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Sault Ste Marie
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Perched at the northeast corner of the UP, 340 miles from Detroit,
SAULT STE MARIE
(known locally as
The Soo
) stands across St Mary's Rapids from the Canadian town bearing the same name. It's one of the oldest settlements in the US, not that you'd guess that from its bedraggled, 1950s-looking downtown and the industrial sprawl of the waterfront. The Soo owes most of its trade and industry to the St Mary's Locks, the only water connection between Superior and the other Great Lakes, built in 1855 and later expanded to take oceangoing vessels. Four giant reservoirs raise upbound boats 21 feet to the level of Lake Superior. To see this impressive operation, which accounts for more tonnage than the Suez and Panama canals combined, take one of the
Soo Locks boat tours
($15; tel 906/632-6301,
) from Dock #1 or Dock #2 on East Portage Avenue, or watch for free from the visitor center (daily 7am-11pm).
Despite efforts to increase its tourist trade, the Soo is not a place where you'd want to spend much time. The
Crestview Thrifty Inn
, 1200 Ashmun St (tel 906/635-5213; $75-100), has clean, comfortable rooms. The
Bambi Motel
, further along at no. 1801 (tel 906/632-7881; $50-75), has one of the most garish signs you'll ever lock eyes on.
Antler's
, 804 E Portage Ave (tel 906/632-3571), looks like a dive bar but is in fact an historic
pub
, where you can also get reasonable steaks and fish. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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United States,
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