Crisp Point Lighthouse: A Welcoming Sight On Lake Superior

Crisp Point Lighthouse. It’s a lighthouse that many have on their bucket list to visit. Why? Let’s find out together…

Where It All Began

Long before there was a lighthouse at what is now called Crisp Point, there was a need for life-saving stations. I’ll be honest, at first I was a little confused by why it was called this instead of a lighthouse but after reading the history, it all made more sense. Now, I’ll share with you…

In a previous post (https://thecoddiwomplist.com/lost-in-the-depths-of-the-great-lakes-shipwreck-museum/) I talked about how Lake Superior is a ferocious foe to ships. During the mid-1800’s there were several shipwrecks on Lake Superior between Munising and Whitefish Point. Because of this, the US Secretary of Treasury instructed the Board of Life-Saving officers to find suitable locations for stations. There was a need to have more stations to help in the aid of saving sailors and passengers when any wrecks or groundings happened.

The locations chosen for the four stations were: Crisp Point, Vermilion Point, Muskallonge Lake (Deer Park) and Two-Hearted River. The building of the stations began in 1875 and they opened in 1876.

The US Congress finally approved a lighthouse for the area in 1902 and 15 acres of land was purchased for it the same year at a price of just $30. Over the next two years construction on the lighthouse progressed and it became operational on May 5, 1904.

Did It End Too Soon?

Crisp Point stayed in operation until it was decommissioned in 1993, serving to date 89 years. During it’s years of operation the lighthouse would be an integral part of life saving missions or recovery expeditions.

Over that time, harsh weather had eroded many aspects of the lighthouse. In 1997, Luce County gained ownership of the lighthouse. When faced with the decision to either auction it off to the public or let The Crisp Point Light Historical Society take control, it was turned over to the latter with a 40 year lease.

Since then, the CPLHS has been continually fixing, mending, adding and more to lighthouse. All of this is thanks to Don and Nellie Ross, who fell in love with station, started CPLHS and made it’s restoration their life’s mission.

Crisp Point Lighthouse was granted a seasonal permit by the US Coast Guard in 2012 that allowed it to begin operations again in May 2013. The Private Aids To Navigation (PATON) Permit gives the lighthouse permission to operate from May 1st-November 1st each year. It’s range is six miles or less, currently.

If you would like to read more about the interesting history of the Life Saving Station, Lighthouse or the renovations and drive to save Crisp Point, click on this link https://www.crisppointlighthouse.org/crisp2.html

What Are The Reason So Many Trek Here?

What is it about Crisp Point Lighthouse that draws the attention of so many lighthouse enthusiasts?

Could it be how grand it looks from the shoreline as you stare up at it? Perhaps.

Is it the amount of work that has gone into it’s restoration? I’m sure that has a lot to do with it. You can’t help but be appreciative of it as you walk around the grounds.

How nice the volunteers here are? They certainly are attentive to the visitors, as well as the grounds. But, I don’t think that’s really the main reason why people come here.

Could it be that this is just a really great place to go rock hunting? That could definitely have something to do with it. I’m speaking from a rock hounding family so I do have a little authority there.

Is it the pleasant and calming drive to get to the lighthouse? NO! That is absolutely not the reason to go to this lighthouse. Not even a little.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like the movie “Wrong Turn” or anything. At least it wasn’t this time…

My First Attempt

I visited the Crisp Point Lighthouse on August 17 of this year. This was not the first time I have tried to get here. What happened the first time? I’m so glad you asked because I’m going to tell you…

Our first visit to the area was in 2019 and I had told my family I wanted to go to this lighthouse. It’s a bucket list thing to photograph every lighthouse in Michigan. I have no idea where I came up with that but I did, so now I will.

Anyhow, we were leaving Whitefish Point (another lighthouse) after our first time there and I punched Crisp Point into my phone’s GPS. How lucky was I that it said my turnoff was right outside of Paradise and we were right there, minutes from the road! I was so excited!! Whoo-hoo, right? WRONG!

