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| The Great Loop Routes Overview | |
|---|---|
 Not to be used for navigation | |
| Details | |
| Location | Eastern portion of United states and Canada |
| Length | 6,000 mi (9,700 km) +/- |
TheGreat Loop is a system of waterways that encompasses the eastern portion of the United States and part of Canada. It is made up of both natural and man-made waterways, including the Atlantic and GulfIntracoastal Waterways, theGreat Lakes, theErie Canal, and theMississippi andTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.[1] The entire loop stretches about 6,000 miles (9,700 km).
There is no single route or itinerary to complete the loop. To avoid winter ice and summer hurricanes, boaters generally traverse the Great Lakes and Canadian waterways in summer, travel down the Mississippi or the Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway in fall, cross the Gulf of Mexico and Florida in the winter, and travel up the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in the spring. Depending on speed of travel, the route can take as little as two months, but more typically it takes about a year to complete the trip.[2] The route may also be completed in segments.
The current overall record time for completing the great loop is 12 days, 18 hours, and 10 minutes. This run took place between July 9 and July 21, 2025, by a team of four on theLady Lor, a 40-foot (12 m) Contender Express.[3]
The solo and single engine records are 19 days, 13 hours, and 1 minute. This run took place between July 12 and July 31, 2025, and was completed by Robert Youens, a 71-year-old adventurer from Austin, Texas. The run was completed in a 16-foot (4.9 m) Jon boat, theAgeless Wanderer.[4][5]
"Typically accepted" speed record vessel classes (there are no official certifying organizations):
Solo - single handed vessel
Single Engine - vessel only has one engine, inboard or outboard
Unlimited - no limits
Speed Record Route - any route as explained in "Route Description".
Documentation: The intent to set a record should be publicly announced, a publicly viewable GPS tracker should document the journey, photos and videos of the Record Run should be shared during the attempt. Results of the new Record should be publicly shared.
Loopers can begin at any point along the route, and when they return to their starting point, they are said to have "crossed their wake" and to have finished the Great Loop.[citation needed]
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Assuming a boat ("Looper") begins inChicago,[6] either take theChicago River andChicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, or theCal-Sag Channel to theDes Plaines River. The waterway passesJoliet and soon becomes theIllinois River. The Illinois River travels west, through several locks, then southward, throughPeoria. AtGrafton, Illinois, the Illinois River joins theMississippi River.
Travel south pastSt Louis andCape Girardeau, Missouri.[7] At the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers atCairo, Illinois, either continue down the Mississippi toNew Orleans, Louisiana, or follow the more typical route of briefly going upstream on the Ohio River, then turn south down theTennessee-Tombigbee Waterway to theGulf of Mexico. Because of heavy barge traffic, lack of marinas and scarcity of fuel sources on the Lower Mississippi River, most Loopers opt for the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway passage.
Traversing the 184 mile length of Kentucky Lake, continue up theTennessee River and turn off onto the Tenn-Tom Waterway, nearIuka, Mississippi. A series of locks will lower boats to the LowerTombigbee River, which eventually reachesMobile, a major port on theGulf of Mexico. Some boaters choose to continue up the Tennessee River toChattanooga, TN andKnoxville, TN as a side-trip.
Continuing eastward along theIntracoastal Waterway (ICW) through theFlorida Panhandle, at some point crossing the Gulf of Mexico to the main part of Florida. The ICW continues fromSt. Petersburg southward. Either cross South Florida viaLake Okeechobee, or go around it via theFlorida Keys.
The Loop swings northward up the ICW along Florida's Atlantic Coast, through coastal Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. To reachChesapeake Bay, take theDismal Swamp Canal or theAlbemarle and Chesapeake Canal. Travel north through Chesapeake Bay to theChesapeake and Delaware Canal and into theDelaware Bay. After crossing Delaware Bay toCape May, New Jersey, all but the smallest boats can travel in theAtlantic Ocean toNew York City.
Entering theHudson River in New York, go toWaterford, New York. Here, some Loopers keep going north on theChamplain Canal and do a side-loop throughMontreal, Canada. Most will traverse all or part of theErie Canal. Shorter height boats may travel the entire canal toBuffalo, New York, then throughLake Erie, pastDetroit, eventually reachingLake Huron. Many others — especially those too tall for the Western Erie Canal Bridges — take theOswego Canal north toLake Ontario. This option allows Loopers to either take theWelland Canal to Lake Erie or to cruise along the scenicTrent-Severn Waterway inOntario, Canada to reachGeorgian Bay on Lake Huron.
Lake Huron is a destination for all Looper boats, regardless of route and any side-trips. All boats have to transit theStraits of Mackinac at the top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula and enter Lake Michigan. An optional side-trip is going through theSoo Locks and visiting Lake Superior.
Loopers have the option to follow either theWisconsin or Michigan coasts as they make their way south on Lake Michigan and back to the starting point in Chicago.
Those boaters who are on the loop often fly a whiteburgee, and those who have completed the loop fly a gold one.[2]
The America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association (AGLCA) assists Great Loop cruisers by sharing safety and navigational and cruising information, while providing a networking platform for Loopers through its members-only discussion forum. Boaters can exchange information about topics such as marinas, locking through, water depth, hazards, repairs, fuel prices or dinner reservations and sight seeing.[8] The AGLCA also hosts twice-yearly gatherings for Loopers currently on the Loop and those planning a Great Loop trip.[citation needed]
