Other stories in "Lighthouses"

• Lighthouses of the Apostles
  Allure of a bygone lifestyle pulls visitors to island beacons.
• Living in a lighthouse
  The first keepers were ready to assist and rescue. Now, volunteers are returning the favor.
• Kayaking the Rossport Islands
  Off Ontario's Superior coast, a lighthouse is an irresistible destination.
• Circling Superior
  A trip around the big lake provides everything a tourist's heart could desire.
• Dwelling in the past
  Around Lake Superior, overnight guests can try out life at a lighthouse.
• The Lighthouse Express
  A vintage railroad takes passengers back to the past.
• Romantic beacons
  On Wisconsin's two Great Lakes, five beacons attract lovers of lore.

Cruising to a lighthouse

In summer, boats give visitors a chance to see historic beacons.

Many people turn lighthouses into a hobby. In summer, they travel from beacon to beacon, photographing them and collecting stamps in their U.S. Lighthouse Society passports until they've got 60 and can move onto the next passport and, eventually, the "Platinum Circle'' patch awarded after 240 lighthouse visits.

It's not easy to get to every lighthouse, however. Many are on islands or inaccessible by car, so aficionados are quick to sign up for the special boat trips offered during lighthouse festivals.

Below are some of the cruises that will take visitors to lights in the western Great Lakes in 2008. On many, places go quickly.

May 16-18, Boat tours around Door County for the annual Lighthouse Walk. From Gills Rock, boats go to Rock Island and Pottawatomie Light, which is celebrating its 150th birthday May 17; and from Baileys Harbor to the lights on the Lake Michigan side. In Sturgeon Bay, the regularly scheduled fireboat (pictured)  will pass Sherwood Point on the Green Bay side and the two lights on the canal.

There are also naturalist minibus tours and trolley tours, and visitors can drive themselves to five mainland lighthouses. On May 16, there's a Keepers' Kin Reception at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, 920-743-5958, www.dcmm.org.

May 24-Oct. 12, Copper Harbor Lighthouse tours. On the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, boats ferry tourists to the light because private owners block access. 906-289-4966, www.copperharborlighthouse.com.

June 14-Aug. 23, Cruises to Michigan's DeTour Reef Light from DeTour Village at the easternmost tip of the Upper Peninsula. The DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society offers two-hour guided tours on Saturdays except July 12 and Aug. 9; those weeks, cruises will be on Sunday. Cost is $95, half tax-deductible, 616-874-9458, www.drlps.com (from June to August, 906-493-5648).

June 14-Sept. 1, Cruises to Raspberry Island Light in Wisconsin's Apostle Islands, daily from Bayfield, $40, $24 for children 6-12, 800-323-7619, www.apostleisland.com.

June 28-Sept. 20, St. Marys River Lighthouse Cruise from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Soo Locks Boat Tours offers a 4½-hour tour through the Soo Locks and along the St. Marys River to Point Iroquois Light and Canadian lights that include Gros Cap Reefs. Boats leave at 8 a.m. Saturdays and also Wednesdays from July 2-Aug. 13. Cost is $49, including breakfast. 800-432-6301, www.soolocks.com.

Aug. 26-27, Grand Lighthouse Cruise out of Mackinaw City, Mich. Offered by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association with Shepler's Ferry, guests see five lighthouses each day. Cost of $410 double occupancy, $510 single, plus $35 for a GLLKA membership, includes meals and a night at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, 231-436-5580, www.gllka.org.

The association also is offering all-day cruises to St. Helena Island Light June 19 and July 22, $145-$180 including lunch. Shepler's also offers lighthouse cruises from June through September, and both pass under the Mackinac Bridge. The eastbound straits cruise passes six lights and the westbound straits cruise four, 800-828-6157, www.sheplersferry.com.

Sept. 3-20, Apostle Islands Lighthouse Celebration out of Bayfield, Wis. The festival is the only time the Apostles Islands Cruise Service offers tours of the lights on Sand, Devils and Michigan islands as well as a cruise to Long Island to see the two lights there, 800-779-4487, www.lighthousecelebration.com.

Sept. 20, Keweenaw Fall Color Lighthouse Tour out of Houghton, Mich. All 10 lights on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula can be seen on an all-day cruise out of Houghton, $130, including a continental breakfast, lunch and hors d'oeuvres. 906-482-0884, www.keweenawexcursions.com.

Oct. 9-12, Great Lakes Lighthouse Festival in Alpena, Mich. Five Lake Huron lighthouses, at Tawas Point, Sturgeon Point, Forty Mile Point and Presque Isle, will be open for tours, and visitors can take boats or helicopters to see the lights on Middle Island and Thunder Bay Island. Lighthouse associations from all the Great Lakes are invited. A schedule will be posted at www.lighthousefestival.org in late May.

Last updated on July 2, 2008