Point Betsie Excursion

Point Betsie  Lighthouse

Our primary goal for the day turned out to be touring the Point Betsie Lighthouse. It's good to be flexible. We were planning to do a bike ride but sightseeing around the Frankfort area made for a wonderful day .

Arcadia Bluffs Lookout

On the way we stopped at a scenic lookout.  In the above pic we are looking south towards the town of Arcadia at the upper far left and Lake Michigan on the right.

One happy couple

Yes, this is July 22nd.  It was a cool morning.

Action off the wave breaks

Surfing anyone? 

Betsie Point Lighthouse 

The lighthouse sits atop the beach north of Frankfort.  The location overlooks where several shipping lanes combine to form one lane heading north toward the Mackinaw bridge. It is still a working lighthouse.

Stairway to the light

The stairway was steep, narrow,  and low overhead,  but we made the climb up  34 steps.

An original casting for the light

Fog signal building 

The fog signal building is now an art gallery.  All the art depicted the lighthouse.  Half of the art had "sold" on it.  There was also a gift shop and a boat house on the property. The boat house had doubled as a history museum. Reading about the history of an amazing rescue was well worth the time .

Former Coastguard Quarters 

Lunch stop in Frankfort

World Record Brown Trout

This was caught in Betsie Lake in 2007 and hangs in the restaurant.  If I hook one like this, "Dave, we're going to need a bigger net!"

Betsie Valley Bike Trail

The bike trail is under water near Frankfort on a small section.  Lake Michigan, which determines the level of Betsie Lake, is approximately 2 1/2 feet above average.  Sandy beaches have shrunk and some lakefront homes have water in the basement. 

Lighthouse at Frankfort 

Lake Michigan has many lighthouses.  I noticed one tourist getting a booklet stamped at the Point Betsie Lighthouse. It would be an interesting challenge to tour ten or twenty Lighthouses along the lake.  Most would not have a way to stamp the booklet though.  No bike ride but we had an eventful day.