Travel Maps
Download or Request
Carefree Travel Guide by Mail
Request Member Info
You have 0 in your list What is the Travel Planner List?
Fourteen Foot Shoal Light Station
Established: 1930
Constructed: 1930
Active Beacon: Yes
Federal Ownership: Yes - Future Uncertain
Accessible to Public: No
Accessible for Climbing: No
Museum on Site: No
About 1.5 miles off the shore of Lake Huron near Cheboygan, Michigan, to mark a shoal near the entrance to the harbor. Fourteen Foot Shoal is one of two hazards to navigation in the South Channel between Bois Blanc Island and the Michigan mainland. The other is Poe Reef.
The station is a small one story building with a short, 15-foot cylindrical steel tower protruding from the center of the building.
Built in 1930, the original Fourth Order Fresnel lens has been replaced with a 250mm plastic lens, with a focal plane 55-feet above Lake Huron, in the 10-sided red-topped lantern room.
The Fourteen Foot Shoal Light was never designed to house a keeper. It was one of the earliest examples of off site control for a lighthouse. The diaphone fog signal was operated by radio control from the lighthouse at Poe Reef, 3.5 miles away.
Today the light remains an active Aid to Navigation. It is best viewed from the water but can also be seen from Cheboygan State Park.
The orignal fourth order Fresnel lens is no longer active in this light station.A 250mm optic lens currently operates in the beacon.
Access to this light is limited to boat travel. Shepler's Mackinac Island Ferry offers a three hour scenic easttward cruise, which takes passengers past Round Island Light, Round Island Passage Light, Bois Blanc Light, oe Reef, Fourteen Foot Shoal and Cheboygan Crib Light. Cruises include close-in viewing opportunities, although weather concerns can often dictate which can be visited. On board narration is provided by the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association and/or Great Lakes Lighthouse Museum. A portion of the proceeds will go toward their preservation efforts. Sometimes hilarious, sometimes heart-breaking, but always fascinating, the colorful anecdotes, stories, and legends surrounding these marvelous icons will amaze and captivate.
Shepler's
Mackinac Island Ferry: 800-828-6157
Mackinaw Area
Tourist Association: 800-666-0160
West Michigan Tourist
Association: 800-442-2084
Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers
Association: 313-436-9150
WMTA · 741 Kenmoor Ave. Suite E · Grand Rapids, MI 49546 · 800-442-2084
Member Links
