, Dressel holds a bachelor’s degree from the George Washington University. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

James Holtsnider is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, class of Counselor. He currently serves as Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait. Previously he was the Deputy Director of the Office of Iranian Affairs in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. Earlier, Holtsnider was the Management Officer of the U.S. Mission in Somalia. He also served in Afghanistan as a Political Advisor to the U.S. military’s Regional Command East in Bagram and in Iraq as a Provincial Action Officer on U.S. Provincial Reconstruction Team Ninewa, Mosul, Iraq. Holtsnider has also had assignments at the U.S. Embassy in Rome, Italy as a General Services Officer, at the U.S. Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia as a Consular Officer, and as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources. Prior to joining the State Department, Holtsnider served for six years in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Holtsnider received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado and his master’s degree from Princeton University. He speaks Italian and French.

As the CEO of Valley Regional Transit, Elaine Marie Clegg provides leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for Treasure Valley’s public transportation authority ensuring the directives of the Board of Directors are achieved. Clegg has been a public servant focused on transportation and land use for over 25 years, with nearly 20 years on the Boise City Council where she led many initiatives, including the Elaine Clegg City of Trees Challenge and an effort to reestablish passenger rail in Idaho and the greater Northwest.

As a city council member Clegg served on numerous boards, executive boards, advisory committees, and councils. She has held the Chair or President position on the boards of Valley Regional Transit, COMPASS, the Association of Idaho Cities at the state level, and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations, and National League of Cities Transportation Infrastructure Services Committee nationally.

Clegg also led the statewide non-profit Idaho Smart Growth, serving on national non-profit boards while advocating and planning better transportation and land use policy and implementation, assisting over 50 Idaho communities directly to improve transportation plans, networks and programs. Since 1998 Clegg has worked to improve access and mobility across modes in the policies of the reauthorizations of the Surface Transportation Bill, including gaining support for establishing the Safe Routes to School Program and enhancing the rail portion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Clegg lives in Boise with her husband, where she frequently walks, bikes, rides the bus, and, drives when she must. She loves spending time with her five children, their spouses, and her 14 grandchildren.

Ronald L. Batory is a career professional with more than 45 years of field and system experience in the railroad industry. He spent the first 23 years of his career working for both eastern and western Class 1 railroads in addition to serving along with a court appointed Trustee’s successful oversight of a regional railroad bankruptcy. In 1994 he was appointed President of The Belt Railway Company of Chicago, a multiple owned subsidiary of then nine competing Class 1 carriers. His leadership success of serving their needs in Chicago Gateway led to CSX and Norfolk Southern Corporation later recruiting him to Consolidated Rail Corporation in preparation of their STB approved partitioning of the eastern carrier and establishing the Shared Assets Areas. He was later appointed President & Chief Operating Officer for the entire corporate entity. Upon his retirement in 2017, he pursued public service in Washington, District of Columbia, Batory was nominated and appointed as Administrator of The Federal Railroad Administration.

Batory is a graduate of Adrian College, with a bachelor’s degree along with a master’s degree from Eastern Michigan University. He serves on various governing and advisory boards associated within the sectors of both industry and education. Batory resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife, Barbara.

Marcus D. Graham has served as Deputy Administrator for Field Operations since January 2021, leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency-Field Operations. He is responsible for the supervision and oversight of agency’s network of over 2,100 state and county offices and provides leadership to more than 18,000 employees. Graham has efficiently delivered agency programs, administrative operations, and the use of agency resources to all states and Puerto Rico. He has successfully onboarded 50 diverse regional appointed State Executive Directors that provide effective program delivery and customer service to all producers, farmers, and ranchers. Additionally, Graham has created retention and recruitment incentives and hiring programs to support existing and future agency employees.

Before joining USDA as Deputy Administrator, Graham served at USDA for more than two decades. He has worked on the county, state, and national levels with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) in various positions, including Legislative Director-Office of External Affairs, Senior Policy Advisor to the FSA Administrator, and Senior Loan Specialist in the Farm Loan Division. In addition to his FSA employment, Graham served on the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry under Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) where he assisted on legislation for the Farm Bill’s Title V-Credit Title.

Graham graduated from Tennessee State University with a Master of Science in Agribusiness and a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness and Economics. He also is a graduate of the President’s Management Council Interagency Rotation Program and Graduate School USA’s Executive Leadership Program.

