The Lighthouses of Lake Ontario

Built in 1872 out of local limestone, this is no longer in use (thus the trees which conceal it pretty well from the water).  It was taken out of service in 1993.

Take the Robert Moses Parkway as north to the Fort Niagara State Park.

This has recently been resold and it is in the process of being opened for viewing.  It's nearly a duplicate of a light that was in Cleveland OH from 1829 to 1895.  The original tower was 110' tall, but had extensive damage so the owners only restored the essence rather than the complete tower.

North of Rochester, take the Lake Ontario State Parkway east to NY 222 (Lighthouse Road).   Turn left on Clearview avenue and you'll find the light on the lake side.

This is the modern Rochester lighthouse.  Like all the modern ones it is fully automated, and shows a good case of terminal "uglies".

This light also was established in 1870.  It is on the very end of the channel that lets boats into Sodus Bay.

If you're interested, this light (and the adjacent Marina) is for sale.  Note that it has the original "bird cage" housing for the light.  All the other lights were upgraded in the 1850's, but since this light was decommissioned in 1858, it was not upgraded.  (To get here, follow NY 3 to County Road 5, the go to the end.)

The island is about 12 miles from historic Sackets Harbor, New York, about 10 miles from Henderson Harbor, New York.

Photo courtesy bobindrums [Flickr]

This light marks the entrance to the St. Lawrence River.  There was a light here in 1827 made out of rubble stone, this light was erected in 1854.  It now serves as a youth hostel.

This photo shows the light, then (moving to the left) the fog horn building, finally the fuel storage building (which now is a paint shed).

This light can be seen with binoculars from Tibbets Point, but for a good view a boat or plane ride is required.  The light originally was at Vermillion Ohio.  We saw the light from the water on a GLLKA tour.

This lighthouse can be seen from the shore in Alexandria Bay. The lighthouse can also be seen from tour boats out of Alexandria Bay, Clayton, or Canada.

From NY-12, 4.1 miles northeast of Chippewa Bay (if you are traveling from the south) and 2.5 miles southwest of Oak Point Road (if you are traveling from the north), turn onto an unmarked road (toward the river) which leads immediately to Riverledge Road. Turn right, and look for the lighthouse on the river.

Normally a simple sewer pipe light like this would not be included in this index (there are a million or so lights like this on the St. Lawrence.)  This light is included only to match the light below.

This really was built as a windmill, and a very famous battle called the Battle of the Windmill was fought here (in 1837).  It was rebuilt as a light house in 1846 and served until 1965.

This is a replica of a lighthouse.  It contains a Fresnel lens (that looks big enough to be a level 3) donated by the Canadian Coast Guard.  If you'd like to donate, there's some nice people inside that will assist you in that endeavor.

This is a relatively small skeletal structure, and somehow is not listed in Wes' book.  It is located on a very small island 5 miles west of Bear Point (which is on Wolfe Island.)

This light was deactivated in 2000 and is now in private ownership. As you can see from the photo, it is becoming overgrown. While the light is on Wolfe Island, the best viewing is from the water

The Wolfe Island Ferry runs until 1AM in the summer, and all year long. This light marking the end of the pier is a good idea. However, the size means that it won't make many other lighthouse lists.

We saw this light as part of the Ontario GLLKA cruise. The light is accessible only by boat, and is not visible from the mainland.  There is a reef running in line with this point, so navigation is tricky, but deep water next to that reef so we got a good view.

This light is on the very eastern point of Prince Edward County.  As you can see, the original light is defunct, but they have erected a new steel skeleton in front to hold the replacement automated light.

This light is inside a private campground, and rented by the week.  It looked like we were not even going to be able to get near it, but a resident drove up, let us through the gate, and we talked to Mrs. Rankin.   She finally let me in (less $10 Canadian) and wanted to know how many millions of dollars I was going to make off these pictures.  (My guess is not many)

You can reach this lighthouse by car, then a long walk, or you can go on a Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Ontario cruise and see it from the water.  We did the latter.

Driving into Toronto, the wrong way because we got trapped in the express lanes of 401, we drive right by this and say "we've got to go back ... later".  So, after dinner, I went back, it was a quiet Sunday night, and easy to find.

The Oakville light has been replaced by the modern monstrosity shown on the right.  In theory, you can see the old light from the water, but it takes very sharp eyes and a different point of view than this one.

Still in operation at the tip of the Burlington Canal, this light was first built in 1832, but was replaced in 1909 with this concrete structure that looks Art Deco.

You can pronounce the port's name Daloosie or Dal-Hoosie depending on what part of Canada you're from.  The local's prefer the former.  Built in 1879 to protect the then end of the Welland Canal, it was automated in 1968 and still active (but only for the harbor).

Port Weller is the end of the Welland Canal (now).  This used to be the fog horn when the light was located 1/2 mile up the barrier.  It now is the light and fully automated.

This is the other half of the light above.