# Grand Island Harbor Rear Range Light

- **Country:** United States
- **Region:** Michigan
- **Coordinates:** 46.436670, -86.691110
- **Status:** Inactive
- **Year Built:** 1868/1914
- **Body Of Water:** Lake Superior
- **Location Text:** Christmas
- **Focal Height M:** 21.3
- **Year Deactivated:** 1969
- **Summary Written At:** 2026-10-18 01:56:25

The rear range light is part of the Grand Island Harbor range system guiding vessels in Lake Superior. It stands on a concrete pier off Michigan highway M‑28 in Munising Township, near the community of Christmas. The structure marks the rear point of a range that once helped ships navigate the harbor entrance.  

The tower is a steel frustum‑shaped cone rising 64 ft tall, painted with a black and white daymark and topped by a black lantern. Its focal plane sits 70 ft (21.3 m) above the water, and the light originally used a sixth‑order Fresnel lens. The beacon had a nominal range of 15 mi.  

The original Grand Island range lights were first lit in 1868, consisting of wooden frame towers. By 1914 the rear tower was replaced with the present steel structure, which was also automated that year. The light was deactivated in 1969, while the accompanying front range light was replaced in 1968. The rear range light was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.  

Today the tower is inactive and no longer serves as an aid to navigation. The site remains standing and is listed on the historic register; the grounds are publicly accessible, though reaching the light requires a hike and the tower itself is not open for interior visits.

**Source:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Island_Harbor_Rear_Range_Light (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)