Weekend in The Soo

Off to Sault Ste. Marie… or The Soo Locks… or just “The Soo” if you’re a local! I’m so excited to blog about this town. I just spent a solo weekend here adventuring around and I loved it. Yes, a little touristy given most places in the UP, but I thought that was part of it’s charm! But this weekend had all of my favorite UP things… freighters, maritime history, the Great Lakes (two different ones!), boat rides, fried whitefish, golden hours, and lighthouses! Read on for a fun weekend in The Soo… I’d totally recommend visiting in summer so you can go through the Soo Locks on a boat ride and so everything is open since this town is pretty seasonal. If I missed anything, let me know in the comments!

THE LOCKVIEW

After I checked into my hotel (I stayed at The Hotel Ojibway), I walked across the street and put my name in at Lockview Restaurant. I knew I wanted to hit this place on Friday because one of my favorite traditions is Fish Fry Fridays in the UP, but this place is always servin’ up their famous locally-caught whitefish. It’s right across the entrance to the Soo Locks, and it’s probably the best whitefish I’ve had. Seriously… so good. They prepare it six different ways: pan-fried, broiled, deep-fried, cajun, cajun deep-fried and lemon pepper. I tried cajun deep-fried since I had never seen that before on a menu and it was GOOD. Definitely eat here.

KARL’S CUISINE & WINERY

After dinner, I walked just down the street to check out Karl’s Cuisine & Winery, since I had heard of their wine slushies. It’s a great spot to just sit down by the window or up on their outdoor patio rooftop and enjoy the freighters passing by! I went for a blackberry wine slushie, which was so good. (Also got their piña colada one the next day, lol) but I’d definitely go for the blackberry again. They also serve up food, and it’s more of a order-at-the-counter and take your food to sit down place, which is nice! I’ll have to try their food next time, but perfect location though!

SOO LOCKS PARK

Stuffed on whitefish and wine slushie, I headed over to the Soo Locks Park to golden hour and watch some of the freighters pass through the Soo Locks. Nicknamed the “Linchpin of the Great Lakes”, the Soo Locks are an “engineering marvel” dating back to the 1800s. Because of the Soo Locks, freighters can travel along the St. Mary’s River to connect from Lake Huron to Lake Superior. Most ships use the Poe Lock or the MacArthur, which is the lock closest to the observation deck in the Soo Locks Park. It’s so fun to check out the observation deck and see the freighters pass through!

SOO LOCKS FAMOUS BOAT TOURS

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to walk down to the Soo Locks Famous Boat Tours for a lighthouse cruise! It’s basically an extended trip of their Soo Locks Cruise that takes you through the Soo Locks, but it also takes you down to see a few lighthouses in Lake Superior, including Point Iroquois and Gros Cap Reef Lighthouse (which is a Canadian lighthouse) that’s only accessible by boat. It’s about a 4.5 hour trip! The boat ride itself was extremely narrative, and it was really fun to learn about the surrounding area and buildings! I also made friends with the captains of the boat, and they invited me into the wheelhouse… which made for such a special experience! I got to steer the boat, hear stories from them, and get a totally unique perspective which honestly made my day. Traveling solo can be hard sometimes, but experiences like this and people that are so warm and kind make it so worthwhile.

CLYDE’S FAMOUS DRIVE IN

After the boat ride finished up, I decided to go grab some lunch from the famous Clyde’s Drive In. It was a total toss up between… this place and West Pier Drive-In, so next time I’ll have to try West Pier. (If you have been to the area, do you have a favorite?) But Clyde’s was dope! It’s right on Riverside Drive, next to the Sugar Island ferry. It was founded in 1949, and Clyde still owns the place today! I went for a traditional burger + fries, which was delicious. Plus, they have outdoor seating which I appreciated and you can also stop and see the Little Rapids Cut Light if you’re there too! (Pictured below.)

SUPERIOR CAFE

If you’re looking for a coffee shop to hit up in The Soo, check out Superior Cafe! They had tons of places to sit down and work at your computer, or lounge-y areas to just relax for a bit. They brew up their own coffee and sell it in bags, but here you can get coffee, lattes, teas, smoothies, loaded bagels, pastries, you name it. I went for a Sleeping Bear Latte… which was vanilla, honey and cinnamon, I believe?! But so yum! I went iced with oat milk, took it to-go and ended up going for a walk to check out a couple of sights in the area!

