The Great Lakes are unique, for although called lakes, they are, in reality, inland seas that hold three fourths of the world’s standing fresh water.

Duluth, at the head of Lake Superior, is 600 feet above Montréal on the St. Lawrence river. At 2,342 miles from the Atlantic ocean it is further from the Cabot Strait than Halifax is from the entrance to the English Channel.

When a ship enters the locks above Montreal, it is sailing up and into a panorama that will enchant and entice the traveler. From vibrant cities, and pastoral scenes while sailing above the land, to mile upon mile of rugged wilderness shoreline, the Great Lakes offer an ever-changing experience.

The first part of the trip is through the Montreal Lake Ontario section of the St. Lawrence Seaway, that lifts ships 228 feet into Lake Ontario. The MLO, as it is known, was completed in 1959, and still ranks as an engineering feat more than equal to the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal. The canal was built to enable ships to bypass the Lachine Rapids, which ships had to shoot heading down stream. Handbills for Lakes cruise ships used to make special mention of the rapids in the ship’s itinerary.

The first four locks are in Canadian waters, then the next two- the Snell and Eisenhower -are in New York State. The seventh lock is back in Canadian waters close to Cape St. Vincent and the entrance to Lake Ontario, 165 miles and a day's sailing from Montreal.

In Lake Ontario, on the Canadian side lie historic Kingston and the scenic 1000 Islands area, further up the north coast is Toronto - Canada’s commercial hub and the capital of Ontario, while on the U.S. side is Oswego. Rochester, opposite Toronto used to be a port of call for Lakes Cruise Ships through the 1940’s.

Between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie lies the famous Niagara Falls, where the waters of the upper lakes fall over the edge of the Niagara Escarpment. The Welland Canal lifts ships 324 feet in 7 locks, with most of the rise occurring in only eight miles. Three of these locks are designed as a continuous flight, or staircase. The canal and locks in use today were completed in 1932, as the fourth in a series of canals that were commenced in 1829, to overcome the navigational barrier imposed by the Escarpment and Niagara Falls.

Transit of the Welland can take up to 12 hours, depending on traffic, although it is usually much faster. As a result, there is ample time for the cruise passenger to go sight seeing at the Falls, or in the wineries of the Niagara Peninsula. A visit to Niagara-on-the-Lake, one of Upper Canada’s earliest towns, and home of the Shaw Festival, is also possible.

Departing Port Colborne, at the western end of the canal, the ship enters Lake Erie, with Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland and Toledo on the U.S. side, and rural Ontario towns on the Canadian shore. The passage through the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers and past the gleaming towers of Detroit’s Renaissance Center brings the commerce of the lakes into focus. Ferries scurry back and forth between Windsor and Detroit, and Lakes freighters and ocean ships - salties - steam by bearing their cargoes to or from the upper lakes. There are no locks in this stretch, but the fall is appreciable, with a good current sweeping downstream. Currents of up to 2 knots are experienced in the Detroit River and can exceed 3 knots in the St. Clair River.

Beyond Port Huron, and out into Lake Huron, one may steam ahead in the direction of either Lakes Michigan or Superior. On the Michigan shore, are many ports of call, including Bay City with its magnificent Victorian heritage. To the north is the wild beauty of Manitoulin Island.

Alternatively, the scenic route requires a starboard turn heading for Georgian Bay, the Thirty Thousand Islands, and the North Channel, all regions of superb scenic beauty.

Not all ships can take this route because of water depths in the channel through Little Current. However even those that have to take a route south of Manitoulin Island will be rewarded with rugged splendors. There are many coves, islands and inlets on Manitoulin, and in the North Channel that offer magnificent scenery during all the seasons.

Continuing a westward course, brings the ship to Sault Ste. Marie, or the Soo as it is usually called, and the last and greatest of the locks in the Lakes system. The Poe Locks in the American Soo only lift the ship 27', but they are designed for special 1,000 foot vessels, built for the iron ore and coal trades in the upper lakes.

At the Canadian Soo, a must see excursion is the Agawa Canyon train ride into the rugged wilderness of the Canadian northland.

Lake Superior - Gitchee Gummee - a lake of legends and winter storms, but with a wild splendor of its own. On the north coast lie quiet inlets and small Canadian towns with long logging and mining histories. At the head of the Canadian Lakes is Thunder Bay, originally the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur, which were the gateway for furs and then lumber coming out of the untamed territories to the west. Later settlers flooded into Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and grain flowed out through the elevators and down the Seaway to the tables of Europe.

Right at the head of Lake Superior lie the twin ports of Duluth/Superior, like Thunder Bay, gateways in their time for people and now the produce of the farming heartland of America.

There are many scenic opportunities in the US waters of Lake Superior, such as Isle Royale National Park; the Apostle Islands; Wilderness Archipelago; and the south shore of Lake Superior itself, including the Pictured Rocks Seashore. For the shallow draft vessel, there is also a scenic route through the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Once back at the Soo, and downbound through the locks, lies Mackinac Island. One of the original turn of the Century Lakes Resorts, where the clock appears to have been stopped. No automobiles are allowed, and the buildings have all the elegance and charm that one associates with an earlier era.

Continuing into Lake Michigan under the Mackinac Bridge - still one of the worlds longest single span bridges - the next call might be Traverse City, the Cherry Capital of the world, or one of the many small ports, like Saugatuck on the Michigan Shore. St. James and Beaver Islands are just two of the many opportunities for large and small vessels alike to appreciate why this part of the Lakes was so popular with passengers in the early part of the 20th century.

Heading down Lake Michigan, perhaps with a call at Milwaukee for good German beer, or a kaffe kuchen, one arrives at the City of Chicago’s newly refurbished Navy Pier, and only a short walk from the pleasures of another great City.