Travel from Cloquet to Kabetogama, Minnesota

We drove our coach 143 miles, about three hours of driving, from Cloquet to Kabetogama, Minnesota.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Paladin on the dash while leaving the campground:

Paladin on the dash while leaving the campground

A gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright:

Gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

Saunas for sale:

Saunas

Route 33 North:

Route 33 North

UFO and aliens:

UFO and aliens

Route 53 North:

Route 53 North

“Dirty Dreams”:

Dirty Dreams

Rest area:

Rest area

Towards Route 37 West:

Towards Route 37 West

Route 53 North:

Route 53 North

“Welcome to Orr”:

Welcome to Orr

Lake Kabetogama:

Lake Kabetogama

Arriving at the Pines of Kabetogama Resort:

Arriving at the Pines of Kabetogama Resort

Dusty:

Dusty

A steep single-lane road up the hill:

Steep single-lane road up the hill

Cloquet / Duluth KOA Journey

We stayed at Cloquet / Duluth KOA Journey in Cloquet, Minnesota. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one-night stop on our way, so as usual we chose a KOA. Though I don’t remember requesting the 05:30 wake-up call from the train horn.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-08-09
Check out: 2025-08-10
1 night

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temp 83°F, low 64°F
Little wind, gusts to 17 MPH

Noise:

Some road noise
Nearby loud train horn noise
Some neighbor noise

Site:

#3, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
Somewhat level site; high in front; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 9 feet wide
15-50 feet to neighbor on passenger side
12 feet to neighbor on driver side
Picnic table
Fire pit
A tall tree
Clean site
Elevation 1090 feet, front facing south

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
65 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

RoamLink: 62 Mbps down, 3 Mbps up, 103 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 12-30 Mbps down, 0.6 Mbps up, 70 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: not used
Starlink: not used

Amenities:

Garbage pickup from site (which is always appreciated)
Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Fine for a short stay

This was a fairly standard KOA and was fine for one night. The trains do run at random times and use their horns at nearby crossings, so this is probably not the place to come for a relaxing vacation. All of the pull-through sites are buddy sites, which is our least favorite configuration, but fine for a very short stay. The site was long enough for our 40′ motorhome and tow vehicle without having to disconnect, but was pretty narrow side-to-side. Utilities worked well, and they provide garbage pickup from the site. We camped at Cloquet / Duluth KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site, with a nice weeping willow:

Our site

Driver-side to driver-side buddy sites, which is the best kind of buddy; nobody living next to us. And still pretty good spacing:

Our site

Other sites; a nice patio shelter on this site:

Other sites

Yurt and cabin:

Other sites

A reasonable place for a one-night stop. The train horn and buddy sites could be annoying for a longer stop.

Travel from Hancock, Michigan to Cloquet, Minnesota

We drove our coach 235 miles, about five hours of driving, from Hancock, Michigan to Cloquet, Minnesota.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading west:

Route map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Our coach leaving our site:

Coach leaving our site

A campsite with tents, a boat, and a portable sauna; must be Finnish:

Campsite with tents, boat, and portable sauna

Drawbridge:

Drawbridge

Roadworks:

Roadworks

45 South:

45 South

Enter Central Time Zone:

Enter Central Time Zone

Ski Capital of the Midwest:

Ski Capital of the Midwest

Rest area:

Rest area

Wisconsin Welcomes You:

Wisconsin Welcomes You

Highway:

Highway

Bad River:

Bad River

Industry:

Industry

An interesting building in Ashland, Wisconsin:

An interesting building in Ashland, Wisconsin

Faceplanted Paladin:

Faceplanted Paladin

Bridge over Saint Louis River:

Bridge over Saint Louis River

Minnesota Welcomes You:

Minnesota Welcomes You

Train overpass:

Train overpass

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Guided to our site:

Guided to our site

Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

We took a scenic drive around the upper Keweenaw Peninsula of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

Here’s an interactive map of our route, heading counter/anti-clockwise (Jenn recently pointed out that I always write “anti-clockwise”, but “counter-clockwise” is the typical American form; my Kiwi roots showing again):

Lake Linden:

Lake Linden

The beginning of US 41:

The beginning of US 41

Copper Harbor:

Copper Harbor

Copper Harbor Overlook, with a view of Lake Superior:

Copper Harbor Overlook

Esrey Park overlook:

Esrey Park overlook

Eagle Harbor lighthouse:

