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| The new and currently active Michigan Island Lighthouse. |
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| Map of Michigan Island Lighthouse grounds/hike. Click for larger version. |
The Michigan Island lighthouses sit on the easternmost of the Apostle Islands. To reach the island, you’ll need to take a private boat. The dock for the island sits at the base of the bluff for the Michigan Island Lighthouse. Ascend the 142 steps to the lighthouse; gear and supplies can be pulled up on a cable car using a winch.
You’ll first spot the currently active and taller of the two lighthouse. A skeletal steel tower with a central column, it rises 118 feet above the island’s southeast corner. Constructed in 1929, its original light could be seen for up to 22 miles. Since erected in 1929, it has been Wisconsin’s tallest lighthouse.
Original lighthouse
To the new tower’s southeast sits the original tower at a low 52 feet and 5 inches. Made of rough stone, the conical tower’s exterior walls are stuccoed and whitewashed and part of the one-and-a-half-story keeper’s dwelling.
Now known as the Old Michigan Island Lighthouse, it has been on the island since 1857 – but only because of a mix-up. The structure was to have been built on nearby Long Island to guide ships to the port at LaPointe, but a last minute change by a field rep caused its location to be moved to Michigan Island. The original Michigan Island station operated for only a year before the Lighthouse Service ordered the contractor to build the lighthouse on the correct island.
In 1869, government authorities decided a Michigan Island lighthouse would benefit navigation, after all. The vacant pre-Civil War lighthouse, however, had deteriorated in Lake Superior’s harsh weather conditions, so it was repaired.
Forty-years later, a taller lighthouse was deemed necessary. The 1880 cylindrical steel tower known as Schooner's Ledge light on the Delaware River near Philadelphia was disassembled and hauled to Michigan Island in 1919. For a decade, though, it sat on the beach awaiting assembly.
One of six historic lighthouses in the Apostle Islands, the Michigan Island site underwent some moderate repairs in late 2012. The public now can access the lighthouse and see exhibits related to it; park volunteers usually offer tours in late morning and early afternoon.
Michigan Island Trail
After taking in the grounds, you can hike the island just as the lighthouse keepers did for decades. The trailhead for the 1.6-mile round trip Michigan Island Trail begins on an unmarked path behind the lighthouse keeper’s home, winding into a second growth woods away from Lake Superior’s open waters. The trail runs northwest down glacial till through some low-lying and even marshy areas.
In a quarter mile, you’ll reach a beach on the island’s western shore. In the distance is Presque Isle Point, which is part of neighboring Stockton Island.
Turn left/southwest for a walk along the beach, where driftwood and shells are ubiquitous. A marsh sits inland, separated from the beach by brush. Blue herons frequent the marsh.
After 0.55 miles, the beach reaches a primitive campsite on a sandspit sitting at the island’s southwest end. Fires are allowed at the site, and boats can be moored there.
Michigan Island beach
If feeling adventurous, extend the hike by taking the beach as it curves along the island’s southern shore. The remains of an old fishing camp with a broken boat are in 0.4 miles. Heavy brush and storm-tossed tree trunks makes the beach a difficult walk back to the lighthouses, however, so rather than making a loop consider returning on the route that you came.
Definitely bring insect repellent if hiking in summer. Also be aware that Lake Superior’s storms can leave you stranded on the island for two or three days at a time, so if camping carry enough supplies.
