National Lighthouse Day is celebrated on August 7th each year since 1989. The first National Lighthouse Day took place on the 200th anniversary of the first congressional act for the establishment and support of lighthouses, beacons, buoys, and public piers. Since that act called for the building of the first lighthouse, close to a thousand have been constructed in the United States. Lighthouses are plentiful here in Michigan and continue to be popular destinations for locals and out-of-state visitors. For this year’s National Lighthouse Day, let’s take a look at 25 fun and interesting facts about Michigan lighthouses!

Michigan is home to more lighthouses than any other state. Depending on which list you follow, there are currently somewhere between 120-130 lighthouses here in the Great Lake State. Including all former beacons that have been lost to time, more than 150 Michigan lighthouses have existed in the last two centuries. In case you were curious, the next closest state to our total is Maine, which has close to 80 lighthouses.

Michigan’s oldest lighthouse is the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse in Port Huron. The lighthouse that currently stands here was not the first at this location but it does date all the way back to 1829! The 82 foot tall tower is open to the public and offers great views of Lake Huron, the Bluewater Bridge, and Port Huron. The light station is open as a museum, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily in the summer months and weekends in the fall.

The only marble lighthouse in the world is the William Livingstone Memorial Light on Belle Isle in Detroit. Designed by legendary architects Geza Maroti and Albert Kahn, this more than 50 foot tall tower was constructed in the 1930s. It pays tribute to the former president of the Lake Carriers Association, and can easily be visited by those who travel to Belle Isle State Park.

There are two Sand Point Lighthouses and two Round Island Lighthouses in the Upper Peninsula. You can visit a Sand Point Lighthouse (and museum) in Escanaba (pictured above) and a Sand Point Lighthouse in Baraga. Those traveling to Mackinac Island pass by the iconic red and white Round Island Lighthouse, while a less often seen Round Island Lighthouse in the St. Mary’s River is a private residence.

A handful of Michigan lighthouses are believed to be haunted. Paranormal happenings have been reported at Michigan lighthouses, including the Seul Choix Pointe Lighthouse, Old Presque Isle Lighthouse, New Presque Isle Lighthouse, Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, Big Bay Point Lighthouse, Waugoshance Shoal Light, and others.

The Michigan Secretary of State office offers special “Save Our Lights” license plates, with funds going toward lighthouse preservation. A portion of the cost of these plates goes directly into helping lighthouse groups that apply for grants, and since 2000 more than $3 million has been awarded to Michigan lighthouses. This year, the Charlevoix South Pierhead Light received matching funds for interior and exterior painting and the remote Gull Rock Lighthouse received funds for roof repair, doors, cleaning, and more.

Close to 20 Michigan lighthouse can be viewed while visiting Michigan State Parks. This includes the two lights in Grand Haven and two in Muskegon, Tawas Point Lighthouse, Big Sable Point Lighthouse (Ludington State Park), Holland Harbor Light (Holland State Park), Copper Harbor Lighthouse (Fort Wilkins Historic State Park) and more.

The Round Island Lighthouse was featured in the 1980 film Somewhere in Time. In the film, stars Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour paddle a rowboat from Mackinac Island over to Round Island, where they enjoy a romantic stroll.

Only four Michigan pier lighthouses still have their catwalks. Many lighthouses built on piers and breakwaters had these structures, which provided an elevated walkway so the keepers could reach the lights when waves were high. Only four remain in Michigan, at St. Joseph, South Haven, Grand Haven, and Manistee.

You can find lighthouses at both of Michigan’s National Lakeshores. At Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, you can hike to the Au Sable Point Light Station. The Munising Range Lights in town are also managed by the National Park Service and you are able to visit but no enter. At Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore you can get distant views on land of the North Manitou Shoal Light and the South Manitou Island Lighthouse. A day trip to the islands gets you closer, and the South Manitou Island Lighthouse is also open for tours. Just outside of the park boundary you will find the popular Point Betsie Lighthouse.

The Wawatam Lighthouse in St. Ignace used to be a roadside attraction at the Michigan Welcome Center near Monroe. The light was moved to St. Ignace and became a functioning beacon for the first time in 2006. It is 52 feet tall and is one of the newest working towers in the country. You can find two others like it at the welcome centers in New Buffalo and Clare.

Visionary engineer (and Civil War veteran) Orlando Metcalf Poe was responsible for the design of some of Michigan’s most beautiful lighthouses. He embraced aesthetically pleasing design elements with the towers at Little Sable Point, South Manitou Island, Seul Choix Pointe, and Au Sable Point and oversaw the expensive and difficult construction of the Spectacle Reef Light in Lake Huron and the Stannard Rock Light in Lake Superior.

Michigan has five lighthouses that stand taller than 100 feet. The Rock of Ages Light (Lake Superior), White Shoal Light (Lake Michigan), Big Sable Point Lighthouse (Lake Michigan), Little Sable Point Light (Lake Michigan), and New Presque Isle Lighthouse (Lake Huron) are some of the tallest on the Great Lakes, but are still much shorter than those in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.