Eagle Harbor lighthouse

Jacob’s Falls:

Jacob's Falls

Keweenaw snow thermometer:

Keweenaw snow thermometer

Quincy Mine Hoist:

Quincy Mine Hoist

Hancock City Park

We stayed at Hancock City Park in Hancock, Michigan. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A nice waterfront(ish) site in a city park in the UP.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-08-02
Check out: 2025-08-09
7 nights

Weather:

Mostly sunny, some rain
High temps 75-84°F, lows 59-69°F
A little wind, gusts to 20 MPH

Noise:

No road noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise

Site:

#55, back-in, gravel
Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
Somewhat level site; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
Gravel driveway about 70 feet long by 16 feet wide
50 feet to neighbor on passenger side
But path to beach on passenger side
No neighbor on driver side
Trees between sites
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Mostly clean site
Elevation 610 feet, front facing NW

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
No water or sewer
Potable water and dump station by entrance

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 125-245 Mbps down, 20-35 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
RoamLink: 70 Mbps down, 7-9 Mbps up, 135 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 8-10 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 200-350 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Waterfront

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Great basecamp for UP adventures

We stayed here for a week to explore Isle Royale NP and the UP and would happily stay here again; there’s just so much to do in the area. Our site was a back-in with a view over Portage Lake, and it was nice to watch the boats going out. This site had 50A electric, but no other utilities. Potable water and a dump station were conveniently near the exit. The site was spacious, which was nice, even if it did invite people to take a shortcut through it from the walking path. We camped at Hancock City Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Been a while since we used the griddle… and haven’t used it since:

Griddle

No water or sewer at our site, so I filled the water bladder at the dump station:

Filling water bladder

Pumping water from the bladder into the coach:

Pumping water into coach

And pumping the black and gray tanks into the tote in the truck:

Pumping waste into tote

Dumping from the tote:

Dumping from tote

There was a path to the beach next to our site:

Our site

The beach:

Beach

We dipped our toes in Lake Superior:

Beach

Ranger III going by; the boat to Isle Royale (but we took a float plane instead, much faster):

Ranger III

A sailboat:

Sailboat

We tried Culver’s for the first time; perhaps overly friendly staff, but tasty food:

Culver's

We would have preferred site 48; nicely tucked away, with no neighbors, and water view on the passenger side:

Site 48

Site 53 would also be good; obviously set up as a front-in site (despite being mostly occupied by trailers awkwardly fronting in most of the time):

Site 53

Other sites:

Other sites

Tent site:

Tent site

Check in office:

Check in office

Playground:

Playground

Boat parking area:

Boat parking area

Boat launch:

Boat launch

We’d be happy to stay here again (preferably in site 48 or 53, but site 55 was next best).

Travel from Kewaunee, Wisconsin to Hancock, Michigan

We drove our coach 261 miles, about five hours of driving, from Kewaunee, Wisconsin to Hancock, Michigan.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north, from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior:

Map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

Giant grandfather clock in Kewaunee, Wisconsin:

Giant grandfather clock in Kewaunee, Wisconsin

Interesting building:

Interesting building

I-43 North:

I-43 North

Bridge over Fox River:

Bridge over Fox River

Rail crossing:

Rail crossing

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

“Welcome to Pure Michigan”:

Welcome to Pure Michigan

Roadside park:

Roadside park

“Enter Eastern Time Zone” — for the last time (for now):

Enter Eastern Time Zone

Our first glimpse of Lake Superior:

Our first glimpse of Lake Superior

Houghton, a cute college town:

Houghton

Bridge over the Keweenaw Waterway:

Bridge over the Keweenaw Waterway

City of Hancock:

City of Hancock

Hancock City Park campground:

Hancock Campground

Our site:

Our site

Kewaunee RV & Campground

We stayed at Kewaunee RV & Campground in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one night stopover at a rather tight campground.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-08-01
Check out: 2025-08-02
1 night

Weather:

Mostly sunny
High temp 72°F, low 58°F
Little wind, gusts to 11 MPH

Noise:

Little road noise
No train horn noise
No neighbor noise

Site:

#27, pull-through, gravel
Didn’t need to disconnect toad (just barely), and didn’t, since only one night
Fairly level site; used air leveling, since only one night
Gravel driveway about 59 feet long by 10 feet wide
16 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Fire pit
Some tall trees
Somewhat clean site
Elevation 680 feet, front facing west

Utilities:

