Whitefish Point: Lighthouse, Shipwreck Museum, Beaches, and More!

Whitefish Point: Lighthouse, Shipwreck Museum, Beaches, and More!
Leah
Leah 
Published
| 4 min read

Open to the public since 1985, the Whitefish Point Lighthouse and Shipwreck Museum are one of the most iconic sites of the Great-Lakes region. Whitefish Point forms a crucial, hazardous place for ships to turn, and boasts Michigan’s oldest still-operating light tower. Restored and maintained by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, the Whitefish Point campus includes several buildings full of exhibits and information on the area’s history. Most of the campus is fully accessible, including the boardwalk beach overlook. The landscape creates a major migratory corridor and The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory helps visitors take advantage of birdwatching opportunities. There is so much to do here, you might even consider staying over in the Crews Quarters Building.

Get the tour

One of the museum displays inside the Lightkeeper’s Quarters.

While several places around the campus are free and open to the public, paying the museum entrance fee is a golden ticket to all the park has to offer. The Shipwreck Museum itself has a self-guided tour of the Great Lakes’ shipwreck and maritime history, including a 20-minute video in a small adjacent theatre. In the lighthouse, the ticket grants you access and a docent-guided tour throughout the 1861 Lightkeeper’s Quarters, full of re-creation displays and historical information. There is also a docent-guided tour of the 1923 Surfboat House and exhibits. The various buildings and tours can be visited in any order, but tickets are available at the main museum building.

For hours of entertaining options, fees are reasonable, and help preserve and maintain the historic site. Adult tickets are 13 USD, children are 9 USD, and toddlers free. Some other discounts do apply, like family groups, AAA, handicapped, etc. Check with the Historical Society for details.

Climb the tower!

A view of the light tower from the beach, looking across a large dune.

The light at Whitefish Point has shone continuously since 1849. But the original stone tower was ultimately unable to withstand the severe winter winds. The current tower was built in 1861, and has been in operation ever since.

Not many of Michigan’s historic lighthouse towers are open for public access. But in 2012, the Whitefish Point tower opened. Although finally safe for visitors, the tower is not fully restored, and an access fee of 4 USD is required to climb up to the platform just underneath the light. The extra fee helps to complete the restoration. In addition, tower climbers must sign a safety waiver. Otherwise, guests can stand in the base of the tower and look up through the spiral, iron staircase. But the view is worth the fee and climb. On a clear day, portions of Canada are visible across the bay.

Load up at the Shipwreck Coast Museum Store

In a well-planned trajectory, the theatre exit stairs point visitors toward the gift shop.

This is one of the larger and better-stocked gift shops in Northern Michigan. The building is new-construction, but designed to seamlessly blend in with the old buildings. The store offers a wide array of Whitefish Point themed merchandise, as well as books, videos, even original artwork and locally-made jewelry. This is a fabulous place to get a lot of gift shopping done. (In fact, as I’m writing this, I’m sipping tea from my favorite mug, a Whitefish Point souvenir.)

Birdwatching central

Entrance to observatory and Owl’s Roost Gift Shop.

Whitefish point is a key thoroughfare for numerous species of migratory birds, which makes this a birdwatcher’s paradise every spring and fall. Various species of loons, grebes, plovers, hawks, owls, and many more can be seen. The Whitefish Point Bird Observatory takes advantage of this phenomenon, with a museum and gift shop, right across the parking lot from the main campus. Proceeds from the Owl’s Roost Gift Shop work toward research and preservation efforts. The observatory has some well-established programs for educating the public, including field trips and seasonal bird-watching festivities.

A rugged yet welcoming beach landscape

The viewing deck, overlooking a picturesque beachscape on an unusually calm day.

The waters are rough at Whitefish Point, but the beach is even more beautiful because of it. A wooden boardwalk (fully accessible) takes visitors from the lighthouse campus and over the delicate, rolling turf of the dunes, terminating in a viewing platform. Here, folks can sit and watch the waves and the ships slowly moving across the bay.

A set of stairs makes for easy access to beach. It’s easy to lose track of time at the water’s edge. The clean, white sand begs for long walks and barefoot wading in the shallows. Parts of the beach are littered with sea-smoothed stones, perfect for skipping. And everywhere, massive pieces of driftwood lie heaved up on the shore from the last big storm, as well as various small shells and other little finds.

A haunting shipwreck history

Looking down Whitefish Point’s beach, littered with the skeletal remains of trees.

The famous wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975 came to rest only 15 miles northwest of Whitefish Point. Indeed, more than a third of the shipwrecks in Lake Superior happened in this area, known colloquially as a ship’s graveyard.

Nowhere is the volatility of these waters more apparent than on the beach. The lake is relatively calm during the tourism season, but in the winter, raging waves can down ships, and pull great trees from the deep, flinging them on the shore.

Helpful Tips

The Whitefish Point Light Station greets visitors arriving in the parking lot.

Whitefish Point lies just 11 miles (~18km) north of Paradise, Michigan. From town, the scenic drive along the N Whitefish Point Road takes just 14 minutes. Paradise is itself a coveted vacation spot, and offers many hotels and dining options. For a full immersion experience, though, consider staying in the Crews Quarters, for 150 USD per night for one or two people, reservations only.

The park is open daily, 10am to 6pm, May 1 through October 31. Modern restrooms are located behind the Shipwreck Coast Museum Store.

When you come to Upper Michigan

A visit to Northern Michigan’s gorgeous coastlines wouldn’t be complete without spending a day at Whitefish Point. Come soak up the history and natural beauty.

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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I love exploration. I was on my first camping trip mere weeks after my birth, and I’ve sought out new experiences ever since. I wrote my first travel narrative at twelve years old, about a family...Read more

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