Oddity – The Fastest Route Between Southwest Michigan and the Western Upper Peninsula is Through Three other States

Michigan has a travel oddity that is nearly unrivaled anywhere else in the United States. To travel from the southwest corner of the state - say Kalamazoo or Benton Harbor to the Western Upper Peninsula at Ironwood, the shortest and quickest distance is to plan your trip not in Michigan but by travelling through three other states.

Blame those pesky Great Lakes, or Lake Michigan in particular in this case. The trip from the southwest corner of the state north though Michigan's Lower Peninsula to the Mackinac Bridge and then west across the entirety of the Upper Peninsula is much longer than routing around the bottom of the lake and passing through Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin before arriving at your final destination in the Western Upper Peninsula.

This trick only works in the southwest corner of the state. When you get further north in West Michigan, say Grand Rapids, then the quicker trip is to head north through Michigan rather than the longer trip south around the lake. Similarly, coming from southeast Michigan, the quicker route is through Michigan. So southwest Michigan to northwest Michigan is all about leaving Michigan.

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The subject came up on a Reddit forum dedicated to geography. The discussion revolved around any other spots where travelling between two points in the same state is more quickly accomplished but not just leaving the state but passing through 3 other states.

There are many examples where passing through one or two other states is advantageous. Say western New York at Buffalo to New York City. Most would avoid the New York State Thruway and drive through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

There is just one instance where the 3 state detour comes into play and it's in the oddly shaped Maryland and its western panhandle. Going from the far western extreme of the state to the state's eastern shore on the Atlantic Ocean, drivers would route though West Virginia, Virginia (back to Maryland) and Delaware before returning to Maryland and the final destination.

Michigan is also a part of an international travel oddity involving Ontario in Canada. As that province dips southward where Windsor meets Detroit, the quickest route from Windsor to the far western edge of Ontario at Kenova, drivers would be better served to enter the United States and pass through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota before returning to Ontario.

Chalk up another one for the Great Lakes. Scenic beauty, abundant water and provider of geographic oddities.