Lighthouses of the Keweenaw

The Keweenaw Peninsula reaches into Lake Superior like a thumb, and lights mark almost every harbor and point on it. Some you can tour. Some you see from the road. A few show only from the water. We live at one of them, so here is the guide we give friends: what each light is, who looks after it, and how to see it.

Before you go: hours and tours change from year to year. Check each owner's site, and remember that most of these are open only from early summer into October.

 

The lights

Copper Harbor Lighthouse

At the tip of the peninsula, in Fort Wilkins Historic State Park. The 1866 brick tower stands with its 1848 keeper's house, beside the steel tower that took over the light in 1933. The state owns it. There is no public road: you reach it by charter boat from Copper Harbor (the state names Noah's Ark Charters). The keeper's house is open during tours; the tower is closed.

See it: by boat only.

 

Eagle Harbor Lighthouse

An 1871 lighthouse at Eagle Harbor, owned and run by the Keweenaw County Historical Society as a museum complex. Admission covers the whole site, with children under 16 and members free. It is open from June into October.

See it: drive up and walk in. Check the historical society's schedule for the season's hours.

 

Eagle River Lighthouse

Built in the early 1870s and dark since 1908, after shipping routes changed. It is privately owned and rents as a vacation stay.

See it: from the road. Or stay in it.

 

Sand Hills Lighthouse

Finished in 1919 on Five Mile Point, near Ahmeek, and dark since 1954. It is privately owned and under restoration. The Fog Signal House on the grounds rents as a vacation stay.

See it: the road is private, so it's for guests only.

 

Keweenaw Waterway Upper Entrance Light

The 1950 light at the end of the breakwater at the north end of the Keweenaw Waterway (locals say North Entry), next to F. J. McLain State Park. The Coast Guard still runs it. In 2025 the Coast Guard offered it to eligible public and nonprofit groups under the federal lighthouse program.

See it: walk the breakwater from the state park. The tower is closed.

 

Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light

The 1920 breakwater light at the south end of the waterway (South Entry), on Keweenaw Bay. It took over the job our light had done since 1856. The federal government auctioned it in 2023.

See it: from White City Park, near Jacobsville. The tower is closed.

 

Portage River (Jacobsville) Lighthouse

That's us: established in 1856, with a sandstone tower from 1869 to 1870, dark since 1920. It is our private home, and we're restoring it.

See it: from the gravel area in front of the fence, on open house days, or from the water.

 

Mendota (Bete Grise) Lighthouse

An 1895 lighthouse at the mouth of the Mendota Canal on Bete Grise Bay. It was relit in 1998 as a private aid to navigation and is privately owned.

See it: from across the canal at the end of Bete Grise Road.

 

Gull Rock Lighthouse

An 1867 light on Gull Rock, near Manitou Island off the tip of the peninsula, cared for by the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy and the Gull Rock Lightkeepers.

See it: by boat only. It is closed to visitors.

 

Manitou Island Lighthouse

An 1861 iron skeleton tower on Manitou Island, off the tip of the peninsula, still an active light. The Keweenaw Land Trust owns the island, and its preserve is open to visitors who get there by boat. The tower and dwelling are closed.

See it: by boat only.

 

Near the Keweenaw

Sand Point Lighthouse, Baraga: an 1878 light across Keweenaw Bay, about a mile north of Baraga near the Ojibwa Campground.

Ontonagon Lighthouse: the Ontonagon County Historical Society runs tours from its museum, mid-May to mid-October.

 

Seeing the lights from the water

Several of these lights show best, or only, from a boat.

Copper Harbor: the charter boat to the lighthouse is the only way in.

Keweenaw Boat Tours, our official partner, runs a Jacobsville Lighthouse and sandstone cliffs tour out of the Houghton area.

The Keweenaw Star runs lighthouse cruises from Houghton.

 

A one-day route

Start at the Upper Entrance breakwater at McLain State Park, then drive north along the Lake Superior shore to Eagle River and Eagle Harbor. Eat in Copper Harbor and take the charter to the lighthouse if it's running. On the way back, swing down to Bete Grise for Mendota, then south to Jacobsville for our light and the Lower Entrance breakwater at sunset.

 

Frequently asked questions

How many lighthouses are on the Keweenaw? About ten on the peninsula and just offshore, plus more on Isle Royale.

Which Keweenaw lighthouses can you go inside? Eagle Harbor, run as a museum by the Keweenaw County Historical Society, and Copper Harbor's keeper's house on the charter tour. Check each one's season first.

Which can you only see from the water? Copper Harbor (no public road), Gull Rock and Manitou Island.

Can you stay in a Keweenaw lighthouse? Yes. Eagle River and the Fog Signal House at Sand Hills rent as vacation stays.

Can you visit the Jacobsville Lighthouse? You can view it from the gravel area in front of the fence, and on open house days. It is a private home.

 

Sources

Lighthousefriends.com station pages for each light.

Keweenaw County Historical Society, sites and museum schedule.

Michigan History Center, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park visitor information.

Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau, Keweenaw Peninsula Lighthouse Tour.

Visit Keweenaw, Lighthouses.

GSA, Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance auction notice, August 1, 2023.

National Park Service, Ontonagon County Historical Museum.

Last reviewed: November 2026