The Lake Michigan Circle Tour route is the culmination of innovation and hard work by visionary Jack Morgan of the Michigan Department of Transportation. Just 14 months after Morgan introduced his Circle Tour concept in 1987, agreement to designate and fund it was reached between the governors of Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana. In 1998, the route was mapped and signs were posted along all 1100 miles of Lake Michigan's shoreline.
The West Michigan Tourist Association (WMTA) was there from the beginning. In 1988, it premiered the first and the only official Lake Michigan Circle Tour Guide. When the Chicago Tribune and Milwaukee Journal ran articles announcing publication of the colorful, 52-page Guide, no one on WMTA's staff anticipated public reaction. On Monday following the story, 150 callers from the Chicago area alone requested the new publication. Two days later, an overburdened mail carrier unloaded 700 requests for the Guide from Illinois and Wisconsin. The next day, more than 1000 mail and phone requests poured in.
On its 10-year anniversary in 1998, the guide was rechristened the Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide. The locations of dozens of beacons were added to its Circle Tour map. The map index was expanded to include the year each light was constructed, whether it is active and whether it is accessible to the public. The publication identified 113 lighthouses and crib, tower and shoal lights around Lake Michigan. Its index also includes data on each light's original Fresnel lens order, tower height and state/national historic recognitions.
In 2000, Straits area lights were incorporated into the lighthouse map. Although some are located in Lake Huron, they can be viewed via excursion boats and Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry out of Mackinaw City. Once nearly impossible for the earth bound traveler to see, these shoal and crib lights are now viewable from the water by anyone wishing to pay the fare.
WMTA created an online Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide in 2001. Far more comprehensive than the annual publications, each page on this section of the site includes lighthouse links, a glossary of terms and "Beacon Briefs" news stories. Each light has its own page complete with photographs, histories, driving directions and contact information. The online Guide has been one of the "Top 10" pages viewed on WMTA's website since its inception.
In 2007, WMTA envisioned the Lake Michigan Circle Tour & Lighthouse Guide being changed into a Map. The map would be the complete source for discovering the lighthouses that dot the Lake Michigan Shoreline. In 2008, the map was introduced to travelers with rave reviews. It has quickly become a keepsake for lighthouse enthusiasts. The map identifies with an icon the lighthouses that are along the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. Twenty-two lighthouses are also spotlighted each year and contain additional structural details, accessibility information and special features of each selection.