I had already heard from a few sources that the road to the lighthouse could be a bit iffy, especially after rain, etc. and was just an overall rough haul so when we started down this particular road, it was actually pretty decent. The GPS had me make a left turn. Ok, still good. It said continue to drive for whatever miles it was…ok, still going. Keep in mind I have a Dodge Grand Caravan and besides the three of us I also had my three dogs with us.

When I tell you this turned into what we now jokingly/lovingly refer to as “Expedition Wrong Turn”, I am not joshing you in any way. It was unimaginably THE WRONG TURN.

Hold On!!

Picture this…close your eyes…the road oh so slowly begins to change. You’re tooling along at a reasonable pace. There are a few bumps, here and there. It’s a dirt road so no surprise. You have the windows all open and enjoying family chit chat and looking at the woods as you go by. Then gradually, so gradually you almost don’t notice, something starts to change.

The road starts to get a bit bumpier. Oops, there’s a pothole…nope, now it’s a big rock right in the middle of the road! Wow, that was close. I nearly hit it because there’s no where for me to go! It’s very sandy too and it’s grabbing my tires towards the ditch. Oh boy.

It continues to get rougher to drive on. Your speed is now down to around 15 mph. You may or may not have a death grip on your steering wheel as you continue to bounce all over. You hear things crashing into your vehicle from below with every move. It’s getting ugly.

Now your husband, who’s sitting in the passenger seat this time instead of driving, is starting to complain at you. “Didn’t you see that boulder?!” I shout back “Didn’t you see I had no where to go?!”

He’s yelling at me to look at the GPS. I yell back to look at himself since I’m a bit busy at the moment. Does this road ever end, I wonder to myself. Guess What? It did end. Right into the middle of a bunch of trees. Yep, it just dropped right off. That’s not on the map! Where’s my GPS warning…or something?!!

Now What?!!

I didn’t have a lot of options so I do one of those “Please don’t let me get stuck in a ditch” manuevers of trying to turn around and slowly make my way back the way we came.

It was ugly…everything was extremely dusty, the GPS wasn’t getting any signal (which probably allowed me to find my way out), the dogs were bouncing all over and choking on dust, husband is still yelling about something that I was ignoring – again – my daughter was bouncing out of her seat and on top of the pile of dogs and there was minor damage to my van. Just ugly.

Want to know the worst thing about the two hours we lost on this excursion? The Jeep that went by looking at us like we were idiots. We were. No argument from me. Don’t be like me – ignore the GPS from the get go and you’ll be much better off.

The best thing about this excursion? I learned not to trust my GPS in Michigan’s UP and we are laughing about this now – as a family. “Expedition Wrong Turn” has gone down in our family history book and will be shared with future generations as a memory and that’s what it is all about.

Don’t Be Like Me

So, the moral of my story? Don’t use GPS when you are in the Upper Peninsula unless you have a satellite phone. And then, only maybe.

This time, before we even started our trip northward, I studied maps. Actual maps.

And several months prior to going I joined a Michigan Lighthouse group on Facebook and received a lot of good direction and information from many of the members. I was prepared but I also knew this was going to be a trek too. I had heard the cautionary tales once more.

Someone told me that you can get to Crisp Point from Pine Stump Junction and I’m pretty sure I saw a sign there last year but I’m not positive so I’m not going to recommend it. If you’ve taken that journey, please share in the comments!

Let Me Point The Way

I took the road most traveled. Not my usual course of action but after the first fiasco, we do what we’ve got to do.

I took Falls Road (M-123) straight north out of Newberry. This is the easy part and a nice drive. Shortly before you enter the Tahquamenon Falls area, you will see a sign for the Crisp Point Lighthouse and an arrow to follow County Road 500. Take this path.

The first several miles are not bad. It is a dirt road but it is maintained for the most part. It’s in good shape and there should be no worries here, at all.

Eventually, the road is going to get much sandier, in places it will be very narrow and your speed will be reduced quite a bit. There is a lot of sand up here. It’s just everywhere. Stay on this county road and look for the lighthouse signs. There are usually in the trees and will point you in the right direction. Plus, they will be much more reliable than your GPS by a long shot.

