Hiking trails head to far-flung lighthouse

Devils Island Lighthouse is Wisconsin's northern most light.

Devils Island topo map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can visit Wisconsin’s remotest lighthouse on Devils Island in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

The northern most of the Apostle Islands, Devils Island Lighthouse is difficult to reach as tour boats usually don't stop there, though they may pass. Boaters and sea kayakers, however, will find several landing spots on the island.

A good route for hikers is to land on the island's southwestern shore where there's a small man-made harbor. From there, head to the wooden boathouse and take the 1-mile (one way) South Landing Trail north. It follows the track of the old tramway across the island.

Passing through an old growth forest, you'll be amazed by the size of the trees. A brief section of the trail also runs alongside a bog.

The route is fairly flat, starting at 638 feet above sea level at the harbor, rising and dropping a half-dozen feet a couple of times, and finally ending at the light station, which sits at 628 feet atop a stout bluff overlooking Lake Superior.

Last built
Devils Island was the last of the Apostle Island light stations constructed.

In 1891, a red brick, two-story Queen Anne-style keeper's dwelling and a steam fog signal building were completed, but a temporary tower of wooden timbers housed the station’s non-blinking red light.

During 1897, a two-story, brick and shingle house was erected for the assistant keeper as construction began on a permanent tower, an 82-foot high cast iron cylinder. Though the tower was completed the following year, a lens didn't arrive for three more.

Lake Superior's high winds frequently shook the new tower, sometimes extinguishing the lamp. During 1914, external braces were added to stabilize the cylinder.

Just as Devils Island was the last light station built, so it was the last one to be manned. The Coast Guard kept a five-man crew on the island until the station was automated in 1978. Today the light can be seen up to 13 miles away.

Also at the light station are a dock, two oil houses, a radio beacon, a tramway, and a brownstone tramway engine building.

Other trails
In addition to the light station, three other trails can be explored.

Two are alternate landing sites to the southern shore's harbor. The 0.5-miles West Landing Trail links a boat landing at a rocky ledge on the island’s northwest corner with the lighthouse. The 0.05-miles East Landing Trail runs from a rock ledge on the island's northeast corner to the lighthouse.

In addition, a 0.4-mile looping nature trail runs west of the lighthouse through the forest. Part of it rambles along the island's northwestern corner.

During summer, a volunteer lightkeeper usually staffs the station with tours of the tower available between 9-11 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.

Hike to 150-year-old Great Lakes lighthouse

The Cana Island Lighthouse overlooks Lake Michigan.

Cana Island Lighthouse Walk map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can explore a lighthouse that has stood sentinel over Lake Michigan for more than 150 years.

The 0.5-mile round trip Cana Island Lighthouse Walk heads to the Cana Island Light on Wisconsin’s scenic Door County. It is among the most photographed of Door County’s lighthouses.

To reach the trailhead, from Baileys Harbor take Wis. Hwy. 57 north. Turn right/east onto County Road Q. After passing Moonlight Bay, go right/south on W. Cana Island Light Road then left/northeast onto E. Cana Island Light Road. Park in the lot just past the Cana Cover Road intersection. Walk the E. Cana Island Light Road – which after the parking lot vehicles cannot use – southeast toward Lake Michigan.

After passing through a grove of mixed hardwoods, the road reaches a small beach and a rocky causeway, about 300 feet from the lot. Thanks to high Lake Michigan levels, about 18 inches of water flows over the rocky causeway connecting the peninsula to the island. At times, the cold water can be up to three feet deep. You’ll want to wear boots or appropriate footwear as you cross.

The causeway runs a little more than 300 feet long before reaching Cana Island. Once there, the trail enters another small forest of mixed hardwoods.

In about 450 feet from the causeway, the trail opens onto the lighthouse grounds.

The Cana Island lighthouse stands 89 feet high. It was erected in 1869 to replace the Baileys Harbor Lighthouse and lit the following spring. Built of Milwaukee Cream City brick, lake storms and icy winters soon caused the thick stone to deteriorate, so steel cladding was placed around the tower’s exterior in 1902.

The lighthouse is positioned in a particularly dangerous stretch of the lake. On Oct. 15, 1880, even with the lighthouse in operation, the Alpena Gale storm destroyed seven ships nearby.

