// Midwest · 8–12 days
Great Lakes Wilderness
Sea caves, sand dunes, painted cliffs, and the wolf-and-moose island of Lake Superior.
/ the route
- Stop 01Isle RoyaleMichigan · 4 days · best july–august
A wolf-and-moose island wilderness adrift in Lake Superior.
Greenstone RidgeRock HarborScoville Point 
Stop 02Pictured RocksMichigan · 2 days · best june–octoberForty miles of mineral-streaked sandstone cliffs above Lake Superior on Michigan's UP.
Miners CastleChapel BeachBridalveil Falls
Stop 03Apostle IslandsWisconsin · 2 days · best july–september & winter (ice caves)Twenty-one Lake Superior islands fringed with sea caves, lighthouses, and old-growth forest.
Devils Island sea cavesRaspberry Island LightStockton Island
Stop 04VoyageursMinnesota · 2 days · best summer & winter (auroras)A water-based park of interconnected lakes once paddled by French fur traders.
Kabetogama LakeEllsworth Rock GardensNorthern lights
Stop 05Boundary Waters Canoe AreaMinnesota · 4 days · best june–septemberA million acres of glacial lakes and pine wilderness on the Canadian border — paddle-only.
Basswood LakeKnife LakeQuetico portages
Stop 06Sleeping Bear DunesMichigan · 2 days · best june–septemberMassive perched dunes plunge 450 feet to Lake Michigan along Michigan's northwest coast.
Dune ClimbPierce Stocking Scenic DriveEmpire Bluff Trail
Stop 07Indiana DunesIndiana · 1 day · best summer & fallFifteen miles of Lake Michigan beach back into singing dunes and oak savannas.
Mt. BaldyThree Dune ChallengeWest Beach
Make it yours
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/ more itineraries
- Alaska Wild Five10–14 days · 5 parks
Brown bears, tidewater glaciers, and the tallest peak in North America.
- Amalfi & Southern Italy8–12 days · 3 parks
Cliff-clinging Amalfi villages and the Dolomite spires of the north.
- Andes & Amazon12–16 days · 3 parks
Machu Picchu sunrise, Huayhuash glacier ridges, and Tambopata jungle nights.
- Appalachian Heritage6–9 days · 4 parks
Blue-misted ridges, deep caves, and the wildest gorge in the East.