Edmund Fitzgerald Memorial Beacon Lighting – Two Harbors, MN

This Split Rock Lighthouse annual event commemorates the sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald and the loss of her 29 crewmembers on November 10, 1975. It is also a time to reflect on the memory of all lives lost in Great Lakes shipwrecks.

The lighthouse, fog signal building, and visitor center will be open. Costumed interpreters will greet visitors and provide historic site and shipwreck information. Throughout the afternoon, visitors can view a film about the Edmund Fitzgerald in the visitor center.

At 4:30 pm, the lighthouse will close temporarily while the names of the crewmembers are read to the tolling of a ship’s bell. Following the ceremony, the beacon will be lit, and the tower will be open again to tour.

This is the only opportunity each year when visitors can climb the tower after dark and see the lit beacon.