You may have seen it yourself…photos on social media of a Michigan lighthouse beautifully frozen and covered in ice. We had seen these photos numerous times in the last several years. We love lighthouses! We’ve been to over 100 (I stopped counting). We’ve seen them all around Michigan, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and even in Iceland. But we tend to visit lighthouses in warmer months. We like to climb their towers and get our Lighthouse Passport stamped. So we had not been to one in winter. But boy did the photos we saw make us want to.
So this winter, I had made it a goal and a point to finally get across the state to see a frozen lighthouse on Lake Michigan.
Where To Go
We live in the metro Detroit area and we chose to visit the Grand Haven lighthouse and pier on Lake Michigan. This was our choice because it is a pretty direct shot for us via highway 2.5 hours to this cute beach town and lighthouse. Plus we had seen many photos of this particular lighthouse covered in ice.
The pier is located within Grand Haven State Park (1001 S. Harbor Drive), just east of town and at the mouth of the Grand River. There is large parking lot with ample parking, or we actually parked closer to the shore by going into the campground section that is closed for the season.
When To Go
This is the difficult part because you can’t quite plan this too far ahead. You have to wait for the right conditions. We were at this lighthouse the first week of January and it was still wide open, heavy rolling waves crashing onto the beach and pier. But those waves are the first ingredient to creating this frozen wonder.
So what I did was keep an eye on the geotag for this lighthouse on instagram. I keyed into the “recent” posts to monitor the conditions. I was careful to look for clues in the caption or comments to determine that a particular photo was actually from the last day or two and not a seasonal repost of one from prior years.
Thanks to the “Polar Votex” we experienced recently, I had a feeling that the time was right. So, after seeing recent posts showing that the lighthouse was indeed ice covered and frozen, we set off to see it (after the temps raised to a more comfortable 40 degrees).
It is so fascinating to me how drastically different everything was within 30 days of our last visit. Not only was the lighthouse frozen, but so was this shore of Lake Michigan.
Where To Stay
We made this drive as a day trip…totaling 5+ hours in the car round trip. You may not be that crazy and instead intend to spend the night. This would give you a great opportunity to take in additional sights and nearby towns including Muskegon and Holland.
Hotels.com has numerous accommodations in the area available to reserve. Several with pools if you have a family in tow, the kids will surely love a winter pool day.
Nearby cities that would be convenient for staying close to the lake coast include Grand Haven, Holland, Muskegon, Silver Lake. But if you want a larger city with many more sights and cultural attractions, you may opt towards Grand Rapids.
Things To Know
Getting out to the lighthouse is not a smooth and easy walk. The surface of the pier is very uneven and potentially very slick. There are ice mounds of various sizes which could lead to falls and twisted ankles. So dress and plan appropriately with warm, waterproof footwear with good traction. (You wouldn’t believe how many people were out there in tennis shoes)
Think smart and stay safe. Many people were straying off the pier and walking on the frozen waters. But keep in mind and remember that you can never be too sure of what the conditions of that ice may be. Stay cautious! These were the conditions only a few feet beyond the pier and lighthouse.
Enjoy the view
After making the trek out to the end of the pier, although the sun was going down and the temperature was quickly dropping, I didn’t want to leave. Everything was so fascinating! I looked and I tried to imagine the stages of how everything formed day by day. From the ice not the structures, to the freezing of the waters of this Great Lake. It was so much more magical and majestic than I had ever imagined.
We will definitely be visiting again plus adventuring to see more frozen lighthouses along Lake Michigan’s coast.
I’m a mom with travel bug. Forever seeking new places to see and things to do whether they are close to home or across the globe. I’m always anxiously planning our next adventures and doing my best to stretch our dollars and time to their fullest in doing so.
