Why These Stunning Lighthouses On The Great Lakes Look Best In The Winter

The pictures of the Cleveland Harbor West Lighthouse encased in ice wowed viewers around the world in December of 2010 when it was completely covered in a thick coat of ice. Now, in private hands after being sold at auction in 2023, the 1910 lighthouse and its 1916 fog signal house sit at the entrance of Cleveland's harbor after it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The brick tower stands four stories high with living quarters on the second, third, and fourth floors. The Fresnel lens was constructed in Paris in 1884 but the lighthouse was electrified in 1931.

Few lighthouses go viral as often as the St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lights (and the catwalk that leads up to them). When they freeze over, they turn into something out of a fantasy realm, encased fully in ice from the chilly grip of Lake Michigan waters. Located in St. Joseph, Michigan, which is considered one of the best beach towns on the Great Lakes to visit (in part because of the lighthouse), the lights and catwalk were built in 1907, replacing lighthouses from 1837.

In 2013, the City took over the lighthouses from the federal government and turned them into tourist attractions. It is one of only two piers in the Great Lakes (the other being in Grand Haven) that still has its catwalks and range lights. Along with the Marblehead Lighthouse and three others, the St. Joseph Lights were featured on postage stamps issued in 1995 —one lighthouse on each of the five Great Lakes. 

With a catwalk that juts out into Lake Michigan, Indiana's only public operating lighthouse is subject to the icy, frigid waves that make it a stunning image during the winter.  Since 1904, the lighthouse has been an aid to sailors around Michigan City, Indiana, and its beauty attracts painters and photographers year-round who capture its grandeur.

The current lighthouse replaced one that was built in 1838 and was tended by Harriet Colfax for 43 years. In 2007, the lighthouse, one of Indiana's iconic images, passed hands from the federal government to the city of Michigan City. When the Lake freezes over, ice formations turn the lighthouse and its catwalk into a thing of beauty.

Perched high on a rocky bluff, the Split Rock Lighthouse is one of the iconic landmarks of Minnesota. It is Lake Superior's representative in the series of 1995 Great Lakes lighthouses postage stamps. While the lighthouse is too high above the waves to subject it to being encased in ice, winter still makes this lighthouse a breathtaking encounter as snow covers the rock bluffs and the icy trees frame the sentinel as it stands above the powerful waves that crash against the rocks below with all the fury of the winter winds.

Built in 1905 after a winter storm led to 30 shipwrecks, the lighthouse almost immediately became a tourist destination that continues to attract visitors year-round, though the lighthouse proper and historic buildings are closed in the winter. However, the Visitor Center is still open for film viewing and museum tours.

In South Haven, photographers have captured the effects of Lake Michigan winters on the South Haven Light, a beacon to mariners since 1872. Sitting at the end of a catwalk, the cast iron lighthouse is vulnerable to winds coating it in ice and painting its usual red structure into a fantastical ice sculpture.

In 2012, the lighthouse passed into the hands of the Historical Association of South Haven, which now maintains it while hosting visitors and preserving historical records about the iconic light. Through the years, the lighthouse has been rebuilt and then moved further out into the waters. The lighthouse is one of the reasons that South Haven is considered a great spot for a lakeside vacation, and the draw holds true in the winter as well as for those seeking out a summer beach.‌

At the end of Main Street in the beach town of Ludington, the Ludington Breakwater light has stood on the north breakwater pier since 1924. Still open to the public, the pyramidal, steel lighthouse was designed to deflect Lake Michigan waves, though that doesn't keep it from gathering ice during Michigan's harsh winters.

Meant to protect the car ferries traveling through Ludington Harbor that helped transport people and cars from Michigan to Illinois, the lighthouse is now a popular destination for people who travel there as they can take tours or make climbs hosted by the Sable Points Lighthouse Keepers Association. It has belonged to the City of Ludington since 2006 after the Coast Guard declared it was no longer needed as a navigational aid.

When the winds blow in, the ice starts to form on Muskegon's South Breakwater Light, also known as Pere Marquette. Normally bright red, winter storms sometimes paint it white with a coating of ice creeping up the structure, which has helped to protect those traveling through the Great Lakes since 1903.

The current 63-foot-tall pyramidal light tower was put into commission in 1931. In 2010, the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy took over ownership of the landmark, and they are working on renovating both this lighthouse and its sister structure, the South Pierhead Lighthouse, so that they can be reopened to the public. In the meanwhile, winter beckons those who want to photograph the beauty of the ice formations that transform the light after dramatic winter storms.

In a small town on Michigan's west coast, home to Dutch immigrants who transformed the area into a little bit of home, the Holland Harbor Light, known affectionately as "Big Red," has a history dating back to 1870 when the first lighthouse was built on the site. Since 1978, the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission has owned and maintained the lighthouse.

The Lighthouse Commission recommends that visitors take in the view from Holland State Park's boardwalk or the top of the dune staircase at Mt. Pisgah. In the winter, the red structure provides a stark contrast to the snow and ice that surround it. One photographer described the winter landscape as unforgiving, saying, "Waves crashing into the shore sprayed water and ice high into the air. The bright red color of the lighthouse is striking against the frozen scene on Lake Michigan."

In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a charming structure of Christmas-y red protected shipping in Keweenaw County. The Eagle Harbor Light is housed in a brick structure on Lake Superior with a light that the U.S. Coast Guard still operates. Originally built in 1851, it now houses four museums.

While the Keweenaw County Historical Society has owned the lighthouse since 1999, the top of the tower is closed to visitors because it's still used as a navigational aid. Winter visitors will be able to see the contrasting red building standing out against the ice formations hanging from the shore as Lake Superior's waves batten the bluff.

Now a privately owned structure near Michigan's Pictured Rocks, the East Channel Light is a singular building that almost evokes the feel of an old-country church rising above the snowy pines and trees of its surroundings. Boat tours still give tourists and photographers a chance to see the historic structure while others fly above it in private planes to capture photos of the building in its snow- and ice-covered glory.

Sitting on Grand Island, the lighthouse first went into service in 1868, though storms and erosion forced it to be moved in 1898. In more recent years, private citizens have worked on restoring the structure that had begun to crumble and was threatened by erosion. 

Built in 1870 in what is now the heart of Michigan, the Old Mission Lighthouse is a 36-foot tall beacon that rises out of the front of a one-and-a-half-story keeper's house. Situated on a bluff to help extend the reach of its light, the classic architecture makes it a lovely site when the snow covers the hill and dresses the structure with icy accents.

While the Traverse City lighthouse is closed for tours during the winter, the park stays open daily until 10 p.m., and photographers visit to capture the lighthouse in its seasonal glory. Traverse City is one of the best wine destinations in the U.S., and winter is a great time to check out their ice wines.

One of the prettiest lighthouses in Michigan with a view of the renowned Mackinac Bridge (the longest suspension bridge in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most amazing bridges in the world) connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas, the Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse sits on the shores of Mackinaw City.

Surrounded by a white picket fence, the lighthouse and nearby structures serve as a museum from spring to fall, with costumed interpreters taking people back in time to 1889 when the lighthouse was built. While it isn't possible to climb the lighthouse in the winter, the complex still provides charming views that evoke a bygone era and make this a winter wonderland.

In 1922, the U.S. Coast Guard photographed Stannard Rock Light encased in an iceberg. The Marquette, Michigan Light has earned the nickname of the Loneliest Light on the planet, and in the winter, it becomes encased in a fearsome stretch of ice, accessible only by air. Built on a submerged reef in Lake Superior, it acts as a weather and climate research facility. Built in 1882, it was needed because of how hazardous navigation was through that portion of the lake.

It's 24 miles to the nearest land, and the crib on which it was built is hailed as one of the top ten engineering feats in the U.S. Reaching 110 feet tall, it took five years to build because of the harsh weather, but now is an important winter site because it's one of the few places from which climate data can be collected during frozen months when other buoys have been removed from the waters. 

Not all lighthouses were built by the government. Rockwell Lighthouse, also known as Bray's Point, was the dreamchild of lumber baron William Bray, who enjoyed yachting and sailing near Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Determined that the harbor needed a lighthouse, he hired George A. Rockwell to design the lighthouse.

While Rockwell died before he could build it, Bray went forward with the construction of the concrete, octagonal, 26-foot-tall lighthouse. Restored in 1980, it still sits on private land. Filled with a quaint allure, the snow-covered lighthouse is the subject of many a winter photo, though photographers do advise that one should always seek permission before walking through the area to take pictures.

When it's beginning to look a lot like winter, the Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine, Wisconsin exudes a rural loveliness that draws those seeking romantic views of Midwest winters. Surrounded by a white fence, the snow drapes itself over the red roof and the 110-foot tower points to the sky, topped off by a 10-sided lantern room.

The brick structure was the second lighthouse on the Great Lakes to be electrified in 1923 and then was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. In 1997, the Village of Wind Point was given ownership of the lighthouse, and it provides tours of the historic site.

Marking the entrance of the Chicago Harbor from Lake Michigan, the 1893 Chicago Harbor Lighthouse, built for the World's Columbian Exposition, is the city's only surviving lighthouse. Just east of Navy Pier, the lighthouse was transferred to the City of Chicago in 2009 after being designated a Chicago Landmark in 2003.

Viewed from either the pier or the Chicago beach, the lighthouse takes on an ethereal and lonely beauty in the winter when the Lake freezes over and drifts of snow make the structure stand out from the tundra. Given that the city is already considered one of the top winter destinations in the world, adding this lighthouse to the itinerary makes perfect sense. In 2023, a nonprofit announced restoration efforts aimed at turning the lighthouse into a museum accessible from Navy Pier.