How to visit five lighthouses on Lake Huron in one day

ALPENA, MI – This adventure tour along the shores of Lake Huron in Michigan includes five spectacular lighthouses located within a two-hour drive of each other.

According to Visit Alpena, the local tourism office, the Alpena area has the “finest collection of lighthouses on the Great Lakes.”

This collection includes seven lighthouses from Presque Isle to Harrisville. However, two of them – Middle Island Light Station and Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse – are located on islands and can only be reached by boat. In this article, we’ll focus on the five lighthouses you can reach by land.

If you’re determined, you can visit all five lights in one day. Or, take your time exploring and add other fun activities to your trip to the Alpena area.

The tour begins at the 40 Mile Point Lighthouse. It is then a 32-minute drive to the New Presque Isle Lighthouse, which is about a mile down the road from the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse. From the old lighthouse, it is a 33-minute drive to the Little Red Lighthouse in Alpena. The route ends at the Sturgeon Point Lighthouse, which is a 38-minute drive from Little Red.

Read on for more information about each lighthouse.

40 Mile Point Lighthouse

This lighthouse was built in 1896 to help ships navigate the dangerous coastline, where open water, hidden shoals and false coves have claimed many ships’ lives, according to Visit Alpena. Follow a trail to the beach to see the remains of the Joseph S. Fay, one of 27 wooden ships that sank during a violent storm in 1905. About 150 feet of the ship’s side still rests on the beach.

The park is open to the public year-round. The Lighthouse Museum, Pilot House, Glawe School and gift shop are open from Memorial Day weekend through mid-October, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. Admission is free.

The 40 Mile Point Lighthouse is located at US-23 7323 north of Rogers City.

New Presque Isle Lighthouse

At 113 feet tall, New Presque Isle Light Station is the tallest lighthouse open to the public on the Great Lakes. For a fee ($5 for adults, $3 for children), visitors can climb 130 steps to the top and enjoy breathtaking views.

The lighthouse was built in 1870 to replace a smaller lighthouse about a mile down the coast. The tower has an attached keeper’s quarters, which now serves as a gift shop. A separate keeper’s quarters, built in 1905, has been restored and serves as a museum.

The lighthouse is located in a 99-acre community park with a playground, picnic area, gazebo and nature trails.

Visit the museum and climb the tower daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September 2nd, after which hours are reduced until the buildings close in mid-October. You can find it at 4500 E. Grand Lake Road in Presque Isle.

Old Presque Isle Lighthouse

Built in 1840, the Old Presque Isle Lighthouse is one of the oldest lighthouses still standing on the Great Lakes. It remained in operation until 1871, when the lighthouse keeper was transferred to the new, much larger lighthouse.

Visitors can climb the hand-hewn stone steps of the 30-foot-tall tower and enjoy panoramic views of the Lake Huron shoreline and Presque Isle Harbor. The fee is $5 for adults and $3 for children.

The keeper’s apartment serves as a museum where you can blow foghorns, ring the tower bell, pose for a photo in old stocks, and examine artifacts.

Visit the museum and climb the tower daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through September 2nd, after which hours are reduced until the buildings close in mid-October. You can find it at 5295 E. Grand Lake Road in Presque Isle.

Alpena’s “little red” lighthouse

The Alpena Breakwater Light was built of wood in 1877. Locals say it is “long in service but not very pretty,” according to Visit Alpena. The 80-foot-tall skeletal tower stands at the mouth of the Thunder Bay River.

Known as “Little Red,” the lighthouse is believed to be the only one of its kind in the United States. It was rebuilt in 1888 from wood and rebuilt for a third time in 1914 – this time from steel.

The light is best viewed from the docks at Alpena Marina, 400 E. Chisholm St.

Sturgeon Point Lighthouse

The Sturgeon Point Lighthouse has been in continuous operation for over 150 years. It was commissioned in 1870 and is still in use today. The original 3.5th order Fresnel lens, made in Paris, is still in the tower but is not in use. Instead, the U.S. Coast Guard monitors an LED light that guides pleasure craft.

The grounds include a restored keeper’s house that serves as a maritime museum. The museum is open on Memorial Day through Labor Day weekends from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The grounds are open year-round. The tower is open for climbing tours at times; call 989-471-2088 for details.

The lighthouse is located at 6071 Point Road in Harrisville.

Click here to find a printable version of Visit Alpena’s Lighthouse Adventure Tour.