Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is one of the most popular destinations in the Midwest for group travel and one of the biggest destinations on the Great Lakes for viewing lighthouses.
Known for its rich history, friendly people and scenic beauty, the area is blessed with an abundance of natural resources including over 300 waterfalls, 4,300 inland lakes and 12,000 miles of rivers and streams.
With more than 1,700 miles of shoreline on three of the Great Lakes, lighthouses dot the coastline from one end of the peninsula to the other and have played an instrumental part in its development and history.
ASK
Fred Huffman, UPTRA
Group Tour Coordinator for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
800-562-7134
groups@uptravel.com
uptravel.com
A GUIDING LIGHT ON THE BIG LAKE
Credit: UPTRA
The Whitefish Point Lighthouse is the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior. It stands on the south shore of Lake Superior in an area known as the “Graveyard of the Great Lakes” and has been guiding mariner’s around Whitefish Point since 1849.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, which houses the bell from the “Edmund Fitzgerald,” is located on-site and nearby is the Upper Tahquamenon Falls, the second largest waterfall east of the Mississippi River.
ENLIGHTENED ON MUNISING BAY
Credit: UPTRA
Take the Pictured Rocks Boat Cruise on Lake Superior or the Glass Bottom Shipwreck Tour in Munising Bay for the best pictures of the East Channel Lighthouse, a historic lighthouse on Grand Island, the second largest island in the American waters of Lake Superior.
The lighthouse operated from 1867 until 1913, and during that time, it guided thousands of vessels plying the waters of Lake Superior into the safe confines of Munising Bay.
SHINE A LITTLE LIGHT ON ME
Credit: Delta County Historical Society
The Sand Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1867 to direct vessels around the sand point on Lake Michigan and into the Escanaba Harbor. The exterior of the lighthouse has been restored to its original appearance and the interior is turn of the century.
The lighthouse and grounds are on the National Register of Historic Places and maintained by the Delta County Historical Society which also operates the nearby Delta County Historical Museum and Gift Shop.
ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTFUL
Credit: UPTRA
The Seul Choix Point Lighthouse marks a small harbor on the north shore of Lake Michigan in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula about 60 miles east of the Straits of Mackinac. The 1895 lighthouse is operated by the Gulliver Historical Society and is reportedly haunted.
The harbor where the lighthouse stands was named by the early French fur traders and means “only choice,” as it was the only harbor of refuge in this part of Lake Michigan.