Atop the lighthouse is a Fresnel lens made in France. When the lighthouse first opened, every day the keeper carried lard up the tower to fuel the light. Later kerosene and acetylene were used. Since 1945, electricity keeps the line shining. It can be seen up to 19.5 miles away.

The lighthouse still is used as an active navigational aide while also serving as a museum. Tourists can climb the lighthouse’s 97 steps up a spiral staircase to the gallery level. Fantastic views of Lake Michigan and the Door Peninsula await, especially in autumn when leaves change color.

Also at the light station is the keeper’s residence, a hexagon-shaped oil house where fuel for the light was stored, a privy, and a storage building.

The lighthouse is open May through October daily from 10 am-5 pm, though sometimes bad weather closes it. Tours are operated by the Door County Maritime Museum. There is a fee to enter the lighthouse.

After taking in the lighthouse and its grounds, retrace your steps across the island and causeway to the parking lot.

Two-for-1 lighthouse deal awaits on walk

The Milwaukee Pierhead Light dates to 1906.

Milwaukee Pierhead Light trail map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can see two lighthouses in one short walk along Lake Michigan.

The Milwaukee Pierhead Light – built in 1906 – sits on Milwaukee River’s mouth with Lake Michigan. It is near where the Kinnickinnic River flows into the Milwaukee in Milwaukee’s historic Third Ward. The walk runs 0.11 miles round trip.

To reach the lighthouse, from the intersection of Interstate 794 and Wis. Hwy. 32, head south on the latter. Turn left/east onto East Erie Street. The street ends at a parking lot just before the pier leading to the lighthouse. Head out onto to the concrete pier to the lighthouse.

Ruby red, lake blue
The 42-foot round steel tower, consisting of eight circular rungs that “telescope” up, sits at the end of the pier. Painted ruby red, on sunny days it contrasts beautifully with the lake’s blue waters.

It’s often called a twin to the Kenosha North Point Light, as they are similar in style.

The lighthouse with its round parapet and 10-sided lantern, both painted black, replaced another light that was erected at the site in 1872. Neither light sat at the natural mouth of the Milwaukee River but at the “North Cut,” an entrance developed in 1852 to improve the harbor. Prior to the project, the river flowed into Lake Michigan a half-mile south of the cut.

Pierhead Light had a keeper until 1926 when the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse was built across the harbor from it. Today the light is automated and operated by solar power.

Hank Aaron Trail
Directly east from the Pierhead Light and several hundred yards into the lake is the Milwaukee Breakwater Lighthouse. Built in 1926, it sits at the end of a breakwater to mark the harbor entrance. The 53-foot tower sits atop a concrete pier that rises 20 feet above the water. Atop the pier is a keeper’s dwelling with the tower rising 14 feet from its roof. The Breakwater Light can’t be reached by foot.

Hikers aren’t allowed inside the Pierhead Light but can walk up to it. Despite that, it’s a popular destination, as it sits on the popular Hank Aaron Trail. Named for the Milwaukee Braves baseball great, the trail runs 12 miles from west of the State Fair Park to Discovery World north of the lighthouse.

If extending the hike via the Hank Aaron Trail, don’t go west but north along Lake Michigan. The western route heads toward and under I-794, a visually and sonically unappealing sight.

Going north, however, the trail is quite scenic as it heads through Lakeshore State Park and connects to the Milwaukee Art Museum and Discovery World campus as well as the Henry W. Maier Festival Park where Summerfest is held.

Milwaukee lighthouse offers panoramic view

The North Point Lighthouse was lit in 1888 and elevated in the 1910s.

Oak Leaf Trail map to lighthouse. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can head to the top of a lighthouse for panoramic views of Milwaukee and Lake Michigan.

The 0.4-mile round tip walk on a segment of the Oak Leaf Trial heads to the North Point Lighthouse in Milwaukee’s Lake Park.

To reach the lighthouse, from the intersection of Interstate 43 and West Locust Street, head east on the latter. Turn right/south on Wis. Hwy. 32 (aka North Lake Drive). Enter the park by going left/east onto East Newberry Boulevard. Next, take a right/south on North Lake Road. The parking lot is on the road’s left/east side. Walk south onto Oak Leaf Trail at the lot’s southwest corner.

