On a rainy night at Karl’s Cuisine Cafe & Winery, where stromboli is a specialty, what I get with dinner is a free show because of my window seat at the cozy restaurant.
First comes the 1,000-foot-long American Integrity, probably carrying iron ore. Act 2 is the noticeably shorter Torrent, from Cyprus. Each freighter slowly moves through the locks system that is just across the street in downtown Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced soo saint marie).
Over the bridge, the best waterfront view for dining is on the patio at Fluid — Boardwalk Patio and Grill in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, but the locks on that side of St. Marys River are big enough only for recreational watercraft.
These two communities are twin cities by name but not appearance, attractions or size. Ontario’s side has five times the population, a 15.5-mile recreational trail and waterfront pavilion for concerts. Across the river, it’s more about modest mom-and-pop businesses and historic preservation.
What the cities share is a nickname (“Soo”), the 2.8-mile International Bridge that links them, one of the world’s most important canals and a history of rugged, nearly lawless living.
“This was the wild frontier,” noted author Mikel Classen, a Saultite (“Soo-ite”) on the Michigan side. “You could find yourself knifed and thrown in the river because of an argument.”
The St. Marys River is vital because it is the only waterway connecting Lakes Huron and Superior. The locks are necessary because of a quick, 21-foot drop in depth at Sault Ste. Marie. Abundant and feisty rapids compound the peril.
About 10,000 vessels pass the four sets of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers locks each year, according to the corps; most cargo ships are loaded with iron ore, copper or lumber.
The first lock, dug by hand on the Canadian side in 1797, was blown up by the United States during the War of 1812. Ontario’s Heritage Discovery Centre at the Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site explains more.
Until the next lock was installed in 1855, freighters would be unloaded, put on skids and portaged between lakes.
The process could take three months, which meant bars, hotels and brothels prospered along the Michigan Soo’s Water Street. “The locals really had to take care of themselves to survive,” Classen added, because supplies and outside assistance were not easily accessible, especially during winter. The area’s Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre is a testament to such challenges of remote living.
When the locks system was finished, Classen said, the local economy crashed because sailors would linger only hours instead of many days. One of the exceptions, Ethel Brand, gained notoriety in the 1980s for paying taxes on the income from her brothel; Classen said she also set up pension plans and investment portfolios for her employees.
What remains today of the colorful Michigan history are the stories and a waterfront walking trail, not far from the locks where visitors watch vessels up close but behind glass on an observation deck.
The view is free, but also popular are two-hour Soo Locks Boat Tours that ride through the locks and traverse Canadian and U.S. shores.
In Ontario, the 1 1/2- mile Attikamek Trail leads walkers up to river rapids and under the International Bridge. Explore on your own or with a Parks Canada guide at the Sault Ste. Marie Canal National Historic Site. Another waterfront trail leads to little Whitefish Island, a prosperous Indian encampment because the rapids made for good fishing and trapping.
In 1920 Ernest Hemingway called the St. Marys River the best place in the world for trout fishing. Whitefish, salmon, muskie, perch, pike and smallmouth bass also show up on the end of a line, but the biggest splash goes to those steel and concrete gateways.
Today it takes the average freighter nine hours to navigate the tight twists along St. Marys River, which stretches almost 70 miles. From approach to departure, it takes one hour or less to lock through the Soo.
“The locks are what attract everybody here,” Classen said, “and it never gets old.”
If you go
The annual International Bridge Walk begins at 9:30 a.m. June 27, and there is no fee to participate. It is the same day as the annual Great Tugboat Race on St. Marys River.
Michigan’s Soo Visitor Center maintains a boat schedule hotline: 906-253-9290. Estimated ship arrival times are known four or five hours before arrival.
The international border typically is not a hassle to cross, but wait times can be lengthy because of daily and seasonal traffic patterns. http://www.saulttourism.com, 800-461-6020 (Ontario); http://www.saultstemarie.com, 906-632-3366 (Michigan).
Quick comparisons of Sault Ste. Marie:
Michigan vs. Ontario
Population: 14,000/75,000
Longest lock: 1,200 feet/253 feet
Best free river view: Observation deck above MacArthur Lock/Walking path under International Bridge
Unique feature: 1968 Tower of History, 21 stories high/1909 Emergency Swing Dam, reported by Parks Canada to be the last of its kind in the world
Most unusual museum: Museum Ship Valley Camp (www.saulthistoricsites.com)/Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (www.bushplane.com)
Notable fortress: Fort Brady, now a university/Fort St. Joseph, nationally protected ruins
Regional food specialty: pasty (individually sized, meat-filled pies)/poutine (gravy-drenched french fries, cheese curds)
Craft beer specialist: Soo Brewing Co. (www.soobrew.com)/Outspoken Brewing (www.outspokenbrewing.com)
Offbeat attraction: Plethora of taxidermy at The Antlers restaurant (www.sooantlers.com)/Entomica, hands-on insect science exhibit (www.millmarket.ca/entomica)
Casino slots: 2,000 (tribal business; kewadin.com)/438 (government business; olg.ca)
Nearby: Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum (www.shipwreckmuseum.com)/Agawa Canyon tours (www.agawacanyontourtrain.com)
Bergin is a freelance reporter.
