Cheboygan River Range Light, Lake Huron
The Cheboygan River Range Light is a historic Michigan lighthouse in Cheboygan, Michigan. It is located near both downtown Cheboygan and the Lake Huron shoreline. It stands alongside the Cheboygan River, near where the United State Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw and the Bois Blanc Island ferry Kristen D. dock. Cheboygan was once a busy lumbering town and the river was vital to transportation and commerce. The range light dates back to the 1880s, and it continues to guide vessels to this day.
Restoration efforts by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association have returned the lighthouse to its early 1900s appearance, and volunteers offer tours on weekends during the summer. Find out more at https://www.gllka.com/cheboygan.html. While most of the surrounding area is industrial buildings, this light remains on a small parcel near the water, looking like a normal house except for the large orange panels and square tower and lantern room that rises above its roof. When we first visited in the 1990s we had a bit of trouble finding this lighthouse, and it looked a little bit different with a white lantern room.
To find the Cheboygan River Range Light, head towards Lake Huron on Water St. and look for a parking area near the light (606 Water St.) close to Water St.’s intersection with 2nd St. To visit the Cheboygan Crib Light, take 2nd St. out to N. Huron St. and follow it to its end at Gordon Turner Park. See the map below for more details.
An alternate view of this lighthouse comes from the Shepler’s Ferry Eastbound Lighthouse Cruise. That boat trip passes by the Cheboygan Crib Light before making a quick trip up the river to show how the range lights line up. The rear range is a steel skeletal tower that is in a parking lot, with two red stripes on its sides and a white stripe down the middle. Other lighthouses this cruise visits include Round Island Lighthouse, Bois Blanc Island Lighthouse, Spectacle Reef Lighthouse (only on extended trips), Poe Reef Light and Fourteen Foot Shoal Light.