The paved trail curves through the verdant park. After crossing a bridge over a ravine, go right/west to the lighthouse. A red brick sidewalk heads north from it to the keeper’s quarters.

Rising over the quarters is the 74-foot cast iron tower. It marks the northern end of Milwaukee Bay.

Second lighthouse
The North Point light wasn’t the first station at the bay’s north point, and its construction did not come without controversy.

In 1855, a 28-foot cream city brick lighthouse was constructed on a bluff to place the beacon 107-feet above the water. At the time, it was the highest on the Great Lakes. During the 1870s, though, shore erosion caused 16 feet of the front yard to fall to the beach, so plans were made to build a new lighthouse 100 feet inland. The current tower was constructed and then lit in 1888.

During the 1890s, the city established Lake Park even though the lighthouse grounds split it in half. Soon trees planted at the park obscured mariners’ view of the lighthouse beacon. When the city refused to cut the trees, Congress in turn refused to fund the lighthouse.

Local merchants and mariners protested, so the lighthouse was ran by local authorities. By 1909, the federal government took control of the lighthouse, and Congress authorized money to double the tower’s height, raising it to its current height and a light focal plane of 154 feet. Its beacon could be seen up to 25 miles away.

Cast iron staircase
The lighthouse was automated in the 1940s, but a lighthouse keeper lived there until it was taken out of service in 1994. The 2-acre grounds is now owned by Milwaukee County. Both the lighthouse and the Queen Anne-style keeper’s quarters were renovated in 2005 to their early 1900s appearance.

Hikers can head up a cast iron staircase to the top of the lighthouse for a small fee. It delivers an awesome 360 degree view of Lake Michigan and Milwaukee. The lighthouse is open for tours 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays; you must be at least 5 years old and 38 inches tall to climb the tower.

In addition to the tower, a small museum and gift shop are on the grounds. A fourth-order Fresnel lens from 1928 and a 800-pound fog bell are on display in the keeper's quarters.

After taking in the lighthouse and grounds, you can continue the walk by heading on the Oak Leaf Trail south from the lighthouse grounds or north from the parking lot through Lake Park.

See two lighthouses – and Wisconsin’s tallest – in Apostle Islands day hike

The new and currently active Michigan Island
Lighthouse.

Map of Michigan Island Lighthouse grounds/hike. Click for
larger version.

Day hikers can see two lighthouses – one of which isn’t supposed to be there – on Wisconsin’s Michigan Island.

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.

Lighthouse rises 108 ft. over Lake Michigan

Windpoint Lighthouse in Racine, Wis., was built in 1880.

Windpoint Lighthouse map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can visit one of the oldest and tallest lighthouses on the Great Lakes in Wind Point, Wisconsin.

The 0.2-mile round trip walk crosses the grounds for the Windpoint Lighthouse. It’s located at the north end of Racine Harbor on Lake Michigan.

To reach the lighthouse, from the junction of Wis. Hwy. 32 and 3 Mile Road north of Racine, take the latter street east toward Lake Michigan. As 3 Mile Road curves north along the lake, it becomes Lighthouse Drive. Next, turn right/east onto Village Hall Drive. A parking lot for the lighthouse is at the street’s end.

The lighthouse, constructed of cream city brick and painted white, rises 108 feet in the center of the calm and peaceful grounds. Several other buildings, including the keeper’s quarters, signal house (with two red fog horns protruding from its front), an oil house with a stepped gable, garage, and two storage buildings, are on the site.

A lighthouse was built on Racine Harbor in 1837. But Racine Point, about 3.5 miles, away kept south-traveling ships from seeing it. In 1880, at a different point on the harbor, the Windpoint Lighthouse was built to solve that problem.

Its light can be seen up to 19 miles away on Lake Michigan. The foghorn when it operated could be heard up to 10 miles away.

U.S. Army officer and engineer Orlando Metcalfe Poe, who served in Sherman’s famous March to the Sea, designed the lighthouse and grounds. He oversaw the design and construction of several Great Lakes lighthouses following the Civil War. One of the locks at Soo Locks, which connect Lakes Huron and Superior, even bears his name.

