The Wawatam Lighthouse stands at the end of the pier in Chief Wawatam Park, overlooking Moran Bay and the St. Ignace waterfront. Visitors can walk out for a closer view of the lighthouse, watch boats and Mackinac Island ferries crossing the harbor, and look back toward downtown from the water’s edge.

Unlike many Great Lakes lighthouses, Wawatam Lighthouse did not begin beside the water. The 52-foot tower was built in 1998 as a decorative travel landmark at a Michigan Welcome Center near Monroe. When the welcome center was renovated in 2004, St. Ignace arranged to bring the structure north in five sections. It was reassembled on the waterfront in June 2006 and first lit on August 20 of that year.

Today, the lighthouse is an official aid to navigation. Its 250-millimeter Fresnel lens shines across Lake Huron and can be seen from more than 13 miles away. The tower itself stands 52 feet tall, while the Coast Guard measures the light at 62 feet above the water.

The lighthouse takes its name from the Chief Wawatam, a railroad ferry that carried trains across the Straits of Mackinac from 1911 until the mid-1980s. The lighthouse now occupies the former railroad ferry dock, and visitors pass remnants of the ferry’s lift-gate system on the way to the pier.

Wawatam Lighthouse is reached through Chief Wawatam Park and connects easily with the Huron Boardwalk. The surrounding park includes waterfront seating, picnic areas, a fishing platform, a seasonal splash pad and nearby parking. The lighthouse and pier can be enjoyed throughout the year, although weather, ice or maintenance may affect access.

For more information on lighthouses in Michigan, please visit the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper’s Association website.