Colchester Reef Lighthouse

History

Colchester Reef lies off the Ontario shore south of the village of Colchester, in the western basin of Lake Erie near the approaches to the Detroit River.^[2,3] A lightship marked the reef in the 1870s, and in 1885 a permanent lighthouse replaced it.^[3,2] Wikipedia credits the 1885 station to William P. Anderson, the engineer who designed and built hundreds of Canadian lighthouses; the same designer later produced the classical tower at Point Abino.^[2,4]

The reef is an unforgiving site. Wikipedia describes the stress the exposed south side and fast-moving winter ice put on the 1885 structure, with cement around the stone base worn away and mortar between the blocks failing.^[2] The original tower was demolished in 1954.^[2] The Lighthouse Directory notes that its successor that year was cantilevered off one side of the pier to leave room for a helicopter pad.^[3]

Today a square steel skeleton tower about 12 metres (39 feet) tall stands on the cylindrical stone pier of the 1885 lighthouse, carrying a slatted daymark so it can be identified by day.^[3] The Canadian Coast Guard's 2026 List of Lights gives a red flash every four seconds from 21.6 metres above the water.^[1] The U.S. Light List also carries it, at a focal height of 72 feet.^[5]

The light sits at the south end of the reef, roughly 6 kilometres south of Colchester, and is closed; it can be seen only from a boat.^[3] Its neighbour across the international line, the Detroit River Lighthouse, was completed in the same year, 1885.^[2,6]

How to see it

View from a boat Offshore or on a closed breakwater; seen from the water.

Best public viewpoint

Only from the water; the light stands at the south end of the reef, offshore from Colchester.^[3]

Tower climbs

No public tower climbs have been offered, as far as our sources show.

Operator

Canadian Coast Guard

Last verified

Last verified 2026-10

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

Can you see the Colchester Reef light from shore?

It stands about 6 km offshore from Colchester and is closed; the Lighthouse Directory describes it as accessible only by boat.

Is the Colchester Reef light active?

Yes. The 2026 Canadian List of Lights shows Fl R 4s at 21.6 metres, on a steel skeleton tower atop the old 1885 stone pier.