Originally a three-wicked kerosene lamp magnified by a Fresnel lens served as the beacon in Poe’s Windpoint Lighthouse. Fuel for the light had to be carried up 144 cast iron steps wind to the top of the 11-story tower. The beacon light was electrified in 1924, the second of all Great Lakes lighthouses to receive such an upgrade. The light was automated in 1964. Today, the original lens can be seen at the keeper’s quarters.

In 2007, the lighthouse underwent a $210,000 restoration. The porthole windows were replaced with arched window recesses while the brickwork was tuckpointed and the tower repainted. The Village of Wind Point uses the keeper’s quarters as its village hall and police headquarters.

Tours of the lighthouse are offered the first Sunday of the month from June to October between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. as well as select Saturdays. No children under age 6 are allowed in the tower, and to climb the steps you must wear sturdy walking or tennis shoes; no flip-flops, high heels or bare feet are allowed.

The lighthouse grounds, however, are open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. To extend the walk, hikers can stroll from the grounds through a brick garden to a somewhat rocky beach. The area is a great spot for a picnic.

Hike to Lake Michigan’s oldest light station

The Pottawatomie Light Station combines the lighthouse with the keeper's
house in a unique design.

Map to Pottawatomie Lighthouse.
Click image for larger version.

Day hikers can head to Lake Michigan’s oldest light station at Wisconsin’s Rock Island State Park.

The 2.1-mile round trip hike to the Pottawatomie Lighthouse largely uses a segment of the Thordarson Trail Loop. A lighthouse was erected at the site in 1836 but demolished and replaced with the taller, current station in 1858.

Reaching the lighthouse requires two ferry rides and a hike. Begin by driving Wis. Hwy. 42 to Northport at Door County’s northern tip. From there, take your vehicle by ferry for a 30-minute ride to Washington County. Upon disembarking, go north on Lobdell Point Road then turn left/north onto Main Road. Next, go right/east onto Jackson Harbor Road. After the road curves north, go straight/north onto Indian Point Road. Turn right/northeast onto Rock Island State Park Road. At the road’s end is a ferry to Rock Island; vehicles are not allowed on Rock Island, and the ride lasts about 15 minutes.

Once on Rock Island, walk northwest on the jeep trail intersecting the road leading up from the dock. After passing the ranger’s residence, the jeep trail runs out about 0.12 miles from the dock, and you’ve reached the trailhead for the Thordarson Trail Loop. Head onto the trail.

The trail soon leaves a meadow for a mixed hardwood forest. Lake Michigan sits on the trail’s left/west, and for the next half-mile sometimes can be glimpsed between the trees.

After about a mile, the trail enters a blufftop clearing that sports the Pottawatomie Lighthouse and keeper’s house. The tower and house are uniquely combined as one structure. The lighthouse itself rises 41 feet high and is constructed of limestone.

Among the first lighthouses built on the Great Lakes, the station helped steamships carrying new settlers to the Territory of Wisconsin, speeding up the process for it to become a state. Later, it guided ships carrying food and raw materials from the state past the rocky shoreline. Positioned atop the 137-foot bluff, the light could be seen up to 14 miles away.

The lighthouse was named for the Native Americans who inhabited the island and nearby Wisconsin mainland before settlers arrived. Appropriately enough, “Pottawatomie” means “keepers of the fire.”

Civilian light keepers managed the station until the 1940s when the U.S. Coast Guard took over. It remained in service until 1988 – a full 130 years – when a new metal tower took over as a navigational aide.

Today, hikers can tour the lighthouse daily from Memorial Day through early October during the late mornings and early afternoons. The lighthouse and keepers house have been restored to appear as they did between 1882-1910.

Just east of the lighthouse grounds are steps that head to Lake Michigan. A thin beach spearates the bluff from the water. A small cemetery sits southeast of the light station.

After taking in the lighthouse and grounds, retrace your steps back to the ferry dock. Alternately, you can head east on the trail and hike around the island’s edge for a 5.2-mile loop to the dock.

Walk heads to Lake Winnebago lighthouse

Fond du Lac Light

Fond Du Lac Light trail route. Click for larger version.

In Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, day hikers can explore one of the state’s few lighthouses not located on a Great Lake.

The Fond du Lac Light is an easy 100-foot round trip walk if you get close parking. At worse, the walk can be 500 feet round trip.

To reach the lighthouse, from the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 45 and Wis. Hwy. 23 in downtown Fond du Lac, head north on Hwy. 45/North Main Street. Stay straight/north on North Main Street when Hwy. 45 splits to become Scott Street. After entering Lakeside Park, the street naturally curves right/east and becomes Promen Drive. Next, turn left/northeast onto Lighthouse Drive and park in the lot along the lakeshore. The lighthouse is east of the lot.

Sitting at the south end of Lake Winnebago, the lighthouse marks the entry to Fond du Lac’s harbor and the Yacht Club. With a flagstone base and wooden frame tower, the lighthouse rises 40 feet. The eight-sided tower is of Cape Cod design.

In many ways, the lighthouse is a symbol of hope. It was constructed in 1933 at the heights of the Great Depression when nearly 1 in 4 of workers were unemployed. Local lumberman W.J. Nuss donated money for the project, and out-of-work city laborers were hired to erect it. Soon other residents donated money as well, and the local Yacht Club paid for the $200 red beacon. The lighthouse replaced a red light that guided mariners in and out of the harbor.

With the post-war boom of the late 1940, the lighthouse fell into disuse and was almost demolished in 1967. It was restored the following year then again in 1993. Today the lighthouse has become an iconic symbol of Fond du Lac, appearing in its city seal and various promotional efforts. Each holiday season, a cutout of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is placed atop the tower with its red light used as his nose.

The lighthouse is an oddity. Most of Wisconsin’s lighthouses sit on either Lake Superior or Lake Michigan. A few though, like the Fond Du Lac Light, can be found on Lake Winnebago, which connects several large cities via the Fox River to Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Shallow Lake Winnebago covers 215.5 square miles, stretching 30 miles from north to south and up to 10 miles across at its widest.

Hikers can climb an interior wooden staircase that winds around the lighthouse’s sides. An observation deck at the top offers great views of Lake Winnebago and the city. The tower typically is open May 1-Oct. 15 and is free to enter.

To extend the hike, 400-acre Lakeside Park offers several walkways. Most trailheads for the short nature trails are on Promen Drive.

Traipse around Lake Michigan lighthouse

Southport Lighthouse and keeper's house

Southport Lighthouse map. Click for larger version.

Day hikers can explore a restored lighthouse from the 1860s along Lake Michigan's western shores in Wisconsin.

The roughly 0.12-mile round trip walk heads to Kenosha's famous Southport Lighthouse. Located on Simmons Island, the station affectionately is known as the "Old Kenosha Light."

To reach the lighthouse, from the intersection of Wis. Hwys. 32 and 158 in Kenosha, take Hwy. 32 north. Turn right/east onto 50th Street, crossing the harbor channel onto Simmons Island. As 50th Street curves right/south, it becomes Fourth Street. You'll pass the light station. As the street curves left/east, it becomes 51st Place; a parking lot is on the right/south side across from the Kenosha History Center.

After parking, cross the street to the history center and follow the sidewalk left/west to the lighthouse and keeper's house.

The lighthouse stands 55 feet tall, and because it's located on a hill, rises 74 feet above Lake Michigan.

Erected in 1866, Southport replaced two older lighthouses. It was part of a concerted effort to turn Kenosha into a major shipping port. At one time, it was the first light Great Lakes ships coming from Chicago would see in Wisconsin.

Built of yellow Milwaukee Cream City brick, the lighthouse originally boasted a Fresnel lens fueled by kerosene. The lens was taken out of use in 1906 when Southport's duties were taken over by the new Kenosha North Pier Light. Southport still was used, however, as a 25-foot tripod mast was raised atop it to display storm warning flags and lights.

The keeper's house was built at the same time and of the same material as the lighthouse. In 1907, a two-story porch and a two-story addition to the kitchen and bathrooms were added.

By the early 20th century, better harbors and railroad connections in Chicago, Milwaukee and nearby Racine, Wis., doomed Kenosha to being a minor port, and Southport's importance diminished.

