01
Climb 40 Mile Point Lighthouse
A square 1896 light with an integrated keeper's house. The shipwreck on the lawn is the bow of the steamer Joseph S. Fay, washed ashore in 1905.
Mile 140 · Presque Isle County, Michigan
Lat 45.42° N · Lon 83.82° W
Rogers City .
Self-proclaimed Nautical City. Home to the world's largest limestone quarry, a perfect natural harbor, and 40 Mile Point Lighthouse a short drive north.
Mile
140
US-23 N
Quick facts
Quarry
World's largest
Calcite · 2 sq mi · 300 ft deep
Lighthouse
40 Mile Pt
1896 · Climbable
Festival
Nautical
4 days · early August
Drive
4 hr
Detroit via I-75 / US-23
Things to do · 5 picks
What to do in Rogers City.
Curated by Sunrise Coast Council editors. Half a day to a week, family-friendly to wilderness-grade.
02
Hoeft State Park beach day
A mile of fine sand with rare orchids in the dunes behind. Quiet even in August.
03
Watch a freighter at the Calcite plant
1,000-foot ships load 60,000 tons of limestone in a single afternoon. The viewing platform on US-23 is a good spot for a thermos.
04
Herman Vogler Conservation Area
300 acres of trout streams, pine, and beaver ponds. A boardwalk loop and a stocked fishing pond for kids.
05
Nautical City Festival
Sailboat parade, lighthouse climb, perch fry. The town's been doing it since 1953.
A town built of limestone
The biggest hole in Michigan.
The Calcite limestone quarry just south of town is the largest of its kind in the world — two square miles of open pit dug down 300 feet, supplying steel mills and cement plants from Ohio to Manitoba. The 1,000-foot self-unloading freighters that haul it out are some of the largest ships on the Great Lakes.
You can't tour the quarry itself, but you can park at the viewing platform on US-23 and watch a freighter slide under a loader chute. It takes about four hours to fill one. There is a particular sound — limestone-on-steel — that you will not hear anywhere else.
2 sq mi
Open pit
60,000 t
Per freighter
1912
First load
Rogers City · a town built of limestone
"You can hear the ships before you see them — limestone in the bow makes a sound nothing else does."— Mariner's Almanac of the Great Lakes
Where on the coast.
Tawas
Mile 40
Oscoda
Mile 55
Harrisville
Mile 75
Alpena
Mile 95
Rogers City
Mile 140
Cheboygan
Mile 170
Mackinaw City
Mile 195
Where to stay · 3 picks
All Rogers City lodging →
Cottages, inns, campgrounds.
Cottage
Forty Mile Light Cottage
A two-bedroom red cottage next to the 1896 lighthouse. Walk the beach for fossils.
from $210 / night
Resort
Manitou Shores Resort
12 lakefront rooms with kitchenettes. Pool, fire pits, kayaks included.
from $175 / night
Camp
Hoeft State Park Campground
144 sites under old pines, half of them on the lake. Showers, store, boat launch.
from $26 / night
Questions · 4 answers
Common questions about Rogers City.
Quick answers to what travelers ask most before driving up.
Q.01
Where is Rogers City, Michigan?
Rogers City sits at Mile 140 on US-23 in Presque Isle County, about four hours north of Detroit. The town fronts a natural harbor on Lake Huron and serves as the operations hub for the Calcite limestone quarry, the largest of its kind in the world.
Q.02
Can you tour the Calcite limestone quarry?
The quarry itself is closed to the public, but a marked viewing platform on US-23 south of town overlooks the loading dock where 1,000-foot self-unloading freighters fill with limestone. Loading typically takes about four hours per ship.
Q.03
Can you climb 40 Mile Point Lighthouse?
Yes. The 1896 light, eight miles north of Rogers City on US-23, is open for free tower climbs during summer hours. The keeper's house contains a small maritime museum, and the bow section of the steamer Joseph S. Fay (wrecked 1905) sits on the lawn.
Q.04
What is the Nautical City Festival?
A four-day community festival held in early August since 1953 in Rogers City. Events include a sailboat parade in the harbor, a free lighthouse climb, perch fry, fireworks over the lake, and a parade through downtown.