Crisp Point Lighthouse and beach PICS: Lake Superior lighthouse and rock beach + the drive to Crisp Point ⚓ UP Michigan travel blog

Hi there!

So a trip to Crisp Point means a trip to the shores of Lake Superior in the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula. Here, you can see where the Crisp Point Lighthouse stands. This is one of the many Lake Superior lighthouses.

It also means a trip to beaches on Lake Superior. There’s a beach on both sides of the lighthouse.

These are both beaches where you can try searching for special Lake Superior rocks. You can look for colorful rocks.

And, a trip to Crisp Point also means taking some dirt roads that are more so the backroads of the UP! 

Once you’re at Crisp Point, there are several areas where you’ll find benches and you can sit with views of Lake Superior and the lighthouse in the background.

The Crisp Point Lighthouse was a Lake Superior station that also served as a US Life-Saving Station (equivalent of present-day US Coast Guard) along what can be considered the most dangerous areas of the Great Lakes for ships. Read the history of Crisp Point Lighthouse.

⚓

And now…

A bit of what a trip to Crisp Point can be like… along with the drive there!

PHOTOS!

I made a visit to Crisp Point in July 2020.

At this time, the Crisp Point visitor center was open, and it was also possible to walk around the grounds of the Crisp Point Lighthouse.

But the Crisp Point lighthouse tower was closed because of healthy safety reasons. In normal times, it would be possible to climb up the lighthouse tower to get grand views of Lake Superior.

To see if the tower will be open in 2021, you can take a look at the Crisp Point Light Historical Society’s website before you go.

So one of the most convenient times to go to Crisp Point during your UP trip will be alongside a visit to the popular Tahquamenon Falls State Park. The turnoff onto the road to Crisp Point is located around 5-10 minutes from the state park. 

Be sure to gas up before you leave for Crisp Point though!

Once you turn off the main road (M-123 aka Tahquamenon Scenic Byway), the drive will be mostly on a dirt road (County Road 500). 

You’ll be driving for about an hour to reach the lighthouse and you won’t find much of anything! 

There’s a gas station a couple minutes drive from Tahquamenon Falls State Park. 

To get you onto County Road 500 from Tahquamenon Falls, you can put in Crisp Point Lighthouse as your destination for google maps.

And then, the people of the Crisp Point Light Historical Society warn:

Do not follow your GPS from Paradise to the lighthouse.

It may take you down narrow two-track roads that can be impassable.

Side note, another local tip I received: When you’re on these sort of backroads of the UP, stick to the numbered roads! (For example government/county roads.)

So once you do get onto the county road, you can look for the (sometimes quite small) signs to follow the road to the lighthouse.

And then you will be driving for nearly an hour when you will start to see Lake Superior!

And the lakeshore drive will then end at the Crisp Point parking area, and you will get your first glimpse of the lighthouse!

Then, you can make your way to the Crisp Point Visitor Center (where there’s a bathroom), or you can take the trail to head straight to the lighthouse and Lake Superior!

Trail to the lighthouse

Crisp Point beach and Lake Superior

And that’s a bit of what a visit to the Crisp Point Lighthouse can be like!

See neighboring Lake Superior lighthouses:

• Whitefish Point
• Vermilion Point
• Point Iroquois
• More Lake Superior lighthouses

See more lighthouses in Michigan:

• Lighthouses on the shores of the Eastern UP
• Au Sable Point Lighthouse on the shores of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (Lake Superior)
• Eagle Harbor Lighthouse on the shores of Keweenaw Peninsula (Lake Superior)
• Grand Traverse Lighthouse on the shores of Leelanau Peninsula (Lake Michigan)
• Muskegon South Pier Lighthouse on the shores of Muskegon State Park (Lake Michigan)

HAPPY VISIT TO CRISP POINT AND LAKE SUPERIOR!