Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum
Specialty Museum · Paradise, Michigan
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum stands at Whitefish Point on Lake Superior, near Paradise in the eastern Upper Peninsula, at the edge of what sailors call the Graveyard of the Great Lakes. It is run by the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and is best known for the recovered bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which was lost with all hands on November 10, 1975. The galleries explain why so many ships went down on this shore, with wreck artefacts, charts, a film and exhibits on the storms, the shoals and the crews. The museum sits at the Whitefish Point Light Station, which is its own live place, as is Tahquamenon Falls. It is a modest museum in a remote setting, open roughly May to October (confirm), and it rewards anyone with an interest in maritime history, families who like stories, and visitors who have read about the Fitzgerald. Allow about two hours, more with the beach. Expect cold wind even in summer, and confirm admission and dates before you go.
18335 North Whitefish Point Road, Paradise, Michigan, 49768, United States
The museum is seasonal, generally open from about May to October, with the main hours commonly running through the day in summer and shorter hours at the start and end of the season. It is closed or has very limited access in winter, when snow and lake storms make the long road north difficult. Exact opening dates, daily hours and last-entry times change from year to year, so confirm with the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society before you drive from the Soo or the bridge. Some years the society also holds memorial events around November 10, the anniversary of the Fitzgerald loss (confirm), and these may have their own arrangements. The beach and grounds can usually be reached by day even when the buildings are shut.
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