Lighthouses of Long Point

Long Point, Ontario
August 11, 2001

 
   

Over the summer of 2001, we finally went on our first Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper's Association trip. It was a Lake Erie Conference where we cruised out to Long Point Lighthouse in Canada.

We drove over to Port Dover, Ontario the night before the cruise and stayed at a hotel. We had to be aboard by 8am for our continental breakfast. Others boarded the ship by 8:30 and we left port by 9am. We had perfect weather and calm seas for this cruise. The first lighthouse that we got a good look at was the Port Dover Lighthouse which we passed by on the way out into the lake.

We got out to the Long Point Lighthouse by noon where we were able to take pictures, etc. The captain piloted the ship right up near the lighthouse. Due to the shallow water, we weren't able to land at the lighthouse. After several minutes, we were turned around and started to head back to shore. At this point, they fed us lunch and dessert. Also during the cruise, there was also several presentations on the history of Long Point and the bird observatory.

Also included in this was a visit to the Point Burwell Lighthouse which was maybe 40 or so miles west. This visit was scheduled for the next day. Unfortunately we couldn't make it the next day, so we decided to drive to Point Burwell right after the cruise and at least get a few pictures of it. Well, since we were headed west anyways, we decided to stop by the Long Point Cut Lighthouse.

When we left Port Dover, we headed west on Route 6 until the intersection of Route 24. We made a left onto Route 24 which heads south for a little bit, then heads west. We were on Route 24 for about 16 miles. When 24 ends, we then headed south on Route 59 for about 10 miles to the Long Point Cut Lighthouse. Please keep in mind that this lighthouse is private property. Please Do Not Trespass.

From here, we headed back north up Route 59 for about 5 miles before turning off on Route 42. We then followed Route 42 for about 25 miles into Port Burwell. Once in Port Burwell, we made a left onto Route 19 and followed that a short distance to the Port Burwell Lighthouse. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the lighthouse closed. We literally missed it by 5 minutes. Oh well, I guess we will have to go back some time and visit it again.

From here, it was time to start heading home. From here, we followed Route 19 north for about 16 miles until we met up with Route 3. From here, we made a right onto Route 3 and followed that for about 56 miles. It was at this point, Route 3 heads south, but we continued on straight. This road was called Canboro Road. We followed this until it met up with Route 20. From here, we followed Route 20 right into Niagara Falls, Ontario and then right over the bridge into Niagara Falls, NY.

Trip Notes: This was a great trip. The Great Lakes Lighthouse Keeper's Association hosts great events. At least this is from what we can tell. Like I said before, this was our first event, and it definitely won't be our last! We met a lot of great people on this trip and look forward to meeting more lighthouse nuts like ourselves.

One thing that I did try to do was to stop at the Port Colborne Lighthouses to get some pictures. Unfortunately it was getting dark by the time we arrived. Since the lighthouses sit out some distance on a break-wall, it was hard to get a good photo, even with telephoto. We will definitely be back to get pictures.

Once again, GPS played an important role. It helped us quickly navigate back rounds and areas that we didn't know. The biggest thing was the route back. Microsoft Streets & Trips had us heading all the way north up to the QEW, and then following that back to Niagara Falls. The GPS helped us find a quicker route back to Niagara Falls.

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