Charlevoix South Pier Light Station stands at the entrance to the Pine River Channel connecting Lake Michigan to Round Lake and Lake Charlevoix in the resort town of Charlevoix, Michigan. The current steel tower, painted bright red, was erected in 1948 and continues to serve as an active navigational aid guiding pleasure boats, charter fishing vessels, and the Beaver Island ferry through the narrow channel.

The lighthouse sits at the end of a concrete pier that forms the south side of the channel entrance, accessible via a walkway from Michigan Beach Park. Walking out to the lighthouse provides views of the channel, the drawbridge on US-31, and the steady parade of boats entering and leaving the harbor during summer months. The pier is a popular spot for fishing, sunset watching, and photographing the lighthouse with Lake Michigan as a backdrop.

Charlevoix’s waterfront location between three bodies of water — Lake Michigan, Round Lake, and Lake Charlevoix — creates a distinctive setting where boats of all sizes navigate past shops, restaurants, and the town’s famous mushroom houses, whimsical stone dwellings built by architect Earl Young in the early twentieth century.

Summer is the prime visiting season, when the town fills with vacationers and the harbor buzzes with boat traffic. The Venetian Festival in late July features a boat parade past the lighthouse. Fall brings quieter days and vivid shoreline foliage, while winter transforms the pier into an ice-covered sculpture when Lake Michigan waves freeze on contact with the structure.

Explore Nearby

• Fisherman’s Island State Park — State Park in Michigan
• Young State Park — State Park in Michigan
• Historic Michigan Road Byway Alternate — Scenic Byway in Indiana
• Huron–Manistee National Forest — National Forest in Michigan
• Wisconsin Lake Superior Byway — Scenic Byway in Wisconsin