Forty miles (60 km) south of Thunder Bay, the tour crosses the Pigeon River into Minnesota.

Near Ashland, the tour route returns to US 2 across Northern Wisconsin to Hurley and the border with Michigan at Ironwood.

A special "spur route" follows the SS Badger ferry across the lake between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The LMCT follows Illinois Route 137 from the Wisconsin state line south on Sheridan Road and joins Lake Shore Drive (U.S. 41).

The Gary-Hammond PMSA, a portion of the Chicago-Gary-Kenosha, IL-IN-WI Combined Statistical Area (CMSA)[6] which includes all of Lake and Porter Counties.

The only "rural" area is the ten miles (16 km) across northern Porter County, where route passes through Indiana Dunes National Park.

US 12 turns more southerly as it passes west and south of Indiana Harbor, an industrial complex of mills, refineries, and docks.

Entering Hammond the first stop could be the South Shore Welcome Center located on Kennedy Boulevard off the interstate.

The area was not considered suitable for farming or development, until the meat packing industry began to thrive in Chicago.

[9] Following Industrial Drive, US 12 heads southeast, crossing under the Indiana Toll Road.

Continuing on US 12, which is now called the Dunes Highway, the buildings end and forest and wetlands dominate.

At County Line Road are the signs to Indiana Dunes National Park's West Beach facility and the east end of the Miller community.

Portage owes its growth as a bedroom community to the creation of the Port of Indiana complex.

Today, it is a residential community with remnants of the various development ideas used to lure home buyers into the dunes.

Spanish Eclectic train depot and town hall, and the Old North Church with the Century of Progress Architectural District homes from the 1933 Chicago World's Fair are still present in this diverse architectural community.

[7] Michigan City is just east of Beverly Shores after US 12/Dunes Highway has passed through the Town of the Pines, turned northward along County Line Road.

The Circle Tour continues to follow US 31 northward deviating at Muskegon and Montague–Whitehall for the various business loops.

[10] At Ludington, the Lake Michigan Circle Tour meets a '"connecting route" over the S.S. Badger carferry.

The Lake Huron Circle Tour joins I-75 at the northern terminus of US 23 and both run together on I-75 over the Mackinac Bridge.

The LHCT continues around Lake Huron, touching on locations including the following: A Michigan spur route utilizes a segment of M-134 to DeTour Village.

[11] An Ontario spur route uses the MS Chi-Cheemaun ferry to cross the mouth of Lake Huron's Georgian Bay from the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island and return.

Starting in Detroit, the LECT follows Interstate 75 (I-75) south from the Ambassador Bridge to exit 43.

At exit 28, the LECT rejoins I-75 and runs south through Monroe to the state line, crossing into Toledo, Ohio.

[12] Crossing into the state of Ohio, the LECT leaves I-75 to follow I-280 around the east side of Toledo.

The tour then exits I-280 and runs along SR 2 to the city of Sandusky, home of Cedar Point.

The trail begins in Erie County, Pennsylvania and travels through Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Oswego, and Ogdensburg before ending at the Seaway International Bridge near Massena.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) was in consultation with its counterparts in Wisconsin (WisDOT), Minnesota (MnDOT) and Ontario (Ministry of Transportation of Ontario, MTO) in May 1986 to establish a tour route around Lake Superior.

She was an adviser to the Michigan Department of Commerce and called for the formation of the tour in the fall of 1985 at a tourism conference.