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Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Traverse City
A bayfront city at the head of Grand Traverse Bay, with a walkable Front Street downtown, bay beaches, cherry orchards and two wine peninsulas close by.
About 15 miles away (straight line)
Lighthouse · Grand Traverse & Inland Lakes
Mission Point Lighthouse
An 1870 lighthouse at the northern tip of the Old Mission Peninsula, with a climbable tower, a small museum, a beach and trails around it.
Photo: Notorious4life, Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Mission Point Lighthouse is the reason to drive the full length of the Old Mission Peninsula. At the very end of the road you get an 1870 lighthouse you can climb, a beach and miles of trails.
From Traverse City, follow M-37 up the peninsula, the narrow finger of land that divides Grand Traverse Bay into its West and East arms, to its northern end.
Parking and the park are free, and dogs are welcome on the grounds (not in the lighthouse). The tower tour has a small fee. The lighthouse is not wheelchair accessible, though the grounds are listed as accessible.
Climb the stairs to the lantern deck, see a fifth-order Fresnel lens and tour the small museum on the second floor. Then give the grounds time: there is a beach at the point and miles of trails through the surrounding park.
The light began guiding ships on West Grand Traverse Bay on September 10, 1870, and was decommissioned in 1933. It stands a few hundred yards south of the 45th parallel. Peninsula Township owns the lighthouse and runs it with a manager and volunteers, and it also runs a keeper program in which volunteers stay on site.
Practical information
- Managed by
- Peninsula Township
- Season
- The lighthouse lists hours from May through October and on some November weekends, and the park around it is listed as open all year. Check current hours before you drive up.
- Official website
- missionpointlighthouse.com
Location
Map of Mission Point Lighthouse
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Nearby towns
Also nearby
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Beach
Dam Beach (Elk Rapids)
A white-sand village beach on East Grand Traverse Bay beside the Elk Rapids hydro plant, off Ames Street, with a natural feel and a popular fishing spot nearby.
About 7 miles away (straight line)
Beach
South Beach (Northport)
Northport's village beach on Grand Traverse Bay, just south of the marina on Bay Street, with a sandy swim area, restrooms, picnic tables and a playground.
About 10 miles away (straight line)
State park
Leelanau State Park
The state park at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula, with the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, a rustic campground and the Cathead Bay trails to a sandy beach.
About 15 miles away (straight line)