The roads to Crisp Point is approximately 18 miles from M-123 but it will take you at least an hour to make the drive. You cannot drive too fast or you will end up on the side of the road somewhere or in a tree. This is a slow go, for sure. But worth it! I had my doubts before we got the lighthouse but what I found at the end of my journey made it all worth it. I think you will agree.

Destination Reached!

First things first…the parking lot is much smaller than I was expecting and a lot of cars were parked where ever they could find a place to squeeze into. Welcome to a popular destination during peak summer travel time. Off season should be better.

Caution: Do not park in what looks like an overflow or extension of the parking lot! It is ALL SAND and you will most likely get stuck. I believe that is actually an area for quads, etc

Walking out of the parking lot you will find the gift shop that has two unisex restrooms on the outside south end of the building. You can then follow a boardwalk to the beach on the west side of the lighthouse.

This appeared to me to be the most populated side of the beach. There were a lot of people walking the shore or in the water looking for rocks to collect. Actually, there are a lot of people here rock collecting on both sides of the lighthouse. But, there were definitely more on this side. There were some swimmers too. The water was just beautiful. It wasn’t cold and the water was shallow for quite a distance from the shoreline. It’s a great place to let small children wade and splash without worrying about a dropoff.

Don’t Miss The Photo Op

While on this side of the lighthouse, don’t forget to take advantage of the unbelievable pictures you can take of it from the shoreline. You will need to get into the water for some of the shots but I think these are some of my favorite lighthouse pictures so far.

Tour The Crisp Point Lighthouse

The lighthouse is open and you are welcome to even climb to the top. I did, but once I got to the top (or cupola) I found I wasn’t limber enough to crouch down through the little opening to walk around the gallery. I was a bit disappointed because I knew that would give me some excellent pictures. If you get the opportunity to climb to the cupola, take it! Even if you can’t go out onto the gallery the view is incredible!

The inside of the lighthouse and adjoining room that you to enter through are not very large (the spiral staircase is very, very narrow) so don’t be surprised if you need to wait to venture in.

In the entrance building there are replicas and pictures to convey the story of the life saving and lighthouse stations, as well as, about a few of the ships that have been to the area. (See above for a few pictures from inside this building)

Go East, Please

After you exit the lighthouse, follow the boardwalk to the east side beach. This will end shortly and then you will walk a sandy trail to the beach itself.

I didn’t find this side nearly as loaded with people and those that were here seemed much more spread out from one another. Again, there were a lot of rock collectors (us included) and a few couples who just walked down and around the point.

Speaking of which, if you enjoy walking on the beaches, Whitefish Point is less than 15 miles. I’m not sure you can make it the entire way but some day I may give it a try and let you know.

Yay or Nay?

I don’t think I need to drag this out and I’m pretty sure you can already guess but…that’s a definite yay from me.

The drive back and forth from here is long, slow and extremely dusty but the beauty and tranquility you find here makes it all worthwhile. We spent a couple of hours at Crisp Point in addition to the drive time and I think it was unanimous that we all enjoyed it.

And, take your time! Whether it’s driving there and back – we saw a little bit of wildlife, such as huge hawk- or spending time slow walking the beach looking at the rocks or freighters on the horizon, this is a great spot to just relax.

Cost Of The Day

• The only expense this day was the gas to get there. In Newberry, at this time, gasoline was $3.199/gallon
• We had dinner at The Inn Gastropub & Smokehouse (I know I’ve said it before but I cannot recommend this restaurant enough! The food is something we look forward to every time we travel this far up north and would never dream of not paying a visit to this business) $45 + Tip

Nearby

• On the grounds of the Crisp Point Lighthouse is a gift shop. I did not go into it this time but I will on my next visit.
• Tahquamenon Falls – 24 miles or 53 minutes
• Whitefish Point Lighthouse/Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum – 49 miles or 1 hr 21 min
• Newberry, MI – 37 miles or 1 hr 6 min
• Paradise, MI – 37 miles or 1 hr 7 min

Where’s The Map?

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