Tag Archives: map

West Michigan lighthouse map now available

Citizen Journalism, Entertainment, Local Entertainment, Recreation, , ,
Mackinaw City lighthouse.

The West Michigan Tourist Association’s (WMTA) 2022 Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour is now available. This is a free poster-sized publication which details all of the lighthouses located on the shores of Lake Michigan, as well as the Circle Tour driving route to guide motorists around the lake.



To accompany this year’s map, WMTA has released 24 new free, digital jigsaw puzzles showcasing this year’s Featured Lighthouses. These digital jigsaw puzzles may be accessed on WMTA’s website at the following URL: https://www.wmta.org/west-michigan-digital-jigsaw-puzzles/

The cover of this year’s map features an aerial photo of South Haven Lighthouse, courtesy of Dan Zeeff. Dan is a professional landscape, aerial, and architectural photographer based near Grand Rapids, Michigan. His growing Michigan landscape photography collection includes hundreds of photos of Michigan lakes, lighthouses, coastal towns, and more! Check out his website at danjzeeff.com.

The full circle tour driving route around Lake Michigan is available online, and website visitors may also download a PDF of this year’s Lighthouse Map, or request that a free copy be mailed to them here: www.wmta.org/lake-michigan-lighthouse-map-circle-tour/

Vacationers have been looping the lake for generations, but the official “Lake Michigan Circle Tour” route was not established until the 1980s when the Michigan Department of Transportation teamed up with West Michigan Tourist Association to create the route and its official guidebook. Along the way, travelers will find more than 100 lighthouses, countless islands, unique attractions, parks and natural areas, miles of glorious beaches, quaint harbor towns, and one “modern marvel” – the Mackinac Bridge.

While a loosely-organized “circle route” around Lake Superior was promoted by local tourist organizations as early as the 1960s, the first official (and signed) Great Lakes Circle Tour was the Lake Michigan Circle Tour. The only single-nation Circle Tour (Lake Michigan being the only Great Lake completely within the US), the Lake Michigan Circle Tour also has the most mileage of any Circle Tour in the state.Working in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation, the West Michigan Tourist Association helped to make the first of the official Great Lakes Circle Tours a reality and the first publication was released in 1988 as a 52-page guide book. The guide book was transformed into a map in 2007, and the Circle Tour driving route can now be found online.


Lake Michigan Lighthouse Map & Circle Tour publications are also available in bulk quantities; please contact Travel@WMTA.org for more information.

Spanish version of zoo map now available at Binder Park Zoo

Entertainment,
Binder Park Zoo is most famous for the public being able to feed the giraffes. (Supplied/Binder Park).

By Leslie Walsh
Binder Park Zoo

Binder Park Zoo has announced that a version of the zoo map is now available for Spanish speaking visitors at the zoo. Guests can request a version of the full zoo map that has been translated into Spanish when they enter through the admission gate. The map is also available to view or download from the zoo website at www.binderparkzoo.org/map/

 “Spanish is the second most spoken language in the United States, and we know that we have a strong and vibrant community of Spanish speakers who visit the zoo,” said Leslie Walsh, Manager of Marketing & Development.  “We’ve been aware of a need and desire for this, so we’re happy to offer what we hope will be a convenience and an opportunity for Spanish speakers to have a more complete and enjoyable zoo experience.

Binder Park Zoo now has maps in Spanish. (Binder Park Zoo)

New site maps are scheduled be installed in key spots of the East Zoo that display a Quick Response or QR code that can be scanned will a mobile device to access the map in both English and Spanish versions.

Binder Park Zoo opened to the public for the 2020 season on May 29. The zoo is open daily Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm. Saturday 9am-6pm and Sunday 11am-6pm. Other important information about visiting the zoo can be found on the website homepage at www.binderparkzoo.org.