How many lighthouses are on Lake Erie?
Short answer
This gazetteer counts 45[1] lighthouses on Lake Erie's shores and islands, standing, ruined or relocated: 29[1] in the United States and 16[1] in Ontario. 25[1] still show a light listed by the U.S. or Canadian Coast Guard.
Key numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total | 45[1] |
| Ohio / Pennsylvania / New York / Michigan / Ontario | 17[1] / 3[1] / 8[1] / 1[1] / 16[1] |
| Still showing a listed light | 25[1] |
| Towers that have offered climbs | 10[1] |
How we count
Any count of lighthouses depends on the rules. This gazetteer includes every lighthouse structure on Lake Erie, its islands and its outlets that survives in some form, standing, ruined or moved, from the mouth of the Detroit River below Bois Blanc Island to the head of the Niagara River at Buffalo. By that rule there are 45[1]: 17[1] in Ohio, 3[1] in Pennsylvania, 8[1] in New York, 1[1] in Michigan and 16[1] in Ontario.[1] Small modern beacons on poles and buoys are not counted, and neither are lights that have vanished without trace; a few minor towers are mentioned on the shore pages instead.
Working lights
25[1] of these towers still carry a light that appears in an official list: the U.S. Coast Guard's Light List for the Great Lakes, in its weekly edition of September 30, 2026, or the Canadian Coast Guard's 2026 List of Lights.[2,3,1] Many others are museums, private homes or ruins, and some are lit only as decoration. Each lighthouse page gives the current characteristic, when there is one, with the date we checked it.
Seeing them
Ten of the towers have offered public climbs, usually seasonally; many more can be seen from a public park, beach or pier, and some only from a boat. The lighthouse pages sort them by how you can actually see them, and the Trip Book collects them into a five-section route around the lake. Access details last verified 2026-10. Hours, tours and ownership change. Check the operator before you go. Pier and breakwater lights can be dangerous in wind and waves; obey posted closures and never enter private or Coast Guard property.
Questions people ask
How many lighthouses are in Ohio on Lake Erie?
This gazetteer counts 17 lighthouses on Ohio's Lake Erie shore and islands, including ruins such as Green Island and Turtle Island.
Are Lake Erie lighthouses still used?
Many are. 25 of the 45 still show a light listed by the U.S. or Canadian Coast Guard; others are museums, homes or ruins.
Related questions
Sources
- Lake Erie Gazetteer data: this site's own compiled records (lighthouses, shipwrecks, storms), Lake Erie Gazetteer (WeldonPC). Accessed . Values computed by us from this data.
- Light List Volume 7 (Great Lakes District), weekly edition of 09/30/2026, U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center. Accessed .
- List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals - Inland Waters, 2026 edition (Lake Erie pages), Canadian Coast Guard (Notices to Mariners). Accessed .
Facts as of · page checked · Markdown version
How to cite
Lake Erie Gazetteer, How many lighthouses on Lake Erie?, lakeerie.info/facts/how-many-lighthouses-are-on-lake-erie, accessed October 19, 2026.