Lighthouses We've Visited

Happy Travel Tuesday, everyone. If you've ever seen a lighthouse in person, you know how amazing they can be! They are such cool structures, and being by the water, they also make for some pretty scenery and beautiful photographs.

During our recent Michigan vacation, Trent and I added a few new lighthouses to the list of those we've seen together.

So I decided to gather some photos we've taken over the years of different lighthouses and put together this list of those we've seen during our travels so far. You know I love a good list! :)

It's not a lot, but after I started looking through old photos to gather them all together, I realized it's more than I thought it would be!

I've listed each lighthouse we've seen below and their locations. You can click on some of the names for a link with more information about it.

Kenosha North Pier Lighthouse (Kenosha, Wisconsin)

We have been to this lighthouse twice - once in the winter, and once in the summer. It's located in Kenosha, Wisconsin on Lake Michigan. 

It was a much drearier day when we visited in the winter, but was cool to see in either season.

Chicago Harbor Light (Chicago, IL)

We've seen this lighthouse from a distance other times, but the closest we got was on a boat ride on Lake Michigan while visiting Chicago back in 2009.

I almost forgot about this lighthouse, it's been so long! I think it's so cool looking, though!


Bodie Island Lighthouse (Nags Head, NC)

The Bodie Island Lighthouse was actually in the middle of being repaired and restored when we visited in 2012. So unfortunately, we didn't get to see the lighthouse in all its glory.

This is apparently what it normally looks like (from here):

Much better and more magnificent finished and without the scaffolding surrounding it!

Ocracoke Lighthouse (Ocracoke Island, NC)

Ocracoke Island was one of our favorite places we've ever visited, off the coast of North Carolina.

If you travel to the Outer Banks, I highly recommend driving all the way down and taking the ferry to Ocracoke, where you can see this awesome structure. (And many more cool things!)

Clinton Lighthouse (Clinton, Iowa)

This is another lighthouse that I actually almost forgot about, because it has been so long since we've been here. It's unique because it's located in Iowa on the Mississippi River, not on a major lake or an ocean. It's one of the few that are pretty close to home for us.

Muskegon Pier Light (Muskegon, Michigan)

This is the first lighthouse we saw on our Michigan trip last week. It's along the coast of Lake Michigan, and was on our way up to Traverse City, so we decided to stop.

It was perfect timing, because the sun was setting while we were there, which made for a pretty gorgeous backdrop.

Wawatam Lighthouse (St. Ignace, Michigan)

This was another short stop on our trip. We stayed in St. Ignace (in the Mackinaw City area), just over the Mackinac Bridge. We first saw the lighthouse from our ferry to Mackinac island, then decided to stop before we left the area.

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse (Mackinaw City, Michigan)

This lighthouse is located in Mackinaw City, Michigan. You can pay to go inside and go up to the top, but we decided not to, since we didn't have much time.

So we just walked around and admired the lighthouse and its cool structure.

And that concludes the list of lighthouses we've seen up close on our trips so far. Hopefully, we'll see more in the future! They always make for some pretty cool sights to see, and great photographs as well.