Uncovering Lake Michigan’s Extreme Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Points

No one needs to convince a native Michigander just how large the Great Lakes are. They are truly inland seas. But have you ever considered the extreme points of the Lakes? These are the extreme north, south, east and westernmost points of Lake Michigan.

Michigan has two of these points. One is in Wisconsin and another in Indiana. Here they are running them counterclockwise.

Northernmost Point of Lake Michigan

Located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the northernmost point of the lake is near the hamlet of Naubinway. US 2 runs right along the coast making the northernmost point easily accessible. The point is at 46.10137 N latitude.

At the tip of Marina Drive in Naubinway there is a monument to the Northernmost Point in the lake. But similar to the famous Southernmost Point of the US in Key West that's not at the southernmost point, the Naubinway monument is further south than the true northernmost point of the lake which is east of town.

Westernmost Point of Lake Michigan

An asterisk right at the jump, this is the westernmost point of the main lake not counting Green Bay.

The Westernmost point of the lake is in Milwaukee and an interstate runs past it through an industrialized area known as Jones Island. If you've ever taken the Lake Express ferry between Milwaukee and Muskegon you've gotten very close to the westernmost point of the lake - and about as close as you can get due to the heavy industry nearby.

This spot is roughly 87.89500 west longitude.

READ MORE: A Trip to Point MOO - the Michigan, Ohio, Ontario Tripoint + What Is the Great Lakes Point of Inaccessibility - the Farthest Spot from Land?

(Counting Green Bay, the westernmost spot of the lake would be at the southern tip of the bay at Peats Lake accessible via a marshy hike from Deerfield Avenue.)

Southernmost Point of Lake Michigan

This is the point that is in a park and completely open and accessible without question. The southernmost point of Lake Michigan is found in Gary, Indiana at Marquette Park.

The spot, like the northernmost point, has a commemorative marker and is at 41.620198 north latitude.

Easternmost Point of Lake Michigan

The easternmost point of the lake may or may not exist considering how you define the lake. In the strictest sense, Lake Michigan and Huron are one lake, so the easternmost point would be on Huron's far shore.

If you count the lakes separately, then the question is, where does Lake Michigan and and the Straits of Mackinac begin? If the answer is where it narrows - then the point would be at Mackinaw City and the Mackinac Bridge.

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Given that, if you've ever crossed The Bridge, you've seen the easternmost point of Lake Michigan.