Duluth, Minnesota - May 8, 2003

Did you know that Duluth, Minnesota’s famed Aerial Lift Bridge rises in just 55 seconds to allow vessels to pass … and a Boatwatcher’s Hotline helps folks know when that 55-second rise is likely to occur? Or did you know that in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Old Fort William will celebrate 200 years of its Rendezvous this year. Or do you know where to hitch a ride on a tour train that takes you through a 575-foot deep Lake Superior canyon?

By traveling with a great guide, even the familiar becomes a refreshing new experience. That’s why this year, when many travelers will pick familiar territory or close-to-home vacation options, the annual Lake Superior Travel Guide promises to turn the “familiar” into something new with special insights, off-the-beaten-path tidbits as well as straightforward tips for how best to enjoy their time at the Big Lake.

This 16th edition of Lake Superior Travel Guide - now available on newsstands - adds new features to its travel-tested, mile-by-mile narrative for planning a weekend getaway, finding the perfect place to stay or eat, taking a day-trip or circling the entire 1,300-some miles around the lake. The 22-by-16-inch Lake Superior pull-out map included in every guide also offers a Circle Tour “snapshot” map conveniently estimating travel distances between towns. Within the guide, city and region maps detail cities and regions. For the first time, the guide features a Lake Superior Photo Album displaying some of the lake’s most familiar and beautiful landmarks. 

“No other guide gives the comprehensive current and historic descriptions of what’s available around the Lake Superior region,” says Editor Konnie LeMay. “Even if you think you know the lake, you’ll still find information and tips to make your visit even better. We write this to be the kind of guide that we’d enjoy on our trips in the lake region, even after a lifetime of living near Lake Superior.”

 The guide also taps novice and veteran travelers who have already done the Circle Tour or parts of it and who give their advice in the “Reader Field Reports” sprinkled throughout the 160-page guide. Once again, too, Lake Superior Travel Guide readers have chosen their Top 10 Favorite spots around the lake. This year, the Top 10 were (from No. 10 to the Top Pick): 10) Thunder Bay, Ontario; 9) Isle Royale National Park, Michigan; 8) Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan & Ontario; 7) Grand Marais, Minnesota; 6) Copper Harbor, Michigan; 5) Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, Michigan; 4) Duluth, Minnesota-Superior, Wisconsin; 3) Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan; 2) Apostle Island Country-Bayfield, Wisconsin; and No. 1 - Minnesota’s Lake Superior North Shore.

Those readers of the guide who participate in voting on their favorite destination or attraction this year will be entered to win a Lake Superior Getaway package worth $500. The drawing for this year’s Getaway Giveaway will be October 15, 2003.

Lake Superior Travel Guide is produced by the publishers of Lake Superior Magazine, a full-color bimonthly consumer publication printed in Duluth, Minnesota. The magazine is available by subscription, at newsstands and from the publisher's office at 325 Lake Avenue South, Suite 600, Duluth, Minnesota 55802. For more information about either the travel guide or the magazine, call 888-BIG LAKE (244-5253) or logon to www.lakesuperior.com.