Matthew Kaplan has a deep knowledge of the Great Lakes region’s economic development, infrastructure and environmental needs, and the opportunities for the newly created Great Lakes Authority. As a longtime member of Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s (D-OH-09) staff, Kaplan worked extensively on advancing the interests of the entire Great Lakes region in Congress and throughout the federal government. Kaplan was a key advisor to Congresswoman Kaptur in her leadership of the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, the Bipartisan and Bicameral Great Lakes Task Force, and in drafting the legislation to create the Great Lakes Authority. In that role, he worked with stakeholders from industry, labor, academia, and communities across the Great Lakes on issues such as managing invasive species, marshaling federal resources for economic development and developing alternative energy opportunities. Kaplan also taught and mentored undergraduate students in a politics course at Oberlin College. 

Kaplan currently serves as a Senior Attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council where he coordinates federal strategy on regenerative agriculture. He previously served as an Honors Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice, and as a law clerk for the senior judges of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. He is a graduate of the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law and Oberlin College.

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The Cool Down

Control gates open for one of the largest natural freshwater lakes after it hits record water levels: 'Our reservoirs are full'

Posted: May 1, 2024 | Last updated: May 2, 2024

Restoration of water levels in Utah's Great Salt Lake has received a little help from the nearby Utah Lake.

Utah Lake was considered full in February, and control gates had to be opened to release water down the Jordan River and toward the Great Salt Lake.

The Great Salt Lake has seen declining water levels in recent years amid drought conditions. As NPR and WBUR's Here & Now observed , that has led to the disappearance of migratory birds, while locals are at risk of toxic dust that has been exposed on the lake bed. 

According to ABC4 , around 300 million gallons per day can be released while the floodgates are open. The rising water levels in Utah Lake have been recorded following a record snowpack in 2023. 

Utah also experienced high precipitation levels that broke a streak of dry years in the state. At the start of that year, the U.S. Drought Monitor said 90% of the state was in severe drought conditions, with nearly a quarter in "extreme" drought or worse, as KSL noted . This eased significantly by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, average temperatures were much lower than in other areas of the United States, easing the burden of drought.

Watch now: These futuristic gas stations could completely change what it's like to own an EV

"The snowpack last year combined with the conservation efforts of Salt Lake Valley and Utah Valley residents means that our reservoirs are full," Wade Tuft, director of the Utah Lake Water Users Association (ULWUA), told ABC4 . "Utah Lake is approaching the compromise elevation because water users are storing water from last year while it continues to snow and rain in the watersheds feeding Utah Lake."

However, while this is a positive development for the Great Salt Lake's water levels, Tuft tempered expectations. Around 30 thousand acre-feet of water was expected to be released from Utah Lake, but Great Salt Lake holds around 14 million acre-feet. 

"In terms of impact, it's not going to be huge, but every little bit helps at this point," Tuft told KSL News .

Efforts are underway to restore the Great Salt Lake to its former water levels, and a strategic plan was announced in January 2024 to achieve this. 

"Striking the right balance for the Great Salt Lake is no small task, especially among the pressures of continued growth, sustained drought and higher temperatures that threaten to increase demand and shrink available water supplies even further," Commissioner Brian Steed said in a press release . "It will take all of us working together to protect and sustain the lake."

While 2023 was something of a relief for Utah regarding weather conditions, the United States as a whole still witnessed its fifth warmest year on record, per KSL .

Would you buy juice or yogurt made with bruised or misshapen fruit?

If i couldn't tell the difference, if it were cheaper, if it were healthier, i'd never buy it.

It's a tricky situation. While increasingly warm weather brings a rising risk of intense storms , it also makes drought conditions more likely. But since the declining levels of Great Salt Lake have been seen in the last decade or so, it stands to reason that a return to typical average temperatures is essential for the lake's survival.

That's why reducing planet-warming pollution is so important.

Small daily changes, like ditching gas-guzzling cars for public transport or electric models , or cutting your weekly consumption of meat , can reduce the amount of harmful warming gases produced by humans. Great Salt Lake will thank us for it. 

Join our free newsletter for cool news and cool tips that make it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.

Control gates open for one of the largest natural freshwater lakes after it hits record water levels: 'Our reservoirs are full' first appeared on The Cool Down .

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CBP Reminds Great Lakes Pleasure Boaters of Reporting Requirements

DETROIT – Boating season is approaching fast and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations reminds travelers of pleasure boat reporting requirements in the Great Lakes region.

Operators of small pleasure vessels arriving from a foreign port or place, to include any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel or received merchandise outside the territorial sea, are required to report their arrival to CBP immediately upon landing in the U.S.

As part of CBP’s comprehensive effort to improve the security of our nation's borders while enhancing legitimate travel, the agency encourages the use of CBP ROAM ™ for reporting offsite arrival. CBP ROAM™ is a free mobile application, available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store , that allows pleasure boaters to conveniently report their U.S. entry to CBP via their personal smart device or a tablet.

CBP ROAM™ qualifies as an Alternative Inspection System that satisfies the boat operator's legal requirement to report for face-to-face inspection in accordance with 8 CFR 235.1, with some exceptions:

• Travelers who require an I-94.
• Travelers who must pay duties on imported goods; and
• Other circumstances as applicable.

