PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WEST MICHIGAN TOURIST ASSOCIATION
The West Michigan Tourist Association has announced the release of its 2023 Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour, a free resource that details the over 100 lighthouses that dot the shores of Lake Michigan as well as the Circle Tour driving route around the lake.
The official Circle Tour driving route was established in the 1980s by the West Michigan Tourist Association in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation, and is the first official, signed Great Lakes Circle Tour and offers the most mileage of any Circle Tour in the state. Motorists can explore lighthouses like the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse that graces this year’s cover while enjoying miles of beaches, natural areas, islands, quaint harbor towns and of course the mighty Mackinac Bridge.
Recently, $106,000 in Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant funding from the State Historic Preservation Office for restoration of the lighthouses was granted to the Rock of Ages Lighthouse located off the coast of Isle Royale and Eagle Harbor Lighthouse in Eagle Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula — an important step in the preservation of these iconic lighthouses exposed to extreme natural elements every year, reports Great Lakes Scuttlebutt.
A full driving route of the Great Lakes Circle Tour is available online, or you can request a free copy at wmta.org.