Today, the lighthouse brings dollars into the community in ways other than shipping. It's a major local tourism destination as serves as a museum. The light station was restored in the 1990s, with an automated electric light added to the tower.

Summer weekends mark the best time to visit the light station, as the keeper's house and tower typically are open to the public.

After taking in Southport, hikers can extend their walk by heading to the nearby Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse. Follow the sidewalk east of the Kenosha History Center to the beach. The lighthouse sits at the end of the concrete pier for an additional 0.53 miles round trip walk.

Standing 50 feet high, the North Pier Lighthouse is made of riveted steel plates. The lighthouse still is in service after more than 110 years. It is privately owned and there are no tours of it. Maps, brochures and websites sometimes is referred to as the Pierhead Lighthouse or the Kenosha Lighthouse.

Walk heads to historic Duluth lighthouse

Duluth's North Pier Light sits some 1150 feet in Lake Superior.

North Pier Trail map. Click for larger version.

Lighthouse lovers can explore a century-old tower at the end of pier jutting several hundred feet into Lake Superior on the North Pier Trail in Duluth, Minn.

The 0.45-miles round trip hike runs along the north breakwater of the Duluth Ship Canal. It heads to the Duluth North Pier Light, one of three towers on the canal.

To reach the lighthouse, from Interstate 35 in downtown Duluth, exit south/east onto South Lake Avenue. Continue south onto Canal Park Drive. After the road loops back on itself, park in the Lighthouse Lot. From the lot's east side (the one nearest Lake Superior), go right/southeast onto the Lakewalk.

When the walking path runs out, turn left/northeast onto the North Pier path. This heads onto the concrete pier that ends at the lighthouse.

Improvements over time
In 1874, the canal's southern breakwater was equipped with a light to mark the passageway. Some twenty years later, in 1896, the canal sides were reconstructed and defined by the two concrete piers that still exist today.

The piers each run about 1,700 feet, and of that 1,150 feet extend beyond the shoreline into Lake Superior. Their foundation sits up to twenty-two feet below low water and up to 18 feet above low-water. The canal between the piers is 300 feet wide with the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge spanning it.

During the turn-of-the-century reconstruction, a rear range light (now known as the Duluth Rear Range Light) was added on the southern pier. In 1901, the existing lighthouse (now known as the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light) on the southern pier was added, but the northern pier remained towerless.

Following the wreck of the SS Mataafa in 1905, though, calls were made to equip the northern pier with a light. The existing lighthouse was constructed and lit in spring 1910.

The northern tower's design was based on that of the Peche Island Rear Range Light at the entrance to the Detroit River from Lake St. Clair. The Michigan light still exists but upon its deactivation was moved to Marine City in that state.

North Pier Light
The North Pier Light is a white steel/cast iron cylindrical tower with a black lantern. It rises 36 feet from the concrete breakwater foundation. The tower is 10-feet 6-inches in diameter at the base and tapers to 8-feet at the top.

No keeper's quarters sits at the North Pier Light. A head keeper and assistants maintained it and the two southern pier lights and lived at another location.

The U.S. Coast Guard automated the North Pier Light in 1966. It can be seen up to 13 miles away.

You can't enter the tower but can walk up to it and stand on the pier watching ships enter the canal.

After taking in the lighthouse, retrace your steps on the North Pier walking path. This heads to the Lake Superior Marine Museum. If not interested in going inside, there are some exhibits outside that can be walked around before taking the sidewalk back to the Lakewalk and your parking lot.

South Pier lighthouses
Alternately, you can walk past the museum and at South Lake Avenue go left/southeast for a close-up view of Duluth's iconic Aerial Lift Bridge. You also can cross the canal via the bridge and take a paved path heading down the South Pier past the Duluth Rear Range Light to the Duluth South Breakwater Outer Light.

A skeletal tower constructed of steel/cast iron, the Rear Range Light rises 70 feet and is visible from 15 miles away. It sometimes is referred to on maps and in guidebooks as the Duluth South Breakwater Inner Light.

The 34.5-foot South Breakwater Outer Light is a house with square tower. The white tower is made of brick. Automated in 1976, it can be seen up to 15 miles away.

If adding the south pier lights to the hike, the entire trip runs about 0.96-miles total.