Great Lakes shipping and travel shaped Michigan's history. Along the state's 3,200 miles of shoreline, more than 2 dozen museums and historical sites help preserve that maritime tradition.

Tour lighthouses that still stand guard over treacherous shoals, and museums that tell tales of tragic wrecks and valiant rescues. A ship, permanently docked as a museum, provides glimpses of sailors' lives and work. Visit this sampling of maritime museums and discover others when you travel in Upper Michigan. Museums are open for visitors during the summer and for special events. Click here for a Map showing the location of the lighthouses that are open to the public.

Au Sable Point Lighthouse and Maritime Museum

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Munising, MI 49862. Phone: (906) 387-2607 or (906) 387-3700

 

Copper Harbor Lighthouse and Museum

Fort Wilkins State Park, East US-41, Copper Harbor, Ml 49918 on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Can be reached only by the ferry boat that leaves from the marina several times during the day. Sunset Cruise

Phone: (906) 289-4215.

Crisp Point Lighthouse
North of Newberry, MI at the site of the old Crisp's Point Lifesaving Station. Only the Tower remains and it is open on weekends during the summer for climbing.Take CR-500 north from M-123 to CR-412. Follow CR-412 to the Lighthouse. Watch for signs. Gravel road through the wilderness. Photo at top of this page.

DeTour Reef Light
Located 1 mile off-shore at the mouth of the St. Mary's River in northern Lake Huron, between DeTour Village and Drummond Island in the far Eastern Upper Peninsula, this light was built in 1931 to replace the 1861 DeTour Point Light Station. The 3 1/2 order Fresnel lens is on display at the DeTour Passage Historical Museum in DeTour Village. The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society is restoring this light and recently received the 2005 Governor's Award for Historic Preservation. They offer a 2 hour guided, narrated tour of the Light on Saturdays or Sundays in June, July, and August. See below for detailed information about the tour. Click Here for dates and times.. Volunteer light keepers weekends available during the summer.
* St. Mary's River Lighthouse Cruise from DeTour Village to Sault Ste. Marie on Fathers Day, June 15, 2008. Return to DeTour Village by bus that evening.

Eagle Harbor Light Station and Museum Complex
This is a major haunted lighthouse. Read a first hand account by a former resident.
Lighthouse Museum, Maritime Museum, Commercial Fishing Museum, plus much more.

Star Route I, Eagle Harbor, MI 49950 on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Phone: (906) 337-1263

Marquette Harbor Lighthouse
Marquette, MI. Built in 1853 and now open for tours. Stop at the Maritime Museum across the street for tour information. 300 Lakeshore Boulevard. Marquette, MI 49855. Phone: 906-226-2006. Open third week in May through October.

Ontonagon Lighthouse
Ontonagon County Historical Museum
422 River Street. Ontonagon, MI 49953. Phone: 906-884-6165
Lighthouse Tours daily at 11 am, 2 pm, & 4 pm Monday-Saturday and 2 pm on Sunday during the summer or by appointment during the off-season. Stop at the Historical Museum on River Road. Lantern Room open for climbing with an awesome view of Lake Superior and the Porcupine Mountains. 5th Order Fresnel Lens and keepers logs on display at the Museum. Gift Shop.

Point Iroquois Lighthouse and Maritime Museum

Bay Mills Township, Hiawatha National Forest. Lakeshore Drive just west of Brimley, MI

Sault Ste. Marie Ranger Office, 4000 I-75 Business Spur. Sault Ste. Marie, Ml 49783 Phone: (906) 635-5311, (906) 437-5272. Climb the tower for a wonderful view and possible freighters passing. Gift Shop

Sand Hills Lighthouse
Now converted to a Bed and Breakfast
Five Mile Point Road. Ahmeek, Ml 49901. Phone: 906-337-1 744
25 miles north of Houghton on the Keweenaw Peninsula.
Tours daily at 3 pm. Grounds open from noon to 4pm.

Whitefish Point Light and the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

110 Whitefish Point Road. Paradise, MI 49768. Phone: (906) 635-1742 (summer & winter)

(906) 492-3436 (summer only)

 

Naubinway Island Light is on a small island about 1 mile offshore in Lake Michigan surrounded by rocks and shoals. Established in 1931 to guide local vessels into the harbor at Naubinway. Original skeleton tower renoved and replaced by white cylindrical tower. Active light.

 

Seul Choix Lighthouse, Park and Museum
The Haunted Lighthouse. Operated and maintained byThe Gulliver Historical Society. RR 1, Box 79. Gulliver, MI 49840. Phone: 906-283-3183. Climb the tower for an awewome view of Lake Michigan. Gift Shop

Manistique East Breakwater Light. This picturesque red lighthouse is on the end of the breakwater at the east end of the harbor where the Manistique River flows into Lake Michigan. It can be conveniently viewed from the Boardwalk or the Park near the Harbor and Marina.

Peninsula Point Lighthouse Tower and Park Hiawatha National Forest at the southern tip of the Stonington Peninsula. Tower is open for climbing and there is a nice picnic area. The Minneapolis Shoal Light can be seen on a clear day. South of Rapid River on CR-513 about 17 miles. RV's and tall vehicles need to park at the parking lot and walk about 1 mile to the lighthouse as the road goes through a tunnel of low trees.

