Twelve miles east of the St. Joseph Island turnoff lies the town of Bruce Mines, founded in 1846 around some small copper mines. The earliest settlers were miners from Cornwall in England. The road then runs slightly inland, returning to the lakeside a dozen miles later at Thessalon, where you can stay the night along the beachfront at Carolyn Motel ($C70; 705/842-3330); the on-site restaurant is open all day and always has fresh fish on the menu.
Following Hwy-17 east along the lakeshore toward Massey, the landscape is generally flat with occasional rocky outcrops. Just west of the settlements of Spanish and Serpent River, you have a great view across the North Channel, an arm of Lake Huron, to Manitoulin Island in the distance.
