We are fascinated with lighthouses and have seen many of them. This one is a great one to visit because the lighthouse keepers house is restored to the 1920's. You can climb up the steps to the tower. There are not many steps for the climb, but it is narrow and does not have a lot of room. It costs $4.00 for adults and is well worth it. Beautiful grounds and you can walk down to the lake. You do have to pay to get into the state park. I believe it was $9.00. There is a small gifgt shop. Everyone was very friendly and informative.
My husband and I love to go to the different light houses in Michigan. There are more light houses in Michigan and in any other state. We had never been to the Grand Traverse Light House and wanted to take a color tour this fall. We were not disappointed in the color tour north along Lake Michigan to Leland and then to Northport and to Grand Traverse Light House. They had the Light House as well as the grounds decorated for Halloween. There is a gift shop and they had hot dogs and roasted marshmallows. The view from the top of the Light House is spectacular. The basement was even decorated for Halloween as they said go if you dare. Was a lot of fun. We had no charge to get into Leelanau State Park as we have a sticker on our license plates purchased when we renewed our license plates. The cost to go thru the Light House is $4 per person. If you want you can hike down to Lake Michigan. A must see if you are in Northern Michigan. Going thru the Light House could be done in around an hour. If you wanted to hike around the area you could spend at least a couple of hours.
We drove behind an idiot who had his dog in the front seat and wife in the back on a two lane road for 20 miles. When we finally got to the lighthouse, we paid $9 and watched the idiot get out and leave his dog in the truck. When I asked the ranger how long he would be allowed to keep his dog in the truck, she said well, the windows are halfway down. I watched until he returned to the truck because I was ready to call the police. Onto the lighthouse. We stopped in the gift shop to buy batteries for our camera, and paid the $5 for 4 batteries without complaint. But when I approached the cashier she had just coughed in her hand and was offended I did not want her to touch my batteries. While making change, she sneezed into her hand. No attempt to use the hand sanitizer that was directly in front of her. Just indignation that I would not want to catch her germs. Then we headed out and realized there is no beach, no where to walk and almost nothing to see. We left within 10 minutes and drive to a beach in Suttons bay that was free and beautiful and did not have a cashier with germy hands. Yes, I realize there were many germs on the beach but no one coughed and sneezed into their hand and then tried to touch my things. Not at all worth the drive or the money. Save your time. Wish we had gone to the Peninsula instead. Oh, and the batteries didn't work and when I went in to exchange them had to listen to the cashier exclaim how she had no idea why they wouldn't work. Well, they didn't. And I wasn't happy to pay $5 for batteries that didn't even work.
Come experience life in a Great Lakes Lighthouse which is fully furnished just like it would have been in the 1920s. This will delight the children in discovering and imagining what life would have been like living in a working lighthouse. For older visitors, it will take them back to Grandma's house. For a small museum, the interpretation is exceptionally well-done. If you can make it, you do want to visit during the first week of December when the lighthouse is decorated for Christmas and the community provides musical entertainment. This will be a treasured memory of your upnorth visit.
We paid the $9 fee to get in and discovered that the lighthouse was closed (would have been another $4). This lighthouse isn't your typical looking lighthouse--it looks more like a house, and from the outside it looked very well maintained. Large cedars growing around it largely block the view, making it hard to step back and get a good pictures if that was your goal. It kind of looks like an odd-looking house in the trees, not a lighthouse. Unfortunately, since the park was so small, there was not much to do other than circle the lighthouse briefly and leave, since we could not go in. I suspect that I would still only give it an average rating if I had gone in, unless there was something exceptional to see inside that I don't know about. Disappointed with our visit.
Pretty historic lighthouse. When open(and it was to us) you can tour the little museum and climb narrow stairs to the top of the lighthouse tower for the view. Worth the drive up the pretty peninsula.
This lighthouse museum was staffed by a retired teacher who provided hands-on demonstration as well as information about a small submersible used for the investigation of sunken ships. Other local L. Michigan history was also on display and the outside views of the lake were perfect.
This is a very beautiful setting for a lighthouse. The house is filled with many amazing artifacts from the Keepers who worked and lived there. There is also a place where you can sit and research a family member who worked there. There are volumes of history. Take the time to walk up the winding stairs to get the view from the very top. On a clear day you can see for miles and maybe even Beaver Island. The park will rip you off to get in. We were charged $9 to get in the park and then an additional $4 for each adult. We had no problem with the fee for the light but, $9 just to park as we used no other facilities there was ridiculous. After Labor Day there are no guided tours of the light so you have to take a self-guided. Take some time, if it is a nice day, to sit out in the back under the trees and enjoy the water and serenity.
We were travelling from Petoskey to Sleeping Bear Dunes with a stop for a picnic lunch at Leelanau State Park to see Grand Traverse Lighthouse. We didn't visit the Museum. If you enjoy scenic day trips then I highly recommend the must see Leelanau Peninsula. There are many wineries along the route. We bought some wine for family and friends at Leelanau Winery. Sunny weather is best for photos. There is admission cost to the State Park and Museum. We bought some souvenirs at the gift shop.
The Grand Traverse Lighthouse Museum is a great day trip from Traverse City for individuals or families. The lighthouse is a museum that comes with a written tour, explaining how life was like about 150 years ago. As of August 2014, the cost of entry to the museum is $4 for adults and $2 for children. There is a scavenger hunt that kids can participate in by searching for different objects in the house. You can climb to the top of the lighthouse, which is cramped, but doesn't take a ton of energy. Heavier or very tall travelers may not be able to fit through the small opening at the top. I climbed it three times with my kids, but twice we had to wait as people backed their way down when they discovered they couldn't fit through the opening at the top of the ladder. Even without climbing to the top, the museum is worth a visit. The only bathrooms available are outhouses. Bring hand sanitizer! You can walk to the water, and even wade a bit of a distance out as it's shallow near the shore. The kids had fun picking up shells along the shoreline. It's in its natural state, so there is sea grass along the beach. It's not a place where you can lay out a towel and sunbathe, but it still offers interesting things to see and do (hiking, wildlife, the water.)Camping is available next to the lighthouse, and although we saw the tents, we did not take advantage of it. We drove back to Traverse City later that day.