Sand Point Lighthouse and Museum
at the edge of Ludington Park, Escanaba, MI
Restored to original condition by the Delta County Historical Society
Open to the public fromJune 1-Sept.1 (9-5 EST), during September (1-4 EST)
Mary Terry, one of the first women keepers on the Great Lakes, kept this light from 1868 to 1886.
Sand Point Lighthouse. P.O. Box 1776. Escanaba, Michigan 49829. Phone: (906) 786-3763

	Cedar River Lighthouse Cedar River Range Lights were located at the mouth of the Cedar River. The Front Range was buily in 1889 and the Rear Range built in 1891. Both lighthouses were square pyramidal wood skeletal towers and have been demolished. The Keepers Dwelling, a 1 & 1/2 story brick and wood structure and the old oil house survive and are privately owned.
	Menominee North Pierhead Light Marinette & Menominee North Pierhead Light was built in 1927 and is a red tower with a black lantern mounted on a concrete platform. You can walk on the pier out to the lighthouse in good weather, but the lighthouse is closed to visitors. This is an active light marking the harbor.
	Peshtigo Reef Lighthouse Located 10 miles south of Marinette at the mouth of the Peshtigo River. The Lighthouse is 3 miles offshore on a trecherous reef and can only be seen by boat.

TOURS 

DeTour Reef Light is located in the St. Mary's River between DeTour Village and Drummond Island. The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society is restoring this light and offers 2 hour guided, narrated tours on Saturday or Sunday during June, July, and August. Tours include transportation to and from the DeTour Harbor Marina, light refreshments on the lighthouse, and a guided tour. Visitors will have the opportunity to tour all spaces of the lighthouse. The tours are led by trained DRLPS tour guides and the resident DeTour Reef Lighthouse Keepers. Tours are limited to 6 individuals, insuring personal attention by the tour guides. Sorry, no children under 12 for safety reasons. Entrance to light is by climbing a 20' ladder. Safety harness provided. Phone 906-493-6609 or e-mail drlps@lighthouse.net for tour date and time availability. Click Here for dates, prices, and times of departure. Lighthouse Keeper Program where you spend 3 days and 2 nights at the DeTour Reef Light.

Historic St. Mary's River Cruise from Detour Village to Sault Ste. Marie on Fathers Day, June 15, 2007. Return that evening by bus to De Tour Village.

There are also many lighthouses on Lake Superior and Lake Michigan that you can easily see from your car but they are not open to the public. Some of the off-shore Lighthouses in Lake Superior can be seen by charter boat.

Munising Michigan Front and Rear Range Lights on Lake Superior
Located on M-28 on the west side of Munising The Lighthouse has been purchased by the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

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Christmas Michigan Front and Rear Range Lights Also called the Grand Island West Lights or the "End of the Road" Highway M-28 on the east side of Christmas

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Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse Built in 1867, this lighthouse an be viewed from the Shipwreck Tour or the Pictured Rocks Cruise. The lighthouse is located on private property on Grand Island.

MARITIME MUSEUMS
Marquette Maritime Museum, 300 Lakeshore Boulevard. Marquette, MI 49855. Phone: 906-226-2006. The museum showcases the history of the areas shipping industry. Open the third week in May through October. Guided tours of the Marquette Lighthouse. Operational Fresnel Lens from Stannard Rock, one of the largest lenses used on the Great Lakes. Edmund Fitzgerals display. World War II Silent Service Memorial honoring USS DARTER and USS DACE crews. Gift shop with maritime books, CD's , videos, lighthouses, and nautical gifts.

Eagle Harbor Maritime Museum at the Eagle Harbor Light Station. Open mid June through mid October. Life boat from the Eagle Harbor Life Saving Station. 

Munising Coast Guard Station near the end of Sand Point Road in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore has the 36' motor lifeboat, "Grand Marais" on display in the old boathouse.

The Carriage House, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse Complex, 265 Lighthouse Road, Eagle Harbor, MI 49950. Phone 906-289-4581, Lighthouse related items mostly designed by the artist-owners, Alice and Ann Kipfer. Exclusive lighthouse ornaments, miniatures, lamp finials, pull chains, lighthouse throws, T-shirts, sweat shirts, afghans, wall hangings and note cards with lighthouse designs, Scassi lighthouse collectibles. There are many items featuring the exclusive Eagle Harbor Lighthouse design by Ann. Mail order available.

Captain and Harry is a children's book series set at the Seul Choix Lighthouse in Gulliver MI including historical facts and actual documented spirit sightings in and around the Lighthouse. Captain Joseph Townshend, lighthouse keeper from 1901-1910, said to be the spirit haunting the lighthouse joins Harry, a very fat field mouse, for mysterious adventures.

"A Glostly Road Tour of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. True Stories of Ghostly Hauntings in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan" including the Seul Choix Lighthouse.

Back to Upper Peninsula Traveler

Home Page: Exploring the North

Never bloomed the earth so gayly,

Never shone the sun so brightly,

As to-day they shine and blossom

When you come so far to see us.

Never was our lake so tranquil,

Nor so free from rocks and sand-bars;

For your birch canoe in passing

Has removed both rock and sand-bar.

Song of Hiawatha W.W. Longfellow

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