8 Lake Michigan lighthouses to visit in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes are also home to great lighthouses. Some are open for tours, while others serve as a picturesque photo backdrop and a reminder of the lakes’ legacy as a major transportation avenue. Here are eight lighthouses worth visiting along Lake Michigan, from south to north.
Wind Point, Racine
This 108-foot lighthouse on a point north of Racine was built in 1880 and today is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s open for tours and climbs up the tower from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the first Sunday of the month, June through October, and from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. the Saturday before that Sunday, July through September. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 6 to 11; children under 6 are not admitted up the tower. The park and beach around the lighthouse are open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
North Point, Milwaukee
This 74-foot lighthouse alongside a Queen Anne-style keeper’s quarters is a landmark in the city’s Lake Park. After the Coast Guard decommissioned it in 1997, it stood vacant until a friends group restored the structure and opened it as a museum in 2007. Tours are now offered from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday year-round, plus from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and Friday in the summer. Tours cost $8 for adults, $5 for seniors (65+) and $5 for students and kids (5-11). Kids must be at least 5 years old and 38 inches tall to climb the tower.
Port Washington Breakwater
This Art Deco-style lighthouse replaced an older wooden structure in 1935 as part of a Works Progress Administration project. Tours aren’t available of the small structure, but visitors can walk along the 2,500-foot breakwater to get a closer look.
Rawley Point, Two Rivers
This lighthouse is worth a visit not only for its steel tower rising 113 feet above the beach, but also for its location in Point Beach State Forest. Tours are not available of the working lighthouse, but it’s viewable (and photographable) from the beach. In addition to six miles of Lake Michigan shoreline, the state forest has 17 miles of hiking trails to explore. Visitors need a state parks admission sticker ($28/year, $8/day).
Baileys Harbor Range Lights, Baileys Harbor
Built in 1869, these lighthouses are the only ones of their kind remaining in their original spots on Lake Michigan. Sailors used them to navigate into the harbor by aligning with the white light of the Upper Range, 39 feet above the water, and the red light of the Lower Range, 22 feet above the water. Today the lights are part of The Ridges Sanctuary, Wisconsin’s first land trust. Tours are offered from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, June through mid-October, and cost $5.
Cana Island, Baileys Harbor
You’ll have to walk or ride a tractorpulled wagon across a narrow, sometimes water-covered causeway to reach the 8.7-acre island this lighthouse sits on. The wagon is provided by the Door County Maritime Museum, which offers tours and climbs of the 89-foot lighthouse tower and keeper’s quarters, built in 1869. The island is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, May through October. Admission to the grounds and tower is $12 for adults and $10 for kids ages 5-17. Kids 4 and under are admitted free but are not permitted up the tower (kids 5 and older must be 42 inches tall to climb).
Eagle Bluff, Fish Creek
This 1868 lighthouse, constructed from Cream City brick, sits high above Green Bay on a bluff in Peninsula State Park, one of the state’s most popular parks. Tours are offered from mid-May through mid-October and cost $8 for adults, $5 for student ages 13-17 and $3 for kids ages 6-12. Visitors also need a state parks admission sticker ($28/ year, $8/day).
Pottawatomie, Rock Island
The journey to this lighthouse is long: a drive up the Door County peninsula and two ferry rides. It’s worth it to see the state’s oldest lighthouse. Originally built in 1836, it was replaced by the current structure in 1858. The lighthouse has been restored to its 1910 state, and tours are given by volunteer docents who live in the structure in the summer. The free tours are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, Memorial Day weekend through Columbus Day weekend. The island, protected as a state park, also has historical stone structures constructed by its former owner, a wealthy inventor, in the early 20th century.