Cathead Bay

TLC Needed!

This box is in need of a new logbook as the current book has been severely damaged by water; if you are headed this way and would be able to replace the logbook for me, I would be most appreciative. Please contact me for more info. Thanks!

 
If a quiet, sandy, Lake Michigan shoreline, secluded walks over wooded terrain and inland lakes with views of migrating waterfowl pique your interest, Leelanau State Park is the place to visit. Its two separate sections include the popular day-use, camping, and lighthouse-museum area and the undeveloped southern tract, woven with lightly used trails through woods and over dunes, marshes and interdunal wetlands.

Leelanau State Park was established in 1932 when the U.S. Government gave 30 acres of this land to the State. Thereafter, more land was acquired until the park reached its current 1,300-plus acres. The northern section is located at the tip of the “little finger” of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, at the cusp where Lake Michigan meets Grand Traverse Bay. Here, Lake Michigan yields a rocky shoreline for hikers who can take advantage of one of the rustic campsites, enjoy the picnic areas or enlighten themselves at the Grand Traverse Lighthouse, an interpretive maritime museum. Many people enjoy sifting through the rocks along the shoreline for Michigan’s state stone, the Petoskey stone.

Four miles south of the developed section is the larger, southern section of the park, where about 1.5 miles of sandy Lake Michigan shoreline await you. More than 6 miles of trails loop through this tranquil part of the park. If you’re up to it, climb the stairway to the dune-top observation deck overlooking Lake Michigan. Or head inland to Mud Lake and view waterfowl during their spring and fall migrations.

Getting There…

The southern section of Leelanau State Park is located on the Leelanau Peninsula about 3 miles from Northport. Take County Road 629 north out of Northport to Densmore Road (Airport Road), then head left to the parking lot.

Clues…

From the trailhead parking area, follow the Lake Michigan trail to the Cathead Spur. After breaking out of the trees, follow the sandy trail straight ahead to the water’s edge. When you reach the water, turn back and walk at 120 degrees to a small group of white pines in a sandy hollow (you can just see the tree tops from the beach). Once you reach this grouping, stand between the two largest trees closest to the lake and take a bearing of 130 degrees. Follow this to a sandy trail which leads up toward the trees (next to a sprawling, gnarled cedar). When you reach the top of the path and are about to enter the trees, see the fallen log at 60 degrees.

Marquette Harbor Light

TLC Needed!

Reports have indicated this box is cracked; if you are headed this way and would be able to replace the container for me, I would be most appreciative. Please contact me for more info. Thanks!

Background Information…

Marquette Harbor Light is one of the more picturesque of lighthouses on Lake Superior. The structure rests on an expansive stone bluff that reaches boldly out into the lake. Dominating the horizon, the bright red structure and its adjoining square tower, are among the oldest buildings in the city of Marquette.

Following the discovery of iron ore in the 1850’s and the opening of the first Soo Lock in 1855, Marquette became an important shipping port. The first lighthouse was built in Marquette in 1853 and re-constructed in 1866. The 1866 Marquette Lighthouse was a story and a half brick structure with attached 40-foot square brick tower housing a fourth order Fresnel lens. An identical lens is on display in the Marquette Maritime Museum. The original lens showed an arc of 180 degrees. In 1870 it was increased to 270 degrees.

The keeper and his family lived in the lighthouse. As long as the keeper’s job was only to maintain the light, a single man was able to do the work. However when the light at the end of the breakwater was later added and a two whistle signal system installed at the end of the point, the work was more than one person could do and an assistant keeper was hired. The new man needed housing, a problem solved in 1898 when a barn behind he lighthouse was converted into quarters for the assistant. In 1906 a more permanent solution was reached by adding a second story to the lighthouse. Later additions to the rear of the building were completed in the 1950s. These additions made the lighthouse unique on the Great Lakes. No other similar lighthouse was so altered. The lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The lighthouse is located just north of downtown Marquette on Lakeshore Drive, adjacent to the Marquette Maritime Museum. The museum provides self-guided tours through the history of man’s mastery of the Great Lakes. Displays and exhibits include restored boats, pictures, maritime hardware, Fresnel lens, diving apparatus, hands-on exhibits, a mini-auditorium and a Ship’s Store (gift shop). The lighthouse, previously run by the Coast Guard and closed to the public, was recently leased by the Marquette Maritime Museum and is now open to the public for tours. Because visitors must walk through the grounds of the Coast Guard station to reach the lighthouse, museum guides escort all tours, a requirement established by the Coast Guard for safety and security. The museum plans to develop the lighthouse as an integral interpretive display as an extension of the main museum building and to eventually restore one floor to reflect a period of the life of the light and its lightkeepers.

The best pictures of the light can be taken from McCarty Cove Park or aboard the Marquette Harbor Cruises. Marquette Maritime Museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily from the end of May thru Sept. There is a slight admission fee to visit the museum.

Getting There…

Just north of downtown Marquette, locate McCarty Cove Park at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Michigan. There is a small parking area directly off the end of Michigan.

Clues…

From the parking area, walk down to the beach. On your right is the lighthouse. You can walk over to the edge of the water here and get some nice pictures of the lighthouse sitting up on the bluff. After this, head the other way down the beach, in a northwesterly direction. You will notice several old pilings in the sand at the far corner of the beach. Just past the group of 8 pilings, a lone tree grows behind a picket fence, on the side of a hill amongst pieces of concrete. Find the box nestled in a cranny under a large, flat rectangular piece of concrete, the southward-facing opening guarded by a red brick block.