How are the drive times calculated?

Drive times and distances come from OpenStreetMap road data routed with OSRM, calibrated against typical published travel times. They assume ordinary traffic and include island ferry crossings where a stop needs one. Allow extra time for summer weekends, construction and border crossings.

Can I save or share my trip?

Yes. The whole trip lives in the page address, so bookmarking or sharing the link saves everything: stops, days, start date and starting point. Nothing is stored on our servers and no account is needed.

Can I take my trip into Google Maps or a GPS?

Every day has a Google Maps directions link (long days are split into parts, because Google Maps allows nine stops per link). You can also download a calendar file with one event per day, or a GPX file for GPS units and apps such as OsmAnd and Gaia GPS.

What does “Best order” do?

It reorders your stops to shorten the total drive, keeping your starting point fixed and finishing back home if you chose a round trip, then spreads the stops over the same number of days so each day's driving is as even as possible.

Trip builder

Build your own Great Lakes road trip.

Pick the towns, lighthouses and parks you want to see. We'll add real drive times, suggest the best order, split the trip into easy days and hand you directions, a calendar and a GPS file.

Start here

Start with a place, your saved list or one of our road trips.

Type a town, lighthouse or park into Add a place. Keep adding stops, then let the builder choose the order and split the driving into days.

Or start from a classic

Customize one of our road trips.

Each one opens in the builder with its stops already in place, day by day. Add, drop and reorder anything.

Add a place

Town, lighthouse or park

Trip settings

Trip name Starting from Finish back where I started First day of the trip

Your trip is saved in the page address. Bookmark it, or share the link. Nothing is stored on our servers.

Good to know

How the trip builder works.

How are the drive times calculated?: Drive times and distances come from OpenStreetMap road data routed with OSRM, calibrated against typical published travel times. They assume ordinary traffic and include island ferry crossings where a stop needs one. Allow extra time for summer weekends, construction and border crossings.
Can I save or share my trip?: Yes. The whole trip lives in the page address, so bookmarking or sharing the link saves everything: stops, days, start date and starting point. Nothing is stored on our servers and no account is needed.
Can I take my trip into Google Maps or a GPS?: Every day has a Google Maps directions link (long days are split into parts, because Google Maps allows nine stops per link). You can also download a calendar file with one event per day, or a GPX file for GPS units and apps such as OsmAnd and Gaia GPS.
What does “Best order” do?: It reorders your stops to shorten the total drive, keeping your starting point fixed and finishing back home if you chose a round trip, then spreads the stops over the same number of days so each day's driving is as even as possible.

Drive times and distances: OSRM routing over OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), calibrated to typical travel times. Times are estimates for planning, not navigation. Check road, border and ferry conditions before you travel.

More planning tools: circle tour planner, ferry or drive calculator, northern lights forecast, water temperatures and the ship watcher.