Photo by Todd and Brad Reed Photography | Lake Michigan Destinations

The History of the Official Lake Michigan Circle Tour

The Lake Michigan Circle Tour has so much to offer, and the frequent road signs seem like such a fixture, it’s hard to believe that the tour has only been around for a little over thirty years. Though the shores of Lake Michigan have always been popular with tourists, for too long the shoreline towns lacked a sense of connection and presence as a whole. There wasn’t a way to encourage visitors to seek out towns and cities unfamiliar to them. The formation of an official tour around the Lake Michigan coast was looked at as a chance to promote the whole of Lake Michigan as a destination, rather than using advertising to merely highlight single communities along it. Such a tour would allow tourists to find new adventures and entertainment while offering businesses a wealth of advertising opportunities that simply wouldn’t have been available without the attention garnered by the implementation of such a grand idea. Second largest lake by volume next to Lake Superior, Lake Michigan was also the second of the Great Lakes to adopt an official tour route, again outmatched only by Superior.

Did You Know?

The Lake Michigan Circle Tour is just one of the designated scenic road systems around the Great Lakes. The other four Great Lakes–Superior, Huron, Erie, and Ontario–each have their own Circle Tour as well. All of the tours combined comprise the Great Lakes Circle Tour.

Inspiration Becomes Reality

The Lake Michigan Circle Tour was the brainchild of Jack Morgan, who worked for the Michigan Department of Transportation. In 1987, the governors of Michigan and Indiana struck a deal and the Lake Michigan Circle Tour was finalized in November 1988. Signage and an official route were quickly agreed upon and implemented by departments of transportation in Lake Michigan’s four coastal states. Guidebooks were provided by the West Michigan Tourist Association, and after articles appearing in the Chicago Tribune and Milwaukee Journal created a demand that almost outpaced supply, the tour was off and running.

Striving for Improvement

Though the official route has remained largely unchanged, a few additions have been introduced over the years since its adoption. The largest of these was without a doubt the addition of the S.S. Badger car ferry’s Lake Michigan crossing as an official spur route in 1998. This new spur bisected the tour, allowing vacationers more flexibility in the way that they chose to complete the tour while adding another worthwhile experience to its many attractions. Other loops have been added over the years in order to incorporate attractions such as Sleeping Bear Dunes, or to link up with towns just off the main tour route, connecting travelers with great destinations that would otherwise be missed.

From one man’s idea, through the cooperation of many, the Lake Michigan Circle Tour has bloomed into something that brings Lake Michigan’s surrounding states together in pride. It has become something that brings people from all over the world to a greater appreciation of Lake Michigan’s natural beauty and grandeur. It’s a tour that, though relatively new, is sure to leave its lasting impression in history.

Circle Tour Research & Documentation

As publisher of this Lake Michigan Destinations website, we spent countless hours researching the details of the official Lake Michigan Circle Tour route. We had the most confidence in the accuracy of the route as documented on the Michigan Highways and Wisconsin Highways websites. The author of those websites personally researched and verified the route in the field.

It’s obvious, to us, that the author of the Michigan Highways and Wisconsin Highways websites spent hundreds (perhaps thousands) of hours documenting every possible detail about the Lake Michigan Circle Tour travel directions.

According to the author of the Michigan Highways and Wisconsin Highways websites, “Unfortunately, actual signage along the Lake Michigan Circle Tour route has deteriorated over time. While Wisconsin has generally kept the Circle Tour reasonably well posted, signage in Michigan and Illinois is lacking and long segments of the LMCT in Indiana are now completely unsigned. Indeed, when the numbered highways that the Circle Tour ran along were rerouted in Northwest Indiana in recent years, the LMCT route markers were regrettably not relocated or replaced. Furthermore, highway signing standards may have changed to the point where including Circle Tour route markers alongside the other numbered highway markers on freeway signage is no longer allowed or encouraged. While hundreds of the standard Circle Tour markers are still found alongside the roadside in Michigan, some locations where the LMCT changes directions (e.g. transitions from one highway to another) are now under-signed or completely unsigned altogether.”

A Note From the Publisher

This Lake Michigan Destinations website is created and managed entirely by a small team at a locally owned and operated company in West Michigan. Yes, we are small, but our passion for promoting the beauty and adventure of Lake Michigan is BIG!

Our presentation of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour aims to provide turn-by-turn details of the “official” tour, while also suggesting optional routes worthy of your consideration.

Our research, discoveries, and experiences are being organized into nine travel regions to help you plan your Lake Michigan Circle Tour, one section at a time.