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| The Pottawatomie Light Station combines the lighthouse with the keeper's house in a unique design. |
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| Map to Pottawatomie Lighthouse. Click image for larger version. |
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.
