Erosion, High Water Batters Lighthouse Shoreline – Photos

The shoreline around the Old Mission Peninsula is really taking a beating. Beaches have vanished, roads are disintegrating, and orange cones and barriers are now part of our OMP landscape, thanks to high water causing erosion issues.

The north end of Bluff Road has been closed since last winter, and Brad Kluczynski, manager of the Grand Traverse County Road Commission, says there’s a possibility it might never re-open.

Other roads around the Peninsula are having their own erosion issues, including Neahtawanta Road, the south end of Bluff Road, and Peninsula Drive.

If you’ve been to Mission Point Lighthouse, you’ve no doubt noticed that there’s very little beach in front of the lighthouse. Here’s photographic evidence below (thank you to the unsuspecting swingset and beach models in the distance).

I took these standing directly in front of the Lighthouse. The first is towards the north, the second to the south. The little stairway on the south side is partially submerged in water.

But one area of the Peninsula that doesn’t get a lot of attention is the shoreline south of Mission Point Lighthouse – mainly because you can’t see it unless you’re kayaking or hiking along there.

Last night, I parked at the lighthouse and hiked that shoreline to the south (not the shoreline itself, as there’s not a lot there, but the little foot path along the top).

Here are a few photos of the erosion along the shoreline south of Mission Point Lighthouse. The trees are toppling into the water like toothpicks.

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