The United States of America is a federal union of 50 states and a capital district. The Great Lakes state of Michigan comes in two parts: the Lower Peninsula (between Lakes Huron and Michigan) and the Upper Peninsula (between Lakes Michigan and Superior). Putting the two together the state has an astonishingly long coastline, so it is not surprising that Michigan has more lighthouses than any other U.S. state, by quite a large margin. The Directory has information on more than 130 sites. This lighthouse heritage is well recognized. Michigan is the only state that supports lighthouse preservation with a program of annual grants from the state to local preservation groups. All over the state volunteers are working hard to save and restore lighthouses. There is a state preservation society, the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy, and the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association is also based in the state. Michigan was organized as a territory in 1805 and admitted to the union as the 26th state in 1837. This page lists lighthouses on the northeast coast of the Lower Peninsula from Cheboyan to Saginaw Bay. There are also pages for the west coast and the southeast coast of the Lower Peninsula. Aids to navigation in Michigan are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Ninth District through its Aids to Navigation (ANT) teams. ANT Sault Sainte Marie is responsible for lights from Alpena northward while ANT Saginaw River maintains the lights farther south listed on this page. Ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities, preservation organizations, or private individuals in most cases. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. USCG numbers are from Volume VII of the United States Coast Guard Light List.
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![]() 1840 Presque Isle Light, Presque Isle, October 2006 Flickr Creative Commons photo copyright C.W. Bash |
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![]() 1871 Range Rear Light, Presque Isle, August 2020 Google Maps photo by Dawn Carlson |
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![]() Saginaw Bay Light NOAA photo |
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![]() Saginaw River Range Rear Light, Bay City, April 2022 Instagram photo by Saginaw River Marine Historical Society |
Information available on lost lighthouses:
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Eastern Upper Michigan | South: Southeastern Lower Michigan | West: Western Lower Michigan
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Checked and revised December 16, 2023. Lighthouses: 35. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.