WayfarrowDeTour Reef Light
Lighthouse · Chippewa County, Michigan
DeTour Reef Light is a lighthouse in Chippewa County, Michigan. Michigan has 124 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow, 5 of them in Chippewa County.
It was built in 1931, in the interwar years, making it the 78th oldest of the 89 in Michigan with a recorded construction date; the tower stands about 63 feet tall (18th tallest of 63 measured in Michigan); its light sits 75 feet above the water; the light characteristic is recorded as Fl W 10s (a white flash every 10 seconds), with a range of about 16 nautical miles; it guards Lake Huron; the structure is built of concrete.
Status check, 2026-11: Built on a crib on DeTour Reef in 1931 to replace the onshore DeTour Point Light; now owned by the DeTour Reef Light Preservation Society. Wikipedia gives the tower as 78 ft, but two lighthouse databases give 63 ft. DeTour Reef Light is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 45.9489° N, 83.9031° W.
Key facts
| Current structure built | 1931 |
|---|---|
| Tower height | 63 ft |
| Focal height | 75 ft |
| Light characteristic | Fl W 10s |
| Range | 16 nautical miles |
| Body of water | Lake Huron |
| Material | concrete |
| Heritage designation | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
| National Register | Listed |
| Coordinates | 45.94889, -83.90306 |
Nearby places
- Pipe Island Lightlighthouse · Chippewa County · 4.6 mi
- Martin Reef Light Stationlighthouse · Mackinac County · 12.1 mi
- Round Island Lightlighthouse · Chippewa County · 12.4 mi
- Spectacle Reef Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 16.6 mi
- Bois Blanc Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 26.7 mi
- Poe Reef Lightlighthouse · Cheboygan County · 28.2 mi
- Fourteen Foot Shoal Lightlighthouse · Cheboygan County · 31.7 mi
- Forty Mile Point Lightlighthouse · Presque Isle County · 32 mi
- Cheboygan Crib Lightlighthouse · Cheboygan County · 33.8 mi
- Round Island Passage Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 35 mi
- Round Island Lightlighthouse · Mackinac County · 35.2 mi
- Mackinaw Heightsghost town · Cheboygan County · 38.7 mi
Questions
Where is DeTour Reef Light?
DeTour Reef Light is in Chippewa County, Michigan, at 45.9489, -83.9031.
How many lighthouses are in Chippewa County?
Chippewa County, Michigan has 5 lighthouses on record at Wayfarrow.
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wayfarrow status check (web sources) — Checked for current status (facts)
- Wikidata — Wikidata item (CC0)
- National Register of Historic Places — National Register of Historic Places record (public-domain)
- Wikidata — Wikipedia article (linked as a source; text not used) (CC0)
Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.