In 1995, two Michigan lighthouse were featured on 32 cent postage stamps. The set of five stamps featured one from each of the Great Lakes, with St. Joseph (Lake Michigan) and Spectacle Reef (Lake Huron) representing Michigan while Split Rock (Split Rock/Lake Superior), Marblehead (Ohio/Lake Erie), and Thirty Mile Point (New York/Lake Ontario) rounding out the collection of historic beacons.

The Crisp Point Lighthouse on Lake Superior is a true testament to what a determined group of volunteers can accomplish. In severe danger of loss to erosion in the 1990s, this lighthouse has been preserved, restored, and improved by the ongoing efforts of the Crisp Point Light Historical Society. Visitors that make the long journey out to this remote beacon on Lake Superior are now greeted with a lighthouse tower they can climb, a restored service building, a visitor center, restrooms, walkways and benches, and more. The views from the top of the tower here are amazing!

Six Michigan lighthouses are located on Hiawatha National Forest land. Five of these are owned by the NFS, and three are open and easily accessible. The Peninsula Point Light, Point Iroquois Lighthouse, and the Grand Island Range Lights in Christmas are popular stops and easy to visit, while seeing the Grand Island North Light, Grand Island East Channel Lighthouse, and Round Island Lighthouse is best done by boat.

You can stay in several Michigan lighthouses as part of volunteer keeper programs. Volunteer Keepers help keep things running for the Lakeshore Keepers and their four lighthouse (Big Sable Point, Little Sable Point, Ludington North Breakwater Light, White River Light Station). You can stay at the Tawas Point Lighthouse as a volunteer keeper, and GLLKA runs volunteer keeper programs at the Cheboygan Front Range Lighthouse and St. Helena Island Lighthouse. Other keeper opportunities are available at the Mission Point Lighthouse north of Traverse City and the Grand Traverse Lighthouse at Leelanau State Park.

The Great Lakes Lightkeepers Association has its headquarters in Mackinaw City. GLLKA continues to advocate for the protection and preservation of our lighthouses, offering a wealth of historical information on lighthouse cruise and at other events. They also maintain the Cheboygan River Front Range Lighthouse and the St. Helena Island Lighthouse.

Many Michigan lighthouses participate in the USLHS stamp passport program. You can check out our post about the passport program for a full list of these locations. For each passport book filled with stamps from visiting lighthouses, you can earn rewards from the United States Lighthouse Service while also donating funds to help with lighthouse preservation.

You can see shipwrecks in the sand when you visit the lighthouses at Au Sable Point and Forty Mile Point. At Forty Mile Point, the wreck of the wooden steamer Joseph S. Fay can be seen in the sand near the lighthouse. A beach hike while visiting the Au Sable Point Light Station will reveal the ruins of several shipwrecks, including the Sitka and Gale Staples.

The Lakeshore Keepers Association maintains four (soon to be five) Lake Michigan lighthouses and opens them for tours and tower climbs. This organization recently changed its name (previously the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association) and added the Manistee North Pierhead Light to its roster of protected beacons. They currently offer tours and tower climbs at the White River Light Station, Ludington North Breakwater Light, Little Sable Point Light, and Big Sable Point Lighthouse.

The Whitefish Point Light Station is home to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum and is the closest lighthouse to the point where the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in 1975. The site has a memorial to the 29 crew members that lost their lives, and the museum has several exhibits about and artifacts from the Fitzgerald including the ship’s bell. A service is held here every year on November 10th and the 2025 memorial will mark the 50th anniversary of one of the worst tragedies in the history of Great Lakes shipping.

Nonprofit groups are currently working to restore and preserve several of Michigan’s beautiful offshore lighthouses. As lighthouses have been made available for sale from the government in recent decades, a handful of nonprofit preservation groups have started and helped return some of our offshore lights to their former glory. The efforts of the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society, North Manitou Light Keepers, Spectacle Reef Preservation Society, and White Shoal Light Historical Preservation Society should be highlighted for helping the public finally have a chance to visit some of the more remote and beautiful lights in our state.

More than 20 Michigan lighthouses that are open to the public also have museums full of historical artifacts. Learn about what it was like to live at a remote Michigan lighthouse while taking a trip back in time at the wonderful museums at Seul Choix Pointe, Ontonagon, Eagle Harbor, Pointe Aux Barques, Big Sable Point, McGulpin Point, Old Mackinac Point, Forty Mile Point, Presque Isle, and other sites.

Which Great Lake is home to the most Michigan lighthouses? Lake Michigan! There are more than 40 Michigan lighthouses on Lake Michigan, protecting harbors from Escanaba to St. Joseph. Pictured above is the White River Light Station, which recently celebrated its 150th anniversary.

We hope you enjoyed these lighthouse fun facts and go visit one of our more than 120 lighthouses on National Lighthouse Day. Special events are planned at McGulpin Point Lighthouse, Tawas Point Lighthouse, Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse, Muskegon South Pier Light, and other locations.