Great Lights of the Great Lakes

I first got hooked on lighthouses back in 1999, and except for a three year hiatus where we attempted to run restaurant, have been pursuing as much of my free time in visiting these treasures.

When I first started to visit them, it was an attempt to see as many as possible in the least amount of time. I thought that I was in a competition with a rapidly ticking clock. Then came Crisp Point, on the shores of Lake Superior in Michigans upper Peninsula.

We were in Grand Marais and about 25 miles as the crow flies from Crisp Point. We had directions from Newberry, but that required a lot of backtracking and a straight line is shorter than a route that was three times the length-right?

So we headed east out of Grand Marais and the first couple of miles were grave, not bad. Then we had a couple of miles of washboard gravel roads, slow going but still making progress. Then came the two tracks, and that might be an overstatement. For the next hour and fifteen minutes my son Andrew and I meandered on these "trails" through all kinds of forest stages, every up and down, every turn, negotiated slowly and cautiously because we had no idea what was awaiting.

Fortunately the only motorized vehicles we encountered were ATVs, we can hardly imagine the problems had we met any other vehicles. The only evidence of our existence was the continual wake of dust we kept up along the trail.

We rambled on and on. Andrew kept wondering when we would get there. Then there came the light and a sudden feeling of relief overcame us. One could only imagine of past mariners plying the Lakes in the violent tempests that frequent the lakes, seeing a light and feeling the relief that was near at hand.

Lighthouses would never be the same. Each light would be savored for its' own unique and special character, its' own charm, its' own historical significance.

Around four hundred lights grace the Great Lakes. Each light has its own page and as we visit them we will add the pictures. Each page has information to help you plan trips. It will give you distance and time from the previous light and to the next light. It will tell you about how much walking you will have to do. It will give information on museums, tower access and and fees you will need to be prepared to pay. There will be historical information and specific travel info. The one thing we can't include is how much time you will spend at the light. That is your decision.