Visit Big Red Lighthouse in Holland, Michigan

Holland is Michigan's land of tulips and windmills. But did you know there are more sights to see? Big Red is a lighthouse situated near Lake Michigan in Holland and is one of the town's beautiful attractions. Enjoy this visual tour through pictures from a lighthouse vacation my husband and I took in the area.

The first photo below is the pathway leading up to the light. It was about a 1/4 mile from where we parked to Big Red. As you can see it was a beautiful day for the short trek. The second is a closeup of the light.

Like many of Michigan's other lighthouses, Big Red took a long time to get built from its initial planning stages. Dr. Albertus C. Van Raalte, the leader of the early Dutch settlers, asked the Michigan and U.S. governments for help in building a harbor in 1847. It wasn't until 1866 that they officially got word that work would begin.

The first lighthouse was completed in 1872 and was little more than a wooden shack by today's standards. The harbor was still in the process of being constructed at this time and wouldn't be completed for another 20 years. The light was battered by the weather until a steel structure was built to house it after the turn of the 20th century. This steel structure no longer exists.

Big Red is actually the most recent incarnation of the original building that housed a fog signal. Electricity was brought to the building in the 1930s and left Big Red without a light keeper as the whole process could be automated.

When the Coast Guard didn't want the expense of maintaining it, the Holland Harbor Lighthouse Historical Commission to save Big Red. According to the Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy website, Big Red is now on lease to the Commission which maintains the light in conjunction with the Coast Guard.

We stopped to get photos of the flora and fauna on our way up to the light. Here is one of sunbathers of the feathered variety. The path we took to the light isn't a public beach area, so it was quiet with just a few people.

We were traveling in late June. Nearly every day of our trip was the perfect Michigan summer day. You know, the ones we dream of during what seems like our darkest month of February. These scenes were enough to revive us for going back to work (well, almost).

You can view the lighthouse from across the Holland channel in Holland State Park. But we wanted to get close, so we parked at a designated area on South Shore Drive.

At the South Shore entrance, a guard has to give you a pass to get in and you have a limited time you can stay because the path crosses private land. If you want to make a day of it, however, I would suggest going to the park. Find out more through the contact info below:

• Holland State Park: Location 2215 Ottawa Beach Road, Holland, MI, 49424: Phone (616) 399-9390.

• South Shore Drive entrance: Visit the official travel site for Holland to get directions to this entrance.

This light wasn't the most spectacular on our trip but it was well worth visiting. We had a beautifully peaceful day. If lighthouse hopping along Michigan shores is one of your favorite pastimes, then you won't want to miss Big Red.

MichiganLover/PJDeneen ©2010 http://hubpages.com/hub/Big-Red-Lighthouse-in-Holland-Michigan.

Photo credit: All photos are property of James and Trish Deneen.

Sources:

• Big Red Lighthouse.  Holland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.  2008-2010.  Accessed 2010.
• Holland Lighthouse.  Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy.  2003.  Accessed 2010.