BAILEYS HARBOR — The Cana Island Lighthouse has installed a webcam so that those interested can an keep eye on their favorite island causeway before the lighthouse officially opens on May 1.
A popular visitor destination, the Cana Island Lighthouse is located at the end of a narrow rustic road that runs through a residential area. A parking lot is located on the SE corner of Cana Island Rd and Cana Cove Road. Visitors can enter the parking lot at the first driveway on the right, past Cana Cove Rd.
Because parking is located in a residential area, visitors are asked to please drive slowly and cautiously, and obey all posted speed limits and watch for children and pets. Those visiting are also asked not to litter and not to park on Cana Island Rd. as it is prohibited.
The camera is set up to take a still image every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click the menu to select a time-lapse view.
Because the lighthouse is surrounded on three sides by water, occasionally the Cana Island becomes a true island when the water rises to cover the causeway leading from the mainland parking lot to the island.
Though the water is usually shallow enough to walk through, the museum has now implemented a tractor-drawn hay wagon with seats and sides to traverse the causeway for anyone who doesn’t want to get their feet wet.
Cana Island is open from May through October, seven days a week, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The last hay wagon ride departs from the parking lot at 4:15 p.m. The last tower climb starts at 4:30 p.m.
According to the Door County Maritime Museum which operates the lighthouse, the Cana Island Lighthouse was built in 1869 and at the time the tower was the tallest brick structure in Door County. Today, from the outside, no evidence remains of the tower’s brick construction. In 1902, the deteriorating condition of the brickwork prompted the Lighthouse Board to encase the tower in steel plates which were then painted white.
When World War II broke out, the Coast Guard took over Cana Island Station and it has maintained the light ever since. In the 1970s, the Door County Maritime Museum, wanting to preserve a part of Door County’s maritime heritage, leased Cana Island from the Federal Government and opened the Island to visitors.
Visitors can come and climb the narrow spiral staircase of the lighthouse tower for a birds-eye view of the area. By climbing 97 steps, visitors can step out onto the watch deck and they can also climb through the narrow hatchway to reach the outside gallery deck.
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