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. This page lists lighthouses on the southeast coast of the Lower Peninsula, including the Thumb region, the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers, and Lake St. Clair. There's another page for the northeastern coast. Aids to navigation in southeastern Lower Michigan are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Detroit; Aids to Navigation (ANT) teams are based at Saginaw River and Detroit. Ownership (and sometimes operation) of historic lighthouses has been transferred to local authorities and preservation organizations in many cases. ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS World List of Lights. Along the Canadian border, CCG numbers are from the List of Lights, Buoys, and Fog Signals of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. USCG numbers are from Volume VII of the United States Coast Guard Light List.
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![]() Lightship Huron, Port Huron, August 2023 Wikimedia Creative Commons photo by Notorious4life |
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Information available on lost lighthouses:
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![]() Mariners Memorial Light, River Rouge, September 2020 Google Maps photo by SSKUNKRACING |
Notable faux lighthouses:
Adjoining pages: North: Northeastern Lower Peninsula | East: Southwestern Ontario | South: Ohio | West: Western Lower Peninsula
Return to the Lighthouse Directory index | Ratings key
Checked and revised January 17, 2025. Lighthouses: 32. Lightships: 1. Site copyright 2025 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.