Big Tub Lighthouse, Active wooden lighthouse near Tobermory, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada.
The Big Tub Lighthouse is a hexagonal wooden structure painted white with red trim, standing about 40 feet (12 meters) tall on the northern tip of the peninsula. The building still operates an automated red light that guides vessels through the waters separating Lake Huron and Georgian Bay.
The structure was built in 1885 to help vessels safely pass through the treacherous waters connecting Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. Local lighthouse keepers staffed the building for decades until automation took over in 1952.
The name Big Tub comes from the natural harbour the light marks, whose deep basin gave shelter to ships in bad weather. Keepers lived here from 1881 to