Reporting may also be made to the CBP office nearest to your point of entry . Additional information about pleasure boat reporting requirements can be found here .

Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) at @DFODetroit and @CBPGreatLakes .

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America’s frontline:  the nation’s largest law enforcement organization and the world’s first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation’s security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust. 

Experts warned the Great Salt Lake was about to disappear – then came a wet winter. What now?

A few months after experts shockingly predicted the Great Salt Lake could dry up within five years, Mother Nature dropped an unexpected reprieve: The biggest Utah snowpack in recorded history.

Melting snow has already lifted water levels in the lake 4 feet from their historic low last fall, compared to only a foot last spring. But experts warn this is a temporary easing of what continues to be a long-term drought compounded by overuse of existing water.

"This buys another year, another two. It doesn't solve the problem but it gives us the breathing room we need to implement comprehensive solutions," said Benjamin Abbott, a professor of ecosystem ecology at Brigham Young University in nearby Provo, Utah. "I think we need to be really wise how to use this gift."

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READ MORE: Latest climate change news from USA TODAY

Is the Great Salt Lake drying up?

Yes, in two ways.

In part, because farmers and residents are using more water than ever before, the lake over the past three years has received less than a third of its natural streamflow. Last year, the lake's surface dropped to a record-low elevation of 4,188 feet above sea level because it's not being recharged by rivers.

The water that should be flowing in is instead being used to grow crops or water lawns. The Salt Lake City area is one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

WATER CRISIS NEWS Water levels are going up in the West's massive reservoirs. Has the water crisis been averted?

Second, climate change is giving the Salt Lake City area hotter summers, which increases evaporation in the lake. And the lower the lake gets, the faster it evaporates. And in more typical years, more precipitation is falling as rain than snow, which means it runs off faster and doesn't recharge underground aquifers as much.

"We're still in a megadrought and we can't be complacent," said Lynn de Freitas, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Great Salt Lake.

What are the consequences of the Great Salt Lake drying up?

The lake's water is too salty to use for irrigation or drinking. But because it's so salty, the lake is home to brine shrimp – those tiny little creatures sold as Sea-Monkeys. Harvesting brine shrimp for commercial fish food supports thousands of jobs and provides more than $1.5 billion in revenue annually.

Those shrimp are also an important food source for migratory birds, and if the water level gets too low and concentrates the salt levels too much, the whole system could collapse. Additionally, lower water levels mean the lake's shore gets smaller, increasing competition for space.

'Terrifying prospect': Utah's Great Salt Lake could disappear in 5 years without drastic water conservation

“It’s really important to have this amazing winter, to help address some of the water challenges we’re having," said Marcelle Shoop, director of the National Audubon Society’s Saline Lake program. The climbing lake levels are important for millions of migratory birds that depend on the lake, Shoop said. 

“But in terms of addressing the challenges facing the Great Salt Lake in the long term, we still have our work cut out for us," she said. "We still have to continue on the path of reducing our water consumption and finding a way to meet the needs of the environment and people.”

Additionally, the lakebed is contaminated with minerals that can be hazardous to breathe in, and as the lake has shrunk, massive dust storms have periodically enveloped Salt Lake City.

"It's not pretty ‒ it's a lot of heavy metals," de Freitas said.

What's recently been done to help the Great Salt Lake?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints made headlines earlier this year when it announced it would donate 20,000 acre-feet of water annually to prop up the lake. Although it's a literal and proverbial drop in the bucket, it's an important move that could prompt other big water users to make similar contributions or cutbacks, experts say.

What are the long-term solutions?

About 80% of Salt Lake's decline is attributable to irrigation, Abbott said, which means agriculture will have to play a role in reversing that trend. Most of the irrigated farmland in Utah grows alfalfa or other pasture crops, which are used to feed beef cattle. He said water users across Utah need to develop a plan to use less water so that more can flow into the lake.

"We're taking more water out of the system than is sustainably available," he said. "Through time, we deplete the bank account."

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List of golfers with at least 25 wins on the pga tour includes rory mcilroy, share this article.

The list of all-time winners on the PGA Tour is topped by two names: Tiger Woods and Sam Snead. Without getting into a debate about some of Snead’s victories — there’s certainly a time and a place for that, but not here — those two remain paired at the top of the list with 82.

With Rory McIlroy’s latest victory, the team event at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans — and yes, there’s also a time and a place to debate whether team wins should count towards an individual’s win total, but not here — he became the 26th golfer to win at least 25 times on the PGA Tour.

McIlroy is tied at 25 with Johnny Miller, Tommy Armour and Macdonald Smith but among that group, McIlroy has the most majors (four). A 26th win would put him alongside Henry Picard. Should McIlroy get to 30, he’d be the 18th golfer to reach that plateau and the first since Vijay Singh to get there.

Here now is the list of all the golfers who reached the 25-win plateau on the PGA Tour.

Sam Snead – 82

Sam Snead at his first Masters Tournament in 1937. (Photo: Augusta National/Getty Images)

We’re listing Snead first because he was the first to get to 82.

Tiger Woods – 82

Tiger Woods receives the trophy after winning the 2019 Zozo Championship in Japan. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)

Tiger Woods 82nd win was 4 ½ years ago at the Zozo Championship.

Jack Nicklaus – 73

Jack Nicklaus’ remarkable victory at the 1986 Masters made him the oldest man to ever win the Masters at 46 years, 2 months and 23 days old. (Photo: Augusta National/Getty Images)

Jack Nicklaus won 73 times, with his final victory coming at the 1986 Masters, his 18th major.

Ben Hogan – 64

A Ben Hogan statue near the clubhouse at Colonial Country Club on May 26, 2013 in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images

Ben Hogan won 64 times on the PGA Tour. He made exactly 300 starts and made the cut 293 times. His final victory was the 1959 Colonial National Invitation and he needed to survive an 18-hole playoff at Colonial Country Club against Fred Hawkins to earn it.

Arnold Palmer - 62

The final scores at Cherry Hills left Arnold Palmer pumped up at the 1960 U.S. Open.

Only five golfers reached the 60-win mark and Arnold Palmer was one of them, having nabbed 62 PGA Tour victories during his career.

Byron Nelson - 52

Byron Nelson tees off in the 1945 Victory National Open at Calumet Country Club.

Nelson won 52 times, with 18 of those victories coming in 1945, and 11 of those coming in succession, the longest winning streak on the PGA Tour.

Billy Casper - 51

Billy Casper lines up a putt at the 1966 U.S. Open. (Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images)

There are only seven golfers to reach the 50-win plateau, with Billy Casper being one of them.

Walter Hagen - 45

Walter Hagen competes in the 1933 Ryder Cup at Southport. (Photo: Allsport Hulton)

Phil Mickelson - 45

Phil Mickelson poses with the Wanamaker Trophy after winning the 2021 PGA Championship. (Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)

Cary Middlecoff - 39

Cary Middlecoff at the 1955 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia.

Tom Watson - 39

Tom Watson at the 1977 Masters. (Photo: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)

Gene Sarazen - 38

Gene Sarazen kisses his ball after a hole-in-one at the opening round of the 1973 British Open in Troon, Scotland.

Lloyd Mangrum - 36

American Ryder Cup captain Lloyd Mangrum tees off during a singles match against Eric Brown at the Wentworth Club in Surrey England in 1953. (Photo: Edward Miller/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Vijay Singh - 34

Vijay Singh hits his tee shot on the 17th hole during the third round of the 2002 Houston Open in The Woodlands, Texas.

Jimmy Demaret - 31

Jimmy Demaret practices putting during the 1950 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo: Augusta National/Getty Images)

Horton Smith - 30

Horton Smith won the first Masters in 1934. (Photo: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

There are 16 golfers to have won at least 30 times on the PGA Tour. Horton Smith, who won the first and third Masters, is one of them.

Lee Trevino - 29

Lee Trevino shows off his trophy at the 1971 British Open at the Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Harry Cooper - 29

From left to right: Louis Costello, Joe Turnesa, Gene Sarazen, Tommy Kerrigan, Harry Cooper and Johnny Farrell are the participants in a driving contest at the Biltmore Shores lagoon at Massapequa, New York State. Cooper won the contest with a drive of 244 yards. (Photo: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)

Harry Cooper won 29 times but holds the distinction of having won the most PGA Tour events without a major championship.

Paul Runyan, Leo Diegel - 28

Henry Picard - 26

In this June 1935 photo, Henry Picard and MSC Roberts compete in Edinburgh. (Photo: Fox Photos/Getty Images)

Johnny Miller - 25

Johnny Miller kisses the trophy after winning the 1976 British Open by six strokes at the Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Tommy Armour - 25

Tommy Armour hits from the bunker during the 1931 British Open at Carnoustie. (Photo: Central Press/Getty Images)

Tommy Armour of Scotland won the Open, the U.S. Open and the PGA Championship.

Macdonald Smith - 25

Macdonald Smith at the 1925 British Open at Prestwick. (Photo: Kirby/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Macdonald Smith is credited with 25 but like Cooper, did not win one of the four majors during his career.

Rory McIlroy - 25

Rory McIlroy poses with the trophy after winning the 2019 Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy broke a tie with Dustin Johnson and Gary Player when he earned his 25th PGA Tour victory.

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