FRYING PAN ISLAND LIGHT

Coffee in tow, I headed down East Water Street to go and find the Frying Pan Island Light. There are some fun places to check out along the way… St Marys Falls Park and Brady Park, but then the light is located right outside the Coast Guard headquarters. It was moved here in 1988 after it was long abandoned on Frying Pan Island, which is a tiny island located just offshore from DeTour Village. (After finding a frying pan left by Indians, a captain named the place Frying Pan Island.) The light was put in place in 1879, and had a small storage shed where keepers would stay if they had to stay the night. I’d be interested in going to this island to see where it used to sit actually! 🤓

THE PALACE MEXICAN RESTAURANT & SALOON

After a hot day of walking in the sun, I headed back to my hotel for a couple-hour-nap, and then decided to grab dinner at The Palace Mexican Restaurant & Saloon! I wanted something a little different than typical bar food/fried fish since I had that the night before… so I was excited to check this place out! They specialize in Mexican and American cuisine, and are famous for their chili con queso, tequila bar and a giant margarita menu. I went for the chicken bacon ranch nachos (so good) and a frozen mango margarita. I’m still drooling thinking of this meal. And it was the best customer service… I sat at the bar to eat, and the bartender was so nice, and gave me a free mini cocktail to try. I’d def go back here in a heartbeat!

POINT IROQUOIS LIGHTHOUSE

Saturday night’s golden hour was spent at Point Iroquois Lighthouse. I had no idea this was such a perfect sunset location either… so I really lucked out! But I drove from my hotel/downtown Sault Ste. Marie, and it takes about 30 minutes to get out to the lighthouse, which is located in Brimley. The only downside to visiting lighthouses during golden hour is that they aren’t open to tour (just an excuse to go back!) but the vibe here was perfect. I ended up collecting rocks at the Lake Superior shoreline for a while, flew my drone, snapped some photos, and walked around the grounds of the lighthouse. This light and keepers residence was first built in 1855, and replaced with brick buildings in 1870. You can climb the spiral staircase to the top of the 65-foot tower, and see Canada, the lake, and any freighters heading to the Soo Locks from the top. I’ll be back with more photos from this lighthouse!

OH CRÊPE!

Sunday morning started off with breakfast and coffee from Oh Crêpe! This place was highly recommended… and was definitely one of my favorite places to try. (Love the name. 😆) But they serve up coffee beverages and all sorts of different crepes! I went for an iced latte and their blueberry cheesecake crepe… which was so delicious. They opened up in the summer of 2017, and they also own one of my favorite places in Frankenmuth (Prost! Wine Bar and Charcuterie) and borrowed their chef from there to craft their crepe menu! Definitely check it out. Perfect location to sit and look out the windows… located right across the street from the Soo Locks!

SS VALLEY CAMP

After breakfast, I drove down to the SS Valley Camp! I was thinking of saving it for next time, but I’m SO GLAD I went and took the tour this time around! So the SS Valley Camp is an old Great Lakes Freighter that has been turned into a maritime museum. Inside the massive cargo holds a 20,000 square foot museum with over 100 exhibits. I LOVED IT. Especially because I love Great Lakes history… Fresnel lights, Edmund Fitzgerald history, UP and Lake Superior knowledge, and to see the crew’s quarters and how men used to work on this ship! Plus you can head to the upper deck for a view and to see any freighters passing by! Definitely plan to spend a little time here exploring each of the exhibits!

LITTLE RAPIDS CUT LIGHT

My last stop out of town was to hit the Little Rapids Cut Light! I should have remembered to see it when I was dining at Clyde’s Drive-In (because it was right there). But I totally didn’t realize, and drove back to see it. But yeah, this isn’t the most exciting Michigan lighthouse, but since I have a goal to see every last one of them, it had to be checked off the list! I ended up just parking in the Aune Osborn Campground turnaround and quickly trekking across the field to snap a couple of pictures. This lighthouse (which is a black pyramidal skeletal steel tower) replaced a crib light called the North Entrance Light No. 27 in 1919. Well I hope you enjoyed my tour around Sault Ste. Marie! If I missed anything, let me know… I want to check out the Tower of History next time. I will definitely be back!