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Great Debates: Route Choices Part 1
07 Aug 2026

Great Debates: Route Choice (Part 1)

There are several route choices you'll need to make on your Great Loop... and the perfect choice depends completely on you and your cruising preferences. In Part 1 of this point/counterpoint episode of Great Loop Radio, Kim Russo is joined by Tsali and Jacque Bentley to discuss some of the biggest route decisions Loopers face. Should you take the Virginia Cut or cruise through the Dismal Swamp? Stay outside or run the New Jersey Intracoastal? Choose the Erie Canal or the Champlain Canal? Every option has its advantages and tradeoffs. Rather than declaring one route "right," they explore the pros, cons, timing considerations, and personal preferences behind each option. You'll hear different perspectives, practical insights, and the kinds of conversations that help future Loopers decide what fits their own adventure. Whether you're actively planning your route or just curious about the many ways to complete America's Great Loop, this discussion will help you better understand the tradeoffs behind some of the Loop's biggest navigation decisions.

Podcast
Members only
GLL cover route choice may26.png
01 May 2026

More Than One Way Around: Alternate U.S. Routes of the Great Loop

For many Loopers—both those planning and those already underway—the Great Loop is often thought of as a single 6,000-mile route through a connected system of waterways across the eastern United States. It links the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, the Great Lakes, inland rivers, and the Gulf. It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that the Loop is far from a single fixed path. In fact, there are numerous alternate routes within the Loop itself. This flexibility is one of the reasons many Gold Loopers continue cruising in pursuit of the Platinum Burgee—they discover there are far more ways to complete the Loop than they originally imagined.

Great Loop Link Newsletter
Members only
Dismal Swamp article cover.png
01 Apr 2026

Dismal Swamp vs. the AICW

As Loopers make their way to the Chesapeake, a route choice presents itself near the North Carolina/Virginia border. Boats can continue on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (AICW) or take a diversion along an alternate route, the Dismal Swamp Canal. Each captain and crew will need to decide which route to follow. To aid that decision, here are a few details and the pros and cons of each.

Great Loop Link Newsletter
26_Wilson Lock_Leann Rowe_Rowe Boat.jpeg
20 Feb 2024

Waterway/Lock Closures

Keep up-to-date with waterway and lock closures around the Great Loop. We'll post them here as we become aware of them.

News
Members only
23 Aug 2023

Urban Ocean Observatory at Davidson Laboratory

The New York Harbor Observing and Prediction System (NYHOPS) was established to permit an assessment of ocean, weather, environmental, and vessel traffic conditions throughout the New York Harbor and New Jersey Coast regions. The system is designed to provide a knowledge of meteorological and oceanographic conditions both in real-time and forecasted out to 72 hours in the Hudson River, the East River, NY/NJ Estuary, Raritan Bay, Long Island Sound and the coastal waters of New Jersey. On this website you will see graphic images of: water level; surface and bottom temperature; surface and bottom salinity; surface and bottom currents; NOAA winds; coastal waves - height, period and direction.

Link
Members only
27 Oct 2022

Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System

The Chesapeake Bay Operational Forecast System (CBOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, water temperatures and salinity of the Chesapeake Bay.

Link
Members only
27 Oct 2022

Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System

The Delaware Bay Operational Forecast System (DBOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, water temperatures and salinity of the Delaware Bay.

Link
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