West Michigan Lighthouses – Road Trip

West Michigan Lighthouse Road Trip

Michigan – Though the state is very close to Pennsylvania, I have never thought of exploring the place and I have heard Michigan as the ever cold state with very few attractions.  Hence, I have never planned any trip to visit Michigan until I came to know about the Holland Tulip Festival. To know more about the festival, do check out my post here.

How could I miss an internationally acclaimed Tulip Festival? And also, it has been my longtime desire to do a road trip and on analyzing, I figured out Holland is 7 hours’ drive away from Pittsburgh. Along with the visit to Holland, I wanted to explore Michigan and started looking out for attractions nearby. Michigan is really vast in area and not every attraction in the state can be covered in a 3-day trip. The state is divided into different regions in accordance with directions. In my 3 day trip, I decided to explore the shore of Lake Michigan in the western region. Lake Michigan has numerous lighthouses alongside its shore. I have always wanted to capture sea landscapes and I was excited to visit the lighthouses. I should say, I made a perfect decision as the Lake Michigan has incomparable beauty and offers endless opportunities for a photographer. 

The plan was to drive to Traverse City on the first day, visit the lighthouses on the northeast shore of the Lake Michigan on the following day and finally stay in Kalamazoo for the Holland Tulip Festival.

We started on May 3 early morning from Pittsburgh. It was almost 8 hours’ drive from Burgh to Traverse City. We reached Traverse City by evening and decided to visit the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes near to the city on our arrival.

The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes National Lakeshore:

The Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes is one of America’s most beautiful landscape and the beauty of sand towers, bluish clear water, and the lake shoreline is breathtakingly beautiful. Nature proves us as humans and their presence means relatively incomparable before its beauty. Miles of sand beach which is above 450’ lake Michigan with inland lakes and lush forests make it a perfect place to hike, paddle, kayak, bike or just watch the majestic form of Mother Nature.

As per NPS, “Sleeping Bear Dunes is as old as continental ice sheets and as young as the 1970 Establishment Act that set aside the Lakeshore for the preservation of the natural resources and for public use. The most prominent features and those for which the park is named, are the perched dunes above Lake Michigan. These immense sand dunes are “perched” atop the already towering headlands that are glacial moraines. The dune overlooks at the Sleeping Bear, Empire and Pyramid Point bluffs are about 400 feet above Lake Michigan. With 65 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and numerous inland lakes and streams, the park is wonderfully water oriented.”

There are many beaches – Peterson Beach, Esch Beach, Glen Haven Beach; many inland lakes – Bass Lake, Mud Lake, Loon Lake; Manitou Islands, Light Houses, Scenic drives and Dune Climb.

Our plan was to do scenic drive, visit a lake and climb a dune, if possible. Since we visited in May, the temperature was too low compared to Burgh and most of the beaches & lakes are deserted.

Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive:

When I surfed about Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, everyone recommended the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. It is a 7 miles drive that runs through the Beech-Maple forest, sand dunes, provides spectacular overlooks of the inland lakes, Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes, and Lake Michigan.

But unfortunately, the scenic drive was closed for the season when we visited in May. We should have checked beforehand but then since it’s May, we never thought that the drive would be closed for the season. Later, we came to know that summer starts around the end of the month – June. I would love to visit the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes sometime soon during the perfect season.

The Dune Climb:

Since we couldn’t do scenic drive, we wanted to climb the dune to get the glimpse of the beauty of the vastness and the lake. But then, it was not an easy task as we imagined. The entire trail runs through the towering dunes and would take around 4 hours to reach the shore.  One can climb the dunes to view the Glen Lake. The hike through the dunes to the Lake Michigan is a strenuous activity and hence, be sure to check your physical fitness before attempting it. We climbed the dunes for the view of the Glen Lake. After spending about an hour, we returned to Traverse City and stayed overnight in the city.

Traverse City is a small and beautiful city on the shores of the Lake Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay. The entire city has a shoreline drive alongside Lake Michigan and the city is known for National Cherry festival held annually.

Point Betsie Lighthouse:

We planned to visit the lighthouses in West Michigan the following day and hence started our day very early. After grabbing our breakfast at the hotel where we stayed, we started and headed over to Point Betsie Lighthouse.  The lighthouse is an hour drive away from Traverse City. The lighthouses were closed for the season and hence we couldn’t climb/visit the lighthouse. But then, we had ample amount of time and undisturbed environment to capture as many clicks as we desire. I don’t want to narrate the history of the lighthouses, but I highly recommend everyone to visit the lighthouse to appreciate its beauty.

It was raining on the day when we visited and we received storm alerts. The lighthouse was completely deserted when we reached.  We were able to get near to the shore through a passage and I couldn’t explain the majesty of the lighthouse standing tall amidst the icebergs and strong winds.  Overwhelmed with the enthusiasm, I never noticed the huge iceberg before the lighthouse and when I stepped on it, I was shocked and surprised to notice that it didn’t melt even in summer.  I had the whole seashore for myself and some of the clicks are below

Big Sable Point Lighthouse:

We then headed to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse which stands proudly on the shores of Lake Michigan in the Ludington State Park. I should say this state park is a place blessed by the Mother Nature. We could see sand dunes and inland lakes along the entire drive. The flora and fauna are specific to the place and it was wonderful to watch them throughout the drive. On reaching the state park, one has to walk 1.8 miles to visit the lighthouse. But then, when we reached the park, the lighthouse was closed for renovation and hence, we couldn’t visit the park.

Little Sable Point Lighthouse:

After spending a few hours in the Ludington state park, we started our journey towards Little Sable Point Lighthouse. The lighthouse is an hour away from Big Sable Point Lighthouse and located on the south of Silver Lake Sand Dunes. Little Sable Lighthouse is one of my favorite among the lighthouses we visited on that day. The lighthouse stands tall, alone and proud among them and can be easily viewed from the beach. We saw an old couple on the beach during our visit and they drove all the way from Upper Michigan to visit the lighthouses. But what is saddening is the way how the lighthouses are maintained and how are they treated now. I felt a little bit attention should be given to them to maintain the lighthouse in proper condition. Some of my favorite clicks are below:

Grand Haven South Lighthouse:

We then drove towards Grand Haven South Lighthouse and we reached Grand Haven around afternoon. We heard that the sunset in the Grand Haven beach is so spectacular and stunning to watch from the shore. Hence, we decided to spend the entire afternoon on the beach until the sun sets. The lighthouses were painted in red and the one can access the first lighthouse through the boardwalk.

The red painted lighthouse standing tall in the shades of the orange and yellow when the sun sets is a view to die for and no camera in the world would do justice to capture its beauty. Wish I had filters in my hand. We took a stroll along the boardwalk that borders the Grand Haven and the pier.  The sunset is so soothing to watch from the shore and one should experience to appreciate the beauty and tranquility.

We then headed over to Kalamazoo and stayed in an Airbnb near the Gun river. And I happened to meet lovely couples in the home who really taught me serious life and couple goals.

We covered the lighthouses in West Michigan but now, I would love to visit every lighthouse on the shore of Lake Michigan. Michigan has lots of hidden gems within it and it is worth exploring for.

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Thanks,

Karthi