8/2 Lighthouse Campground & Port Austin, MI

Actually, I am combining two places in this posting.  Lighthouse County Park is near Port Hope, which is just around the eastern part of the tip of Michigan's Thumb area.  I decided to stay there for a couple of days on my way north to check it out because the state park I am most familiar with, Port Crescent State Park, just west of the tip of the Thumb is closed for renovations.  

My dad bought property just west of Port Austin, Michigan, the town on the very tip of the Thumb in 1950.  He built a boat house and cottage soon afterwards, and we spent our summers and weekends there almost every year until 2000, when I sold it.  My dad passed away in 1988, most of the grandkids had moved far away, and my mother could no longer live there, as she and my dad had for several years after they retired.  

Anyway, a lot of things have changed in that area, but a lot of things were still the same.  First, here is what the Lighthouse County Park Campground looks like.  It is pretty much out in the country, but directly on Lake Huron:

No asphalt pads, but at least it was not muddy. I had empty spaces on both sides of my rig.  I had full hookups, which was nice.

Just some random photos of the campground and beach.

No beach, but the water was clear and clean.  Also cold!!!

And, of course, there is a lighthouse you can tour. 

And a boat launch.

Port Austin, MI

Port Austin was originally developed as a logging and fishing town, but is now a very popular tourist town since it has a very good port that is protected from harsh Lake Huron storms. Below is a view of the small downtown area.  When we were kids, we used to get money to spend in town.  In the early 50s, 50 cents would buy five comic books or fifty pieces of penny candy--usually we would split it up so we'd get some candy and a comic book or two. 

I once even had a savings account in this bank.  Now it is a fancy restaurant!

This was the town's general store.  The lower level sold groceries and hardware, and the upper floor sold shoes and clothing. 

Unfortunately, over the years some of the stores I remember went out of business and were torn down. 

At the north end of town, past the general store, is the port.  There used to be a roller rink there, but it burned down in the 60s.  

However, the port is still there, along with an updated dock and a breakwall to protect the boats from storms.

The dock is a little stronger and wider, but it is basically the same as it was in 1950. 

The end of the dock where they sell gasoline to boats.

View of the dock from the beach. 

 

This is the entrance to the western part of the breakwall.  You can walk out to the end to get a good view of the Port Austin light.

It's a very long walk to the end!!

View of town from halfway to the end of the breakwall.

The Port Austin Reef Light was built on the end of a long stone reef that went out about two miles from shore.  This photo was taken with a telephoto lens, but it was hazy because of the distance.  We once went out on this in the early 60s.  It was dangerous to go out there by boat because of the rocks, but one calm and clear day, we made it.  Not legal, I don't think then, and certainly not legal now. 

Headed back to shore.  The railing on the left is there to give you something to hold on when the lake is rough and the waves go over the breakwall.  Not very safe, even with a railing.  There are ladders on both sides every hundred feet or so to make it easy for you to climb back up if you are knocked down into the lake.

I managed to take a quick photo of the closed-off entrance to Port Crescent State Park.  Our cottage was four doors down from the land that was empty at that time, but later became the state park.  It had originally been a logging town and had houses, a sawmill, a salt producing factory that burned sawdust to dry out brine, stores, and even a sand-mining place and a dock where ships came in to take the sand to be made into glass by Henry Ford.  There were a couple of miles of empty beach and a river we kids used to play in during those days. 

The area mostly had burned down in the 1880s, and the trees had been logged, so the town died and the land kept by a group of families that finally sold it to the state in the 1970s.  It was a great playground for us kids, while it lasted as empty land, in any case! 

Onward to upper Michigan and Canada!!!