Lighthouse
Big Sable Point Lighthouse
An 1867 lighthouse, 112 feet tall and banded black and white, on the Lake Michigan shore in Ludington State Park. You reach it on a 1.8-mile walk or ride.
Lighthouses are part of the look of this shore. Some are open for tours in season, others are best seen from the beach or pier. Each lighthouse page says who manages it.
Places for lighthouses
Lighthouse
Grand Haven South Pierhead Lights
Two red range lights on Grand Haven's south pier, joined by an elevated catwalk, marking the harbor entrance where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan.
State park
Grand Haven State Park
A 48-acre sand beach park where the Grand River meets Lake Michigan, with a swim beach, a modern campground and views of the pier lighthouses.
State park
Ludington State Park
A big dune park between Hamlin Lake and 7 miles of Lake Michigan shore, with three campgrounds, 21 miles of trails and the walk to Big Sable Point Lighthouse.
Lighthouse
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.
Lighthouse
Point Betsie Lighthouse
An 1850s brick lighthouse on the Lake Michigan shore north of Frankfort, with a museum, a climbable tower and a public beach beside it.
Attraction
Beaver Island
Lake Michigan's largest island, a ferry ride of just over two hours from Charlevoix, with beaches, lighthouses and long trails. Plan to stay the night.
Lighthouse
Charlevoix South Pier Lighthouse
A red steel pierhead light where Charlevoix's Pine River Channel meets Lake Michigan, beside Michigan Beach and a favorite place to watch the sunset.
Lighthouse
Frankfort North Breakwater Lighthouse
A 67-foot square steel lighthouse at the head of Frankfort's north breakwater, marking the harbor entrance in full view of the city beach.
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.
Lighthouse
Manistee North Pierhead Light
Manistee's 38-foot pierhead light at the end of the north pier. Tower climbs began in 2026; the tower is now listed as closed until May 21, 2027.
Trail
Muskegon Lakeshore Trail
About 12 paved miles along Muskegon Lake from Pere Marquette Park to the Muskegon Lake Nature Preserve, with views of the channel and South Pier light.
Lighthouse
Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse
The 1892 castle-style lighthouse just east of the Mackinac Bridge, with restored keepers' rooms, a tower you can climb and a shipwreck museum.
Beach
Pere Marquette Park
Muskegon's big Lake Michigan beach at the channel mouth, raked daily, with volleyball, kiteboarding, the South Breakwater Light and the Lakeshore Trail.
Lighthouse
White River Light Station
An 1875 brick lighthouse at the White Lake channel, now a maritime museum, with a 38-foot tower you can climb in season.
On the map
Lighthouses: places on the map
15 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Recommended towns for lighthouses
Towns an independent source (such as the DNR, the National Park Service or Pure Michigan) singles out for this. Listed by town size, not ranked.
Benzie & Sleeping Bear
Frankfort
A beach-and-lighthouse harbor town: a Lake Michigan beach at the end of Main Street, a breakwater light off the sand and Point Betsie up the shore.
Southern Gateway
Grand Haven
A Lake Michigan beach city on the Grand River: a state park beach, a pier walk to two red lights, a riverfront boardwalk and free Musical Fountain shows.
Ludington & Manistee
Ludington
A Lake Michigan harbor town for beach and lighthouse trips, with the S.S. Badger car ferry and a big dune state park just north of town.
Mackinac & Straits
Mackinaw City
The base for the Straits, beside the Mackinac Bridge at the tip of the Lower Peninsula, with a reconstructed colonial fort and ferries to Mackinac Island.
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.
Also with lighthouses nearby
Lakes
River · Southern Gateway
Grand River
The lower Grand River at Grand Haven: a city marina with transient slips, launches, kayak rentals, fall steelhead off the piers and a boardwalk to the lights.
- Public launch
- Rentals
Great Lake
Lake Michigan
The big lake that shapes this coast: state park and town beaches from Grand Haven to Charlevoix, harbor towns with city marinas, and pier lights to walk out to.
- Swim beach
Bay · Mackinac & Straits
Straits of Mackinac
The strait between Michigan's peninsulas, with harbors at Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island, the bridge, island ferries and protected shipwrecks.
- Public launch