Round Island Lighthouse Offers Tours
Visitors will be able to tour the Round Island Lighthouse in the Straits of Mackinac for the first time during an Open House Saturday, August 18, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Open House is hosted by the Hiawatha National Forest, Boy Scout Troop 323 from Freeland, and Friends of the Round Island Lighthouse, Inc.

The Round Island Lighthouse was constructed in 1895 to guide freighters through the narrow Round Island Passage between Mackinac and Round islands.

The structure was decommissioned in the 1950s when an automated light and horn were built in the passage, and it was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service in 1958.

Working with citizens groups since the 1970s, the Forest Service has stabilized and maintained the structure, which was in danger of collapse.

Visitors are invited to spend some time enjoying the site. Boy Scouts and Forest Service employees will be on hand to answer questions and to provide the history of the lighthouse, with presentations on each floor of the building.

Visitors will need to provide their own transportation to and from Round Island. Participants must be able to walk on unstable ground; for those who choose to go into the lighthouse, there are steps to be climbed.

For more information, call the St. Ignace Ranger Station at 643-7900.