50 amp power, conveniently located
45 PSI water, conveniently located
Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

RoamLink: 6-10 Mbps down, 2-3 Mbps up, 130-170 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
AT&T: 32-45 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 115 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
Starlink: not used
Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

Garbage dumpsters
Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Cramped campground, mostly seasonal

We stayed for one night and didn’t want to unhook our tow vehicle, but the staff who guided us to our site helped get us situated. I did not, however, appreciate being reprimanded for booking online and not calling to book a site “that would fit us.” First off, they advertise as being “big-rig friendly,” and 2, I didn’t see any sites that were longer than the one we were in, and we pretty much filled the entire site end-to-end. I’m not sure what “big-rig friendly” means to them, as all the interior roads were narrow and hard to navigate around the seasonal residents’ cars and other obstacles. Apart from the cramped nature of the sites, they did have lovely landscaping around the common areas and lots of neat garden art. We enjoyed walking over to the frozen custard place for dinner, but that alone isn’t enough to stay here again. We camped at Kewaunee RV & Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Other sites, mostly seasonal:

Other sites

An art:

An art

Pool:

Pool

We walked to the nearby Kewaunee Custard & Grill for dinner:

Kewaunee Custard & Grill

The food was tasty, but the campground was not great. We likely wouldn’t stay here again, though there weren’t a lot of good options in the area.

Travel from Milton to Kewaunee, Wisconsin

We drove our coach 184 miles, about three hours of driving, from Milton to Kewaunee, Wisconsin.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading northeast:

Map

An interactive map, with potential stops pinned:

I-39 North:

I-39 North

Fuel stop:

Fuel stop

Exit:

Exit

Exit to I-41 North:

Exit to I-41 North

We stopped at Tabberts for lunch:

Tabberts for lunch

Tabberts

Food

I’m not usually a French toast kinda guy, but I saw that they had super-thick French toast, so had to try it; it was tasty:

Food

Back to the coach (plenty of parking):

Back to the coach (plenty of parking)

I-41 North:

I-41 North

EAA Aviation Museum:

EAA Aviation Museum

Oshkosh:

Oshkosh

Exit to 29 East:

Exit to 29 East

Kewaunee:

Kewaunee

Kewaunee RV Campground:

Kewaunee RV Campground

Milton KOA Holiday

We stayed at Milton KOA Holiday in Milton, Wisconsin. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Another KOA on the way.

Dates:

Check in: 2025-07-30
Check out: 2025-08-01
2 nights

Weather:

Rainy, partly cloudy
High temp 74°F, lows 54-58°F
Some wind, gusts to 19 MPH

Noise:

Distant freeway noise
No train horn noise
Some neighbor noise

Site:

#187, pull-through, dirt
Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only a couple of nights
Very unlevel site; used air leveling, since only a couple of nights, and we could tell the jacks wouldn’t have been able to cope
Dirt driveway about 70 feet long by 11 feet wide
18 feet to neighbors on both sides
Picnic table
Fire pit
Tall trees
Mostly clean site
Elevation 840 feet, front facing SW

Utilities:

50 amp power, somewhat conveniently located
50 PSI water, conveniently located
Loose sewer connection, inconveniently located (2 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

Starlink: 60-90 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 35 ms ping
AT&T: 450 Mbps down, 6-8 Mbps up, 48 ms ping (I have AT&T on my iPhone)
RoamLink: 6-12 Mbps down, 0.2-1 Mbps up, 900 ms ping (the RoamLink service picks the best network, so I’m not sure which one it used, other than not AT&T)
Campground Wi-Fi: 6 Mbps down, 1 Mbps up, 70 ms ping

Amenities:

Garbage pickup from site (twice daily)
Pool

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Large park, big rigs beware

We were only going to stay one night, but we needed to change our plans at the last minute, and they were very helpful in accommodating us for two nights without requiring a site change. Most of the park seems to be long-term/annual/seasonal sites, and the ones set aside for “transients” were horribly sloped. We were barely able to find enough flat ground to level our motorhome. We saw several other rigs (fivers and trailers) have difficulty getting out of their sites and leave gouge marks in the steep angle of their driveways. The relatively long and circuitous route out of the campground was a little concerning, as I wasn’t sure if we were driving on a road or a culvert; there was significant damage to the surface from previous flooding. The staff were great, and they offered a lot of things to do, but for a short stay in a big rig, I’d look elsewhere. We camped at Milton KOA Holiday in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map