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Lake Michigan is one of the world's largest and moodiest lakes. The lake is cold and freezing in the winter, but this is also a magical time to see its iconic lighthouse. One of the most eye-catching attractions along the shores of Lake Michigan is the Michigan City East Pierhead Lighthouse. Despite its name, Michigan City is not in the state of Michigan but in the state of Indiana.
The Great Lakes have been very important to the development of the Midwest and the Ontario region of Canada. They are full of historic lighthouses - many of which are open to the public today. Lighthouses around the world can be some of the most stunning coastal attractions. Iceland has a lighthouse called the Þrídrangar (or Thridrangar) lighthouse impossibly perched on a sheer cliff-sided island.
Why The Michigan City Lighthouse Is The Top Attraction In Michigan City
The Michigan City Lighthouse is arguably the most remarkable lighthouse of the Great Lakes - at least in the winter after a storm. The lighthouse is on a breakwater that guards the harbor of Indiana's Michigan City.
- Built: 1904
- Operated: By The US Coast Guard 1933 to 2007
An elevated walkway - called the "catwalk," leads out to the lighthouse and is open to the public. The catwalk was used by its lighthouse keepers for 29 years so that they could access the light tower. That is until 1933, when the light on the east pier was electrified. In 1939, the operation of the lighthouse was taken over by the US Coast Guard.
For a while, the catwalk was in danger of demolition, but fortunately, local citizens rallied, and the landmark structure was preserved.
The Michigan City Lighthouse is one of the few lighthouses on the Great Lakes that still has its iron walkway on top of the pier. Other lighthouses that still preserve their iron walkways are Manistee Pierhead Lighthouse and the Grand Haven South Pierhead Inner Light.
The Michigan City Lighthouse is quite rightly called the city's crown jewel.
Visit The Michigan City Lighthouse In The Winter
During the summer and warmer months, the pier is a favorite location for locals watching the sunsets as well as for fishing. Come winter; it changes entirely. Visit the lighthouse in the winter and see a different world. The spray from the lake covered the lighthouse and catwalk, and it all becomes encrusted in ice.
The ice covered the lighthouse, and the catwalk grows a mesmerizing array of ice stalactites or icicles.
- Best Time To Visit: Winter After A Winter Storm
- Open: Year Round
Visitors are free to walk out along the catwalk to the lighthouse. If one does visit in the winter, be very careful. The whole pier and lighthouse are covered in very slippery ice. So tread cautiously and don't fall over. Dress very warmly and in layers, as the winter wind blowing off the lake can be bitterly cold. Make sure everything is covered (including wearing a ski mask).
A spiral staircase was built in 2003 so that visitors could climb up into the lantern room.
Close to Michigan City is Indiana's Gary. Gary is an unfortunate ghost town in the making and is a city that, in some ways, epitomizes the decline of the Rust Belt.
The 170-Year-Long History Of Michigan City's Lighthouses
The lighthouse seen today is the successor to the Old Michigan City Lighthouse. The oldest lighthouse was built in 1858 and was replaced in 1837 by another old lighthouse - that one was built from brick and stone. The modern Michigan City Lighthouse received the lantern, lens, and light from it when it was built in 1904.
Today the old lighthouse is located in Washington Park and is open daily (but closed on Mondays) from 1.00 pm to 4.00 pm and closed in the winter.
Old Michigan City Lighthouse:
- Opening Hours: 1 pm to 4.00 pm (Seasonal)
- Days Open: Tuesday to Sunday (Closed Mondays)
The Michigan City lighthouse was built in 1904 and, in the winter, is one of the most remarkable attractions in the Great Lakes. The lighthouse has become a popular and potent symbol of the small city of Michigan City. Today the lighthouse is the only publicly operating lighthouse in Indiana. Learn the in-depth history of the lighthouse on the Lighthouse Friends website.