Grand Haven South Pierhead Lights

Grand Haven’s red pier lights are a walk first, and an easy one for any age. Start at Chinook Pier downtown and follow the boardwalk along the river, about 3 miles round trip, or come from the state park beach. Head out along the south pier toward the two red lights, or watch them from the sand, and you have the main draw whether or not the lights are open. Parking in the state park needs a Recreation Passport.

If you want to go inside, keep your plans loose. In June 2026, after years of restoration by the Grand Haven Lighthouse Conservancy, the outer light opened for public interior tours for the first time. Tours depend on the weather and happen only when the pier is dry and waves are not breaking over it, so treat one as a bonus.

The two lights work together as a range, guiding vessels into the harbor at the mouth of the Grand River. The outer light is housed in a square structure at the end of the pier, and the inner light is a conical cast iron tower closer to shore. They also go by the South Pier Entrance Light and the South Pier Inner Light.

A light station has marked this harbor since 1839. The rear light moved to the inner end of the pier in 1905, a cast iron catwalk replaced the original wooden one in 1921, and lights were added along the length of the catwalk in 1988. The City of Grand Haven owns the lights and works with the Conservancy on their preservation, helped in part by a 2024 state lighthouse grant for the inner light.