Staying at a Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

Lighthouses have always fascinated me and since my retirment 6 years ago, I have traveled to and photographed 60 lighthouses. The one thing I have always wanted to do is to stay all night in a lighthouse and this fall I got my chance. While looking for a place to stay for our Minnesota fall excursion, my husband found a lighthouse bed and breakfast that had an opening for one of the nights we would be in the area. We found Two Harbors lighthouse to be a delightful place to stay. It is a working lighthouse and has three guest bedrooms on the second floor.

We stayed in the Harbor room which had a window looking out on the harbor. When a large ship left the harbor just after midnight, I got out of bed and watched it from our window. What a great treat! Staying in the lighthouse enabled me to take photos at all times of day and night and I was really excited when I realized it was the full harvest moon while we were there and I was able to capture this photo of the lighthouse and the moon.

Then when the first rays of sunlight peaked over Lake Superior in the morning, I was again able to go outside and get some great shots.

If you would like to read more about my experience at Two Harbors please stop by my Squidoo page.Two Harbors Lighthouse Bed and Breakfast

Two Harbors Lighthouse.jpg Post Cards by lighthouseenthusiast

Split Rock Lighthouse in Minnesota

We took a fall trip to Minnesota to photograph the lighthouses and the fall foliage. I had heard that Split Rock on Lake Superior was a great lighthouse to photograph so I was really looking forward to seeing it. I got my first view when we stopped at a roadside viewing area about 1/2 mile from the lighthouse. I was amazed at the great view of the lighthouse from this distance. It was a cloudy day and the sky was grey but I was able to get this photo of the lighthouse with the pretty fall foliage in the foreground.

The next day was a brighter day so we headed out in the morning to the state park where the Split Rock Lighthouse is located. I wanted to get some more photos from the area near the shore and then I was planning on touring the lighthouse. I walked on several trails near the lighthouse looking for a perfect spot for a photo. I ended up taking over 100 shots, but I think the one below of the lighthouse framed in the fall leaves, is my favorite.

After finishing shooting from the shoreline, I took a tour of the lighthouse and lighthouse grounds. It is a fairly short lighthouse with only 32 steps to reach the top of the tower. The location high on the cliff is what gives the lighthouse a prominant position for warning ships from the coast. Here is my favorite photo taken up close to the lighthouse.

Minnesota Lighthouses Calendar by lighthouseenthusiast
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Point Betsie Lighthouse

Point Betsie Lighthouse is found on the shores of Lake Michigan just north of Frankfort, Michigan. It is located at the southern edge of the Manitou Passage.
When we visited the lighthouse, I was able to go inside and take a tour of the lighthouse and the grounds. The lighthouse had a house for the keeper on the main floor and the second floor had a small apartment for the assistant keeper. The assistant keeper's quarters is now available for rent and has two bedrooms, a kitchen and a comfy living room. I think it would be great fun to stay in a lighthouse!

This image of Point Betsie lighthouse was taken from the beach. The lighthouse was built in 1858 and has a beacon that shines 52 feet above the lake and has a range of about 15 miles. It helped ships to navigate the dangerous Manitou passage.

After touring the lighthouse, I walked down the beach a bit and was able to get this view of the lighthouse. It was a cloudy day and in fact starting raining just a short time after we left the lighthouse. This photo show the expressive clouds in the sky.

Grand Traverse Lighthouse

Grand Traverse is a beautiful lighthouse that is located at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula in Michigan. The peninsula separates Lake Michigan from Grand Traverse Bay. The Grand Traverse lighthouse was built in 1858 and operated until 1972 when it was closed and an automatic light tower was constructed. In 1986 the lighthouse was made open to the public. In July of 2012 I was able to visit the lighthouse, take a tour of the lighthouse, and climb the tower. I found the inside of the lightouse to be very interesting. In many of the lighthouses that I have visited the keepers quarters are small and quite sparsely furnished. This was not the case at Grand Traverse. The house was rather large and was very nicely furnished for the period in which it was used. There was even a formal dining room complete with china,silver and crystal. The preserved museum in the lighthouse gives visitors a look at how the lighthouse keepers lived at the turn of the century.

The actual lantern room protrudes from the pitched roof of the building. I reached it by climbing to the second story and taking two short staircases that led up to the lantern room. The view of Grand Traverse Bay from the top was beautiful.

Grand Traverse Lighthouse Ornament by lighthouseenthusiast
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Big Sable Point Lighthouse

The lighthouse at Big Sable Point was my favorite lighthouse on our latest Michigan lighthouse tour. Big Sable was built in 1867 and was originally named "Grande Pointe au Sable" which means "Big Point in the Sand". In order to see the lighthouse, I had to take a two mile trek up the beach. As I rounded a bend on about the last third of the walk I saw Big Sable sticking out among the sand dunes. What a beautiful sight! The lighthouse is open to visitors and I visited the inside of the lighthouse but this time I didn't climb the stairs to the top. I'll have to admit after that long trek up the beach my legs were a bit shaky and I couldn't quite seeing climbing the 112 foot tower. I was able to walk the grounds and took photos from all different angles. The walk was definately worth it, the views of this lighthouse were stunning.

Originally the lighthouse was brick and looked much like Little Sable Lighthouse. In 1900 it was found the the brick was badly damaged by the weather and the lighthouse was covered with a steel cladding. This black and white design is what you see today.

Big Sable Lightouse Stickers by lighthouseenthusiast
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Mission Point Lighthouse

Located at the top of the Old Mission Peninsula in Michigan, the Mission Point Lighthouse is a reminder of what life was like for lighthousekeepers at the turn of the century.

To reach the lighthouse you travel the M37 from Traverse City up the Old Mission Peninsula. The 18 mile drive is beautiful with vineyards and orchards lining both sides of the road. There are also many wineries where you can stop and taste some wine. The photo above shows the first view we had of the lighthouse after we left the parking lot. An interesting fact about Mission Point Light is tha is is located on the 45th parallel of latitude. That is halfway between the north pole and the equator. There is a sign at the lighthouse grounds showing other cities that also lie within the 45th parallel. It is interesting that many of them are also known for their wines. On the lighthouse grounds there is a log cabin that was built in 1856. You can step inside and get a hint of what life was like in northern Michigan in the 19th century. The photo below is the Hessler cabin.

At the lighthouse visitors can tour the building and if they are interested climb the tower for a view of Traverse Bay. This photo shows the bay from the lighthouse.

There is plenty of hiking to be done on the miles of unspoiled trails surrounding the lighthouse. The photo below is shot looking back at the lighthouse from the beach area

We really enjoyed our day visiting the Old Mission Lighthouse. It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

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For more on my lighthouse travels stop by Lighthouse Lensography

White River Light Station

The White River Light Station is located on the west coast of Michigan near Whitehall.  This charming old light station was built in 1875 to help ships maneuver the channel between White Lake and Lake Michigan.  There were many sawmills built around White Lake near the great pine forests.  Lumber schooners would travel this route to bring their lumber to market.  The light station aided in navigating the ships through the narrow channel.

When we visited the Michigan coast in July, I was able to visit the light station.  It was decommissioned in 1960 and is now open as a museum.  Visitors can climb the tower for a view of the chanel as it goes into the lake.

The museum in the light station is small but interesting.  It has several scale models of the lighthouse that have been made over the years. There is memoriablia from the keepers that lived in the lighthouse over the years. It also houses the original fourth order fresnal lens from the light station.

To learn more about Michigan lighthouses please visit some of my lighthouse pages. Lake Michigan Lighthouses and Lighthouses on Lake Michigan

White River Light Station Magnets by lighthouseenthusiast
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