Michigan has more lighthouses than any other state—around 120–130 depending on how you count them—and more than 3,000 miles of shoreline. A good number of those lights are guarding Lake Superior, the largest, coldest, and moodiest of the Great Lakes. Let’s head east to west along the Michigan shore and out to the islands.

The Guardian of the Shipwreck Coast

If you’re only going to visit one Lake Superior lighthouse in Michigan, make it Whitefish Point. Established in 1849, it’s the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior and one of the most important navigational beacons on the lake.

Whitefish Point marks the dangerous turn into Whitefish Bay, an area known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes” because more than 200 shipwrecks lie in these nearby waters. Today the light station is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, where you can learn about the Edmund Fitzgerald and other ships that never made it home.

Why it’s a must-see:

Oldest active light on Lake Superior

Excellent museum with shipwreck artifacts

Dramatic, windswept shoreline that really shows off Superior’s power

Watching the Entrance to the Soo Locks

Not far from Whitefish Point, Point Iroquois Lighthouse stands high above the water at the entrance to the St. Marys River, where ships funnel between Lake Superior and the Soo Locks.

The first lighthouse here dates to the 1850s, shining a fourth-order Fresnel lens over one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. Today the light is part of Hiawatha National Forest and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

What I love about this one (even from my planning desk):

Classic white tower with attached keeper’s house

Gorgeous views across Whitefish Bay toward Canada

Small museum that tells the story of the keepers and the locks

Remote and Wild

Crisp Point Lighthouse is for the folks who don’t mind a sandy, sometimes rough road in exchange for big Lake Superior drama. Built in 1904, it stood along a lonely stretch of shoreline between Whitefish Point and Grand Marais, originally paired with a U.S. Life-Saving Service station.

The light was deactivated in the 1990s and nearly lost to erosion, but volunteers have poured their hearts into stabilizing and restoring it. Today the white brick tower and black lantern look out over a wide, wild beach where Superior’s moods are on full display.

Why it’s on my must-visit list:

Remote, almost “end of the world” feel

Restoration success story thanks to dedicated volunteers

Perfect place to sit on the sand and listen to Superior roar

 Pictured Rocks’ Lighthouse

West of Grand Marais, a beautiful hike through Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore leads to Au Sable Light Station. Built in 1873–1874, this tall brick tower was placed here because Au Sable Point was notorious for shoals that wrecked ships long before charts and GPS.

The light was staffed for 84 years and automated in 1958; today a smaller solar-powered beacon shines from the catwalk as part of the historic station. The keeper’s quarters and outbuildings still stand, giving you a great sense of what life was like at a remote Lake Superior station.

Highlights:

Scenic lakeshore hike to reach the lighthouse

Classic tall white-and-brick tower rising above the trees

Part of Pictured Rocks, so you can combine it with cliffs, waterfalls, and beaches

 The Weathered Wooden Beauty

If you’ve ever seen a photo of an old, weathered wooden lighthouse leaning at the water’s edge near Munising, that’s Grand Island East Channel Light. Built in 1868 to guide ships through the east channel of Grand Island into Munising Bay, this small wooden tower attached to a “schoolhouse” style dwelling was in service until the early 1900s.

After it was deactivated, the building fell into serious disrepair and even risked collapsing into the lake. A volunteer rescue committee stepped in, stabilized the shoreline with a seawall, and preserved the lighthouse in its rustic, weathered state—which is exactly how photographers love it.

Why it’s special:

One of Michigan’s most photographed lighthouses

Absolutely iconic on Pictured Rocks and Grand Island boat tours

A great example of how volunteers can save a piece of history

 The Old North Light

On the opposite end of Grand Island sits the Grand Island North Light (often called the Old North Light), keeping watch from high bluffs on the island’s north tip. The first lighthouse here was completed in the 1850s, with a brick replacement built in 1867 as traffic increased on Lake Superior.

The station includes a two-story keeper’s house attached to a square tower, plus several brick outbuildings. It was automated in the early 20th century and later decommissioned; today the property is privately owned and used as a seasonal residence, so it’s best appreciated from the water.

Why I’d still include it in a Lake Superior lighthouse trip:

Dramatic cliff-top setting on Grand Island

One of the more intact historic light stations

A reminder that not every lighthouse is open to the public—but they’re still part of the story

 Heart of an Iron Ore Port

Marquette Harbor Lighthouse sits above the busy ore docks that helped build the industrial Midwest. The first light here was lit in 1853, with a replacement brick tower built in the 1860s after the original deteriorated.

Painted bright red with a white lantern, the square tower and keeper’s residence are some of the oldest significant buildings in Marquette and played a key role in making the harbor safer for iron-ore freighters. The site is now managed by the Marquette Maritime Museum, which offers tours during the season.

Why it’s worth a stop:

Striking red structure perched above Lake Superior

Tours that include local maritime and shipwreck history

Great views of ore docks, breakwaters, and passing freighters

A Lighthouse You Can Sleep In

About 25 miles north of Marquette, Big Bay Point Light has one of the best views on Lake Superior—and you can wake up to it. The lighthouse was established in 1896 with a square brick tower attached to a duplex keeper’s dwelling

Automated in the 1940s and deactivated for a time, the station eventually became a bed-and-breakfast in the 1980s. Today it’s once again an active aid to navigation and a beautifully restored inn where guests can stay in the former keeper’s quarters, wander the trails, and watch Superior’s moods from high above the water.

Why this one goes straight onto my bucket list:

Stay overnight in a real lighthouse

Panoramic views from the bluff over Lake Superior

Trails, woods, and that “far from everything” feeling

Guiding the Copper Country

On the south shore of Lake Superior, the Ontonagon Lighthouse once guided ships into a busy harbor serving the copper and lumber trade. The current brick lighthouse, built in 1866 to replace an earlier wood structure, watched over the harbor until the light was deactivated in 1963.

The three-story keeper’s dwelling attached to the tower has been carefully preserved, and the site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours are offered seasonally by the Ontonagon County Historical Society, which also operates a small museum in town.

Why I’d plan a stop here:

Beautiful, well-preserved 19th-century light station

Ties to the copper-mining history of the western U.P.

Charming, less-crowded small-town setting

Watching the Keweenaw’s Rocky Shore

As you round the Keweenaw Peninsula, Eagle Harbor Lighthouse comes into view on rocky shoreline that once saw heavy traffic during the copper boom. The first light was lit in 1851; the current red brick lighthouse was built in 1871 and now serves as both an active light and a museum site.

Run by the Keweenaw County Historical Society, the complex includes the tower, keeper’s dwelling, fog signal building, and several small museums about local history and maritime life.

What makes it a standout:

Red brick tower with sweeping views of Lake Superior

Several small museums in one stop

Great vantage point for storms and sunsets over the Keweenaw

One of Lake Superior’s First Two Lights

Just beyond the village of Copper Harbor, a trip by boat takes you out to Copper Harbor Light Station on Hays Point. The first lighthouse here went into service in 1849, making it one of the first two lights on Lake Superior (along with Whitefish Point)

The current brick tower dates to 1866 and was part of the network guiding ships loaded with copper ore and supplies through treacherous weather and reefs. Today the station is operated as a museum unit with exhibits on shipping and lighthouse life.

Why it belongs on a Lake Superior lighthouse tour:

One of the earliest lighthouses on Lake Superior

Boat ride plus historic station = great day trip

Ties directly into the Keweenaw copper-rush story

Remote Edge of the Keweenaw

Three miles off the tip of the Keweenaw sits Manitou Island, a wild, largely uninhabited island with boreal forest, bogs, and rocky shoreline. On its eastern tip stands the Manitou Island Light Station, a skeletal iron tower first lit in the 1860s to warn ships as they approached land at the edge of the peninsula.

Today the station and surrounding 90+ acres form a nature preserve managed by the Keweenaw Land Trust. Access is limited and usually by private boat or special trips, which helps preserve both the fragile ecosystem and the historic structures.

What draws me to this one:

True “end of the road” feeling—beyond the Keweenaw’s tip

Combination of maritime history and rugged wilderness

A perfect stop for serious lighthouse and nature lovers

The Loneliest Place in the World”

Far off the Keweenaw Peninsula, sitting on a barely visible reef 24 miles from the nearest land, is Stannard Rock Light. The exposed stone crib of this lighthouse has been called one of the top engineering feats in the United States, and the station earned the nickname “The Loneliest Place in the World” thanks to its isolation and brutal winters.

Automated in the 1960s, it remains an active aid to navigation but is closed to the public. Most people only see it from the air or on specialized boat trips.

Why it still belongs on a “top” list even if we never set foot there:

Most distant-from-shore lighthouse in the U.S.

Incredible engineering, built on open lake rock

Symbol of just how unforgiving Lake Superior can be

Guarding Siskiwit Bay

On the south side of Isle Royale, the Isle Royale Light stands on Menagerie Island at the entrance to Siskiwit Bay. This 61-foot octagonal sandstone tower was completed and lit in 1875 to help ships find safe water along the remote island’s rocky shore

The lighthouse was automated in 1913, and today a solar-powered optic sends its beam out about 10 miles. You can usually see it from sightseeing boats that circle Isle Royale, but visiting up close generally requires a private boat and calm conditions.

Why it fascinates me:

Beautiful sandstone tower in a very remote national park

Long history helping ships navigate around Isle Royale

Combines lighthouse chasing with true wilderness exploration

Standing Alone Off Isle Royale

To finish this Lake Superior tour, we head just off the northwest tip of Isle Royale to Rock of Ages Light, one of the most remote and powerful lighthouses on the Great Lakes. Built around 1908 on a tiny rock outcropping, the tower rises more than 130 feet above the water and once housed a massive second-order Fresnel lens.

The reef here had claimed multiple ships, and the new lighthouse dramatically reduced wrecks in this treacherous area. Life for keepers at Rock of Ages was demanding and isolated, and there are plenty of stories—some heroic, some heartbreaking—about rescues in terrible storms. Today the light is automated, and a nonprofit is working to preserve the structure.

Why this feels like the perfect “final stop”:

Tall, elegant offshore tower rising straight from the rock

One of the most powerful and remote lights on the Great Lakes

A stark reminder of how much was asked of lighthouse keepers and their families

Until Next Time !

Susan