Hidden Gems | Vermillion Point

Rock-hounding at Vermillion Point

A popular past time in the Paradise, Michigan area is rock-hounding. Strolling Lake Superior shores, perusing the many, many rocks washed on shore or near the shore and locating that one particular rock that strikes our fancy.  Viewing the wet rocks often highlights special colors or minerals.  Sometimes casting a rock back out into the waves can offer a cathartic release; in these days and times, that can be valuable.

The most frequented shoreline is Whitefish Point, but many travelers have discovered the magic of Vermillion Point.   Photo to the right is by Jennifer McKay.


In the late 1880's and through the first few decades of the 1900's, Vermillion Point was a productive settlement offering two industries: agriculture through cranberry bogs and a U. S. Life Saving Station.  Vermillion Point, located along the southern edge of Lake Superior in the Whitefish Point region of western Chippewa County, Michigan, is located in the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  This region along Lake Superior is regarded as the "Graveyard of the Lakes". *  Today the shoreline is recognized as the Shipwreck Coast.  The Shipwreck Museum can offer many more details of these shipwrecks and the U.S. Life Saving Station history.

Vermillion Point Light-Saving Station Remnants

Today, there are only remnants of one of the four buildings that had been the Vermillion Point Light-Saving Station.  The photo on the left is by Frank Fruzyna.  It wasn't until the late 1940's that the location on Vermillion Point was deemed no longer practical.  Boating vessels and communications had come a long way since the 1920's.  Whitefish Point Light Station however continues as a beacon to Lake Superior freighters.

This remote region provides incredible views of world class sunsets.  Less populated by tourists than Whitefish Point, Vermillion also offers shorelines for hiking, rock-hounding, and self-reflection.

Only stories of lives rescued and lost remain here but you and your family can create new stories and vacation memories along this shoreline.

*Remotely Yours, A Historic Journey Into the The Whitefish Point Area, Jan McAdams Huttenstine, May, 2010, p. 40.

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This vacation information is brought to you by the Paradise Area Tourism Council and their members:  Curley's Paradise Motel, Magnuson Grand Lakefront Paradise, Paradise Inn (Hotel), Paradise Shores Cabins, and Vagabond Motel. Sign up for our newsletter to stay current on activities in the area