MIchigan Lights - Au Sable

The light as seen from the trail. 10/5/24 dwm

The Au Sable lighthouse is one of three on our most recent trip with a story about getting to the light.

This light is in the Pictured Rocks National Lake shore, but if you want to see the light you first have a 1-and-a-half-mile hike to get there.

The path is nice with a gradual climb from the start until you reach the point jutting into Lake Superior where the light and life-saving station stands.

The trail was close enough to see and hear the big lake most of the walk. The final stretch bends away to enter in the middle of the station.

I first saw the base of the tower. As I approached I noticed the tree-lined trail framed the tower beautifully, then spent several minutes taking pictures.

The white tower is impressive, literally towering 86-feet above Big Sable Point and Lake Superior.

Because the light is on top of a bluff, the focal plane for the light is 107-feet. (Thanks to Lighthouse Friends for the tower's history.)

This was the third light on the big lake's southern shore, helping fill the gap between Grand Island and Whitefish Point. The Whitefish Point light was built in 1849, the light on the north end of Grand Island in 1856 (I didn't see this light because it required a boat or plane).

Keeper's house at left, asst. keepers lived next to light. dwm

Thirty years of work by the National Park Service has restored the structures and landscape to how it looked in 1909. It is open from mid-June through the end of September.

Originally called the Big Sable lighthouse by the Lighthouse Board and Bureau of Lighthouses; In 1910, the Bureau changed the name to Au Sable (likely because there is a Big Sable light on Lake Michigan).

Au Sable was already being used on Lake Huron, but there were no concerns about confusion there. Keepers ran the station until 1958 when lights were automated and keepers withdrawn.

The fog signal went online in 1897. dwm

19 head keepers served between 1874 and 1958, assisted by more than two dozen who served as either a first or second assistant, including one, Mary Gigandent from 1892 - 1897 who stepped into service with her husband Gus, who was head keeper from 1884 - 1896, which suggests Mary was actually in charge until a new keeper was found.

When the station is staffed by volunteers during the summer they live in the assistant keeper's house.

There are several small brick buildings to store the various fuel it used over time. A brick oil house was built in 1895 and a wood shed built in 1904.

View from the east end of grounds. 10/5/24 dwm

Sable Point warns ships to stay away from the shallow waters along this stretch of coastline. The accounts in Lighthouse Friends tell about a few situations where keepers rescued crew members during tough conditions.

I circled the lighthouse station while getting shots and was on my way back when I realized I didn't have my sunglasses. I wasn't wearing them for the last few photos and turned my hat around so it wouldn't get blown away by the wind. It's likely the glasses fell when I turned around my hat.

I retraced my steps until I found them in the last place I looked. If you're in the area, set some time aside for the short hike and to walk around the lighthouse, you'll enjoy it.