The treacherous waters of the Great Lakes have claimed many a sailor and vessel, and so it’s no wonder that lighthouses were some of the earliest structures built on Lake Michigan’s shores!

Here are a few of the lighthouses that still stand on the northern portion of the Door Peninsula — some of them have been at work for nearly 200 years!

7 historic lighthouses on the southern Door Peninsula

Old Baileys Harbor Lighthouse (Birdcage Lighthouse)

Built: 1853

Active: no

Can you visit: no

Located on appropriately-named Lighthouse Island just off the shore of Bailey’s Harbor, Baileys Harbor Lighthouse was among the first handful of lighthouses to be built in Wisconsin back in the 19th century. 

Though it did a great job of guiding ships past the reefs and rocks around the U-shaped natural harbor, soon there were more ships and more traffic passing into the harbors than the small lighthouse could put up with. The Baileys Harbor Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1869 (just 16 years after it was built) and its duties replaced by the nearby Cana Island Lighthouse and the Bailey Harbor Range Lights, both of which had more visibility to passing and approaching ships.

Though this lighthouse is now privately owned and, therefore, not open to visitors, the lighthouse is still well worth a peek at if you’re paddling by or can spot it from the water. The top of the lighthouse is covered with an iconic birdcage lantern, making it just one of four lighthouses in the country with that kind of lighthouse lantern design!

Baileys Harbor Range Lights

Built: 1870

Active: yes

Can you visit: the grounds, yes, but not the tower or dwelling

While lighthouses have one light that might rotate, flash or change colors, range lights are fixed-beam lights that are constructed in pairs in order to help ships align themselves to the marked shore. This is especially helpful at night and when navigating through narrow channels, up rivers or into bays, where a single light may not provide the kind of detailed navigation aids necessary for tight spaces. 

The range lights here at Baileys Harbor have been in use since 1870, though the lights and the structures have gone through plenty of maintenance, renovation and replacements in the 150+ years that they’ve been around!

Cana Island Lighthouse

Built: 1869

Active: yes

Can you visit: yes

This gorgeous lighthouse is well worth a visit. In fact, the maritime museum was constructed there for that very reason!

With a beautiful white paneled exterior and wrought iron walkway encircling the lantern, this decommissioned lighthouse was another one of the solutions to lighting the way to Baileys Harbor in the late 19th century. The white-brick keepers’ house housed many families over the years until the lighthouse was automated in 1945, after which the building was occasionally used as a summer residence. 

The Door County Maritime Museum took over operations of the lighthouse and the grounds in 1970 and turned the space into a museum. Visitors can climb the spiral staircase into the lens room and see the French-made third-order Fresnel lens up close and personal — a lens, by the way, that’s been shining since 1870! 

Chambers Island Lighthouse

Built: 1868

Active: no

Can you visit: yes

Chambers Island is a remote, quiet island that’s mostly empty, other than for a handful of summer homes and a small airstrip. 

There’s also a lighthouse which, despite the small population, has been working nonstop since its construction in 1868. A 1837 Board of Navy Commissioners tour around Green Bay resulted in a report that identified Chambers Island as a possible location for a lighthouse, as the reefs, shoals and small islands presented a large enough obstacle to commercial ships. 

Unfortunately, the original lens and light tower are no longer in use, having been replaced by a standalone tower and automated light in 1961. The keepers’ house and the tower are still there and maintained as a museum, so visitors can still walk through the grounds and learn about the history of this island lighthouse.

Eagle Bluff Lighthouse

Built: 1868

Active: yes

Can you visit: yes

Located on the northwest tip of Peninsula State Park near Ephraim, this old lighthouse has been dutifully guiding ships around Adventure Island and the Strawberry Islands since 1868. It’s position up on the bluffs gave this lighthouse a farther focal plane then most others in the region, and the 860-candlepower light could be seen from up to 16 miles away in clear conditions. 

The lighthouse was automated in 1926 and the grounds have been run by the The Door County Historical Society since 1960. Today, visitors can explore the lighthouse and attend guided tours up to the tower and through the old keepers’ house!

Pilot Island Lighthouse

Built: 1858

Active: yes

Can you visit: no

This lighthouse has been guiding vessels through Death’s Door (the strait, not the underworld) since 1858!

Death’s Door is the narrow channel between the northernmost tip of Door County Peninsula and the islands to the north — including Plum Island, Pilot Island, Detroit Island and Washington Island. Small Pilot Island was picked to host the lighthouse because it was far enough to the south of the passage to be properly seen by mariners arriving from the North and East, but still within adequate visibility of nearby Northport. 

Keepers at this island were often lonely and plagued by isolation due to fog, storms and the small size of the island. Bad storms in the area and troublesome shoals meant that even though the lighthouse was there, wrecks happened regularly and were often fatal. “Death’s Door,” indeed. 

The lighthouse is no longer inhabited, but it does still run automatically. The only way you can see it is by taking a boat to the waters surrounding the island, but watch out for the shoals, reefs and wrecks that have claimed many a vessel in the past century or so that the lighthouse has been flashing. 

Plum Island Range Lights

Built: 1896

Active: yes

Can you visit: no

The Plum Island Range Lights are visible from the Washington Island Ferry, which passes just to the west of the pair of towers. 

Plum Island originally housed a lighthouse that was built in 1849, though it was too far west for vessels to spot if they were coming from the east. The Pilot Island Lighthouse was built as a remedy, and the Plum Island Lighthouse was replaced by a pair of range lights that would better guide ships through the narrow passage. 

Pottawatomie (Rock Island) Lighthouse

Built: 1837

Active: yes

Can you visit: yes

The Pottawatomie Lighthouse holds the distinction of being the oldest light station in Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan. Built in 1836, just a year after Wisconsin became a territory, it played a crucial role in guiding early European settlers navigating the treacherous waters. While the original structure was replaced in the late 1850s, the current lighthouse (lit in 1858) still shines a steady white light for 14 nautical miles. Today, this historical landmark has been restored to its early 20th-century appearance and welcomes visitors with tours showcasing its rich history.

There are lighthouses all over Lake Michigan — there are even lighthouses in Illinois near our luxury Chicago apartments, so there’s plenty to see all over the shore.

If you’re on the Door Peninsula and are traveling along the lake shore, keep an eye out for these lighthouses and their flashing lights! 

Enjoy!

Pin it!

Featured photo by Parker Hilton on Unsplash