West Michigan Lighthouse Road Trip

Lighthouses, or as we like to call them, the castles of the Great Lakes, are a big part of the amazing shorelines of Michigan We always enjoying checking out new lighthouses and revisiting some of our favorites. We recently took a road trip to visit 4 West Michigan lighthouses which included stops in South Haven, Holland, Grand Haven and Muskegon. Our plan was to visit each of these lighthouses on our paddleboard if the conditions would allow for it.

We started our day in South Haven. When we got out onto Lake Michigan there were some waves but still manageable. We even got to paddle surf a wave into shore. We also decided to walk the pier to the lighthouse. Check out the full segment from South Haven here!

After heading downtown South Haven we loaded up and headed to Holland to see the iconic Big Red. We were told that Big Red is the most photographed lighthouse in Michigan. An interesting fact is that everyone refers to this lighthouse as Big Red, but it actually named the Holland Harbor Lighthouse and at one point was actually beige! Since this is the most photographed lighthouse, we got in on the action with some unique views of our own. Check out the full segment here!

After paddling two lighthouses we need to fuel up so we grabbed food in Holland before heading to Grand Haven. Grand Haven Lighthouse is probably the lighthouse that we have been around the most. We enjoy paddling out to it and spending time floating in Lake Michigan and watching the boat traffic head in and out. Sometimes as a bonus a freighter will pass by and we were lucky enough to see the Pere Marquette 41 barge with the tug, Undaunted, leave the channel. Check out the full segment here!

There are great place for food and drinks in Grand Haven to visit after going to the lighthouse. We always enjoy a stop at Oddside Ales when in the area. On this day, we head to make it to Muskegon in time to catch a sunset with the Muskegon lighthouses. Our timing could not have been better. We were able to get out and experience both of the Muskegon lighthouses. As a pro-tip from us, make sure to go get food at The Deck when you go visit these lighthouses! Check out the full segment here!

This was a fun packed day full of adventure! One thing we want to share is that there are a lot of great people who volunteer there time to keep these lighthouses in good condition for everyone to enjoy, and for that, we say thank you! Check out the Michigan Lighthouse Alliance Facebook page for lighthouse content and more information on Michigan lighthouses! Here is our full video from our West Michigan Lighthouse Road Trip!