Last Visited: June, 2002

History/Info:
The St. Joseph Historic Lighthouse and catwalk, located on the city's North Pier, was erected at the mouth of the St. Joseph River in 1832. It was one of the first two lighthouses built on Lake Michigan.

In 1859, a replacement lighthouse was built on the bluff. The tower and beacon were constructed first. The keeper's house was built around it later. That beacon was replaced by range lights after the north and south piers were built in 1907 and 1919, respectively. St. Joseph and Grand Haven boast the only remaining two-pier range light systems with both towers and catwalks intact.

In 1938, the U.S. Coast Guard assumed responsibilities for navigation warnings signals and marine safety, absorbing the lighthouse services. The original St. Joseph lighthouse with tower and beacon was torn down in 1955. The current lighthouse replica was constructed later on the North Pier. Both the North Pier and the South Pier, which house the range lights, are publicly accessible.

In 1995, the current North Pier lighthouse was featured by the U.S. Postal Service in a series of commemorative Great Lakes Lighthouse stamps.

(Source: West Michigan Tourist Association )

Latitude/Longitude: 42°07'N 86°30'W

Directions: click here for overview map   -   click here for detailed map

• (if coming from the south) Take I-94 north to I-94 Business Route.
• Follow I-94 Business Route for 6.2 miles into St. Joseph.
• At the lights where I-94 Business Route goes right and Route 63 goes straight, continue straight on Route 63.
• Take Route 63 over the bridge and take your first left.
• Follow that road to the end where it will meet with Upton Drive.
• Stay on Upton Drive for 0.3 miles then take a hard left onto Marina Drive.
• Take Marina Drive for 0.3 miles then turn left on Ridgeway St.
• Go 0.2 miles to the end of Ridgeway and take a right onto N. Pier Rd. From there you can walk to the lighthouses.

ALTERNATIVE: When we tried to get to the lights in June, 2002, Route 63 right over the bridge was closed and we couldn't figure out how to get to the lights. Of course, after the fact, we realized that we could have followed the above instructions. Oh well. But as an alternative, you can view the lighthouses from the opposite side of the channel. Here are directions on how to get there. My map SW doesn't want to agree with the route we took, so I'll explain as best I can:

click here for detailed map

• (if coming from the south) Take I-94 north to I-94 Business Route.
• Follow I-94 Business Route for 6.2 miles into St. Joseph.
• At the lights where I-94 Business Route goes right and Route 63 goes straight, take a left onto Port St..
• Follow Port St. down the hill and around to the left. You will see the channel to your right and the train bridge ahead to your right.
• The road will curve to the left, running parallel with the train tracks. At the train station ahead, go right, over the tracks.
• Continue straight to the town beach. During the summer months you will have to pay to park.
• Once you've parked, you can walk to the channel and continue on the south pier. The two lights are across the channel on the north pier.