Bypass Florida’s Nature Coast via an open-water crossing on the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Crossing route departs from Apalachicola Bay just west of Dog Island, and lands on the west coast of Florida at Tarpon Springs. At 7 knots, the crossing could take almost 24 hours – making a good weather window critical for this passage.

Instead of cruising around the tip of Florida, Loopers can bisect the state from Fort Myers to Stuart via the Okeechobee Waterway (OWW). Entering the waterway from the west coast of Florida, you’ll cruise through the Caloosahatchee River, then through Lake Okeechobee, and finally through the St. Lucie Canal out to the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Provided you have a beautiful weather window, you could cruise the Outer Banks (OBX) of North Carolina. The route is fairly exposed, but includes Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras National Seashores, Ocracoke, and Kitty Hawk.

The Dismal Swamp Canal route departs from the AIWW at the confluence of Alligator River and Albemarle Sound, near Fort Landing, NC. It follows the Pasquatank River until reaching the 22-mile Dismal Swamp Canal. The routes rejoin in Chesapeake, VA.

Loopers can opt to take the “outside” route and travel the entire length of New Jersey via the Atlantic Ocean. If you have a good weather window, or a deep draft, this might be the way to go to avoid the notorious shoaling on the NJICW.

If you’d like your Loop to stay in the U.S., and not enter Canadian waters, continue west on the Erie Canal, which terminates at Lake Erie, instead of entering Lake Ontario.

From Lake Erie, you can cruise the Welland Canal to Lake Ontario to rejoin the main route. Or cruise the length of Lake Erie to the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers and into Lake Huron.

The Lake Champlain route continues north on the Hudson River as far as it’s navigable. It then follows the Champlain Canal to Lake Champlain, then north on the Richelieu River to Sorel-Tracy, Québec. There it turns south on the St. Lawrence Seaway through Montréal, and on to the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario. The routes rejoin in Kingston, ON.

Go on the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan – or travel both coasts!

Bypass downtown Chicago, and the 16.5 foot bridge clearances, by exiting Lake Michigan further south on the Calument River. After navigating the river, you’ll join the Cal-Sag Channel until it meets the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

The Lower Mississippi River (LMR) route follows the Mighty Miss south for 650 miles, until the Old River Lock. Loopers on this route then cruise the Atchafalaya River until it joins the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway just east of New Orleans.