William Stanek's Great Lakes & Northwoods
A Literary Field Guide to Great Lakes & Northwoods National Parks & Scenic Sites

The Great Lakes are inland seas, and the Northwoods are their weathered shore. Cliffs, dunes, islands, boreal forest, cold water, waterfalls, ship routes, remote lakes, historic portages, and long northern roads make a travel world defined by separation as much as connection. William Stanek's Great Lakes & Northwoods brings together the region's great park landscapes through water, distance, wind, forest, and season. Some places are reached by road. Others require boats. Some reward a long shoreline walk; others are best understood through a lake crossing, dune climb, forest road, or quiet harbor. Weather can turn apparent proximity into a real barrier. This guide helps travelers choose among those different northern experiences instead of treating the Midwest as geographic space between more famous park regions. For families, couples, solo travelers, paddlers, hikers, photographers, and Great Lakes road trippers, this is a literary companion to America's vast freshwater north.