US 2 from Mi to Mn.

[rhadley53]

Planning to come from Mi upper peninsula back to Ia on 2. What sights are there to see, and what are some places to camp with a super c.

Planning June 2019.

[ArVeeThereYet]

We traveled that route, through to Everett WA, in October in a 40' class A. It's easy driving and has loads to see. The scenery is breathtaking, especially through the Cascades. It pays to top up the fuel anytime you get to around a half tank as there's long stretches where fuel stops are few and far between. Even with many of the campgrounds closed when we went through there was still enough open that we had no trouble getting spots. There's also a surprising number of free overnight camping places as well. Some of these had water and power available outside of the winter season. We spent three weeks crossing US2 and will be going back again.

Let us know what kinds of things you want to see/experience.

[Lynnmor]

That monument is nice to look at, too bad the actual location is 16 miles away.

[jplante4]

The monument in Rugby might be like Liberal KS claiming to be the home town of Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. It was never mentioned in the story so they just claimed it.

[vermilye]

The monument in Rugby states "Geographic Center of North America:

[rexlion]

Many young people seem to think that the center of the entire universe is wherever they happen to be standing. 😉 But I digress....

If you like history, Fayette SP southwest of Manistique has interesting old buildings and artifacts from the 1800s, and is worth a visit. +1 on Palms Book SP; it's hard to believe that the bottom you see is 40' below you, through crystal clear water.

[jplante4]

CALandLIN wrote:
Rugby, ND has a monument that they say is the geographical center of North America.

Yes, that's the one we saw as we drove by on US2.

[CALandLIN]

Rugby, ND has a monument that they say is the geographical center of North America.

[jplante4]

bankmule66 wrote:
It is geographical center of North America which includes Canada.

Nope. It's the geographical center of the US. Everyone forgets that Alaska is part of the US, which pulls the geographical center north from where we all expect it.

However, the claim by this particular town in North Dakota seems to be in dispute.

[bankmule66]

It is geographical center of North America which includes Canada. We took US2 all the way to Washington state back in 1969 not in RV. Plan to retrace route this year with TT.

[rhadley53]

Thanks for the good info.

[jplante4]

We did that trip as far as Williston ND last summer. Stayed in Iron Mountain MI and Superior WI, then Bemidji MN, Grahams Island SP in Devils Lake ND and Lewis and Clark SP east of Williston ND. We wanted to get to Glacier but the fires this summer turned us south from there.

Skip Superior and head across to Two Harbors Minnesota. Burlington Bay Campground - great view of the lake.

Two Harbors



Be sure to stop in Bemidji MN and see the Paul Bunyon and Babe statues.



About 1/2 hour away is Itasca SP and the headwaters of the Mississippi.



Lewis and Clark SP was the highlight of the trip. Full hookup pull through sites with great WiFi overlooking the Missouri River for $22 a night.



Williston is an oil town. If you need some supplies this is the place.

US 2 is a good road. The worse section is in Michigan. The rest is mostly smooth 2 lane road and 70 MPH speeds. ND is mostly boring.

Somewhere along the road in ND was the Geographical Center of the US. We didn't stop but were curious as to why it was so far north. I'll leave it to you to find the answer.

[theoldwizard1]

JesLookin wrote:
Check out Pattison State Park, near Superior WI. That park and several others close by have many waterfalls, easy hiking to the falls.

The UP has quite a few waterfalls. None really close to US2.

[theoldwizard1]

I did that trip a few years back and have seen much of MI's UP since I was a kid (Miner's Castle had 2 towers when I was there and you could walk out on to it)

Shortly after you cross the bridge and turn west on to US2, stop at one of the turn outs along the Lake Michigan shoreline. AMAZING, beautiful beaches !

Not far off of US2 is Palms Book State Park. Home of the Big Spring or Kitch-iti-kipi. A very unique, deep, clear fresh water spring and pond. Worth going out of your way for !

If you drive north on M117 or M77 for a couple of miles and pull over and get out of the car, you will notice something interesting. Both of those roads run perfectly north-south for quite a few miles. They are cut straight through the forest. Stand in the middle of the road (likely there will be no traffic) and you can actually see the curvature of the earth !

Coming up to Escanaba, US2 cross a very impressive highway bridge at either Big Bay de Noc or Little Bay de Noc.

There is the the Copper Peak Ski Flying hill and the Pine Mountain Ski Jump both in Iron Mountain, MI.

Most of the UPs other attractions are along the Lake Superior coast or the far northwest portion of the UP.

Lots of trees. Lots and LOTS of trees ! I don't think there are any "old growth" stands but most of it has not been harvested in 80-100 years.

[JesLookin]

Check out Pattison State Park, near Superior WI. That park and several others close by have many waterfalls, easy hiking to the falls.