![]() Visit website for hours (open through Oct. The Mackinac Bridge and its superior navigational aids rendered Old Mackinac Point obsolete in 1957, but this lighthouse is still very popular. “Whatever the reason, the building’s architecture is quite unusual.” “Maybe it’s because the light was in a public park,” museum historian Craig Wilson says of the building’s Norman Revival design. The Old Mackinac Point light, the “Castle of the Straits,” began illuminating the dangerous shipping lane in 1892. But in the 19th century, the narrow stretch of water was one of its most treacherous. The Straits of Mackinac ranks as one of Michigan’s most beloved destinations. Old Mackinac Point lighthouse | Mackinaw City 31) free admission to first floor, to climb to the top adults $4, children 6–12 $2, children under 6 free 20500 Center Rd., Traverse City, Michigan 49686, 231/223-7324, missionpointlighthouse. A small museum recounts the light’s history, including that of its rare female keeper, Sarah Lane. “People come for the shallow-water beach or the hiking trails at the end of the road and suddenly, there it is: Mission Point,” says lighthouse manager Ginger Schultz.īuilt in 1870, the lighthouse casts a beacon farther than its 45-foot height would suggest, perched as it is atop a sand dune. Once the state route nears the end of Old Mission Peninsula, travelers discover a lighthouse they often didn’t know existed. 23 N., Rogers City, Michigan 49779, 989/734-4907, ĭuring the fall, scenic M-37 rises over hills brilliant with color and past vineyards heavy with wine grapes. Divers occasionally explore the ship’s remains, but a 150-foot wooden section remains clearly visible after a century on the Lake Huron shore. But a large chunk still lies on the beach.”Įn route to Ohio and loaded with iron ore, the Fay ran into rough weather that caused the break up of the ship and the death of one crewmember. Fay,” says Stone, “and most of the ship lies beneath 17 feet of water. A spiral staircase leads up the 62-foot tower, but according to Barb Stone, founding member of the Forty Mile Point Lighthouse Society, the attraction’s most significant feature lies half-buried in the sand 200 yards from the lighthouse: a shipwreck dating from October 1905. The square, white lighthouse at Forty Mile Point has guided mariners through northwest Lake Huron since its construction in 1896. Whitefish Point Rd., Paradise, Michigan 49768, 888/492-3747, įorty Mile Point Lighthouse | Rogers City 31) adults $13, children 17 & under $9 (family rates available) 18335 N. The Fitzgerald is just one of several wrecks recounted, with stories of each vessel’s demise, and ship artifacts and rescue equipment from the period on display. “The station’s role as the one nearest the Edmund Fitzgerald when it went down - and the fact that it wasn’t operating the night of that storm - makes this lighthouse an intriguing one,” says Bruce Lynn, executive director of the Shipwreck Museum. Dispersed through the older buildings are displays of the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum including that of America’s most famous modern wreck: the Edmund Fitzgerald. A newer building, the 1923 crew’s quarters, ranks as a notable exception, having been converted into a small hotel. Set on Lake Superior, along a stretch that sometimes goes by the ominous name Shipwreck Coast (some 200 wrecks lie offshore) Whitefish Point’s 80-foot lighthouse stands amid a collection of brilliant red-and-white rescue station buildings. Whitefish Point dates back to 1861 and is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum. ![]() The building’s second floor is modernized to house volunteer keepers. A museum re-creates the keeper’s quarters from 1890 to 1910 and details the hardships faced by the keepers who once handled this difficult and vital job along the Great Lakes. But Tawas Point is a sandbar, and it continues to grow.”Įven after the Coast Guard extinguishes Tawas Point’s light, visitors will likely be drawn to the graceful white tower. “When this light was built Lake Huron splashed up against its cribbing. “We expect the Coast Guard to decommission this lighthouse, too,” says Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan History Center. ![]() The second of two beacons, the current Tawas Point light replaced a predecessor that ended up far from the water as Tawas Point grew. ![]() Since 1876, the Tawas Point lighthouse has lit up the Lake Huron shore. ![]()
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