Muskegon South Pierhead Light(house)

Mission: To promote the preservation of Michigan’s lighthouses and life saving station structures, along with their artifacts through interactive tours, education and secure donation for restoration and upkeep.

The Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy (MLC) owns three lighthouses, including two at Muskegon’s award-winning Pere Marquette beach- the Muskegon South Pierhead and Muskegon South Breakwater Lights; and one on Lake Huron, the Alpena Lighthouse (or as its lovingly known) “Little Red”. We aim to preserve and protect Michigan’s lighthouses and other maritime-related structures for future generations.

We accomplish our mission through education, tower accessibility, interpretive displays and artifact preservation at all of our lighthouses. We rely on our volunteers for all of our work, including giving tours, greeting visitors, operating the lighthouse gift shop, accepting admission fees, and more. Volunteers provide visitors with a fun, informative and educational experience at the Muskegon lights. All volunteers receive complete training by MLC staff.

The primary responsibilities of Michigan Lighthouse Conservancy Volunteer Lighthouse Keepers include the following:

• Volunteers greet visitors to the Muskegon south Pierhead Light and provide historical information about the lighthouses, channel and Muskegon.
• Volunteer shifts may be busy or slow, dependent on the day, the time of year and the weather.
• Keepers who are onsite during the spring and fall months may also be asked to provide student tours and programs for large numbers of school and civic groups.
• Volunteers are asked to learn basic historic information about our lighthouses, but they may choose to share what interests them most. In this way, each Volunteer leads a tour very unique to each visitor experience.
• Volunteers should be energetic and friendly and should feel comfortable speaking with the public.
• While it is preferable that volunteers have the ability to climb the stairs of the tower and handle money in the gift shop, there are various other opportunities that exist to best meet everyone’s needs and abilities.