Here’s a terrific overview of the Great Loop, and several mini-loops, from the National Geographic. Take a look:
The great American road trip has experienced a resurgence during the pandemic. But there’s a downside: This summer is projected to feature crowded campsites, expensive gas, and no end to long lines and traffic jams.
Luckily, there is another epic U.S. adventure that few know about—and even fewer undertake each year.
The Great Loop—a year-long, nearly 6,000-mile journey through the eastern United States and Canada’s interconnected water passages—takes boaters counterclockwise from the Gulf and Atlantic Intracoastal Waterways to the Erie Canal, Great Lakes, Canadian Heritage Canals, and the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers.
It’s hardly as nerve-wracking as most celebrated nautical excursions. “You can cruise to Tahiti, but you’re spending weeks in the middle of the open ocean,” says Kim Russo, director of America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association (AGLCA), a group created in 1999 that prepares boaters for the voyage. “For a lot of people, it’s daunting to be out of sight of land and without resources for that long.”
In contrast, the Great Loop is easier to visualize—and for many, easier to navigate. Most travel by powerboat. Others journey by sailboat, fishing boat, kayak, and even standup paddleboard. The experience itself is most similar to “European canal boats,” Russo says.
Much like the canals, land flanks most of the Great Loop—acting as a guardrail and guidepost. Several open-water stints, including a Gulf of Mexico crossing and portions of the Great Lakes, where shores are but a speck on the horizon, add adrenaline to the route.
Despite its geographical range, the Great Loop remains under the radar. Fewer than 200 “loopers” complete the trip annually, with retirees making up the majority—but things are changing thanks to a growing coterie of family loopers.
“[Families] are realizing that if they can work and learn from home, why not do so aboard a boat?” Russo says. This development harkens back to the loop’s earliest full voyage in 1906, when boat-builder Scott Matthews took his family on the epic journey. His grandson later co-produced a documentary about the voyage.
With thousands of miles of ocean, rivers, and lakes, the Great Loop is a bit more adrenaline-pumping than the typical family trip to the beach. Swells, currents, and storms can make the journey tricky. But as any looper will tell you, that’s all part of the fun. Read more:
