Covering a whopping 246,000 square kilometers, the Great Lakes region of the US is the largest freshwater ecosystem on the planet and touches seven northeastern US states as well as the Canadian province of Ontario. Travel through the Great Lakes involves transiting through one or more in a series of locks, which means that cruising through the region is reserved for smaller ships. Cruise itineraries predominantly utilize Chicago in the US and Canadas Toronto or Montreal as their start or end points with some possible trip highlights being Mackinac Island, Little Current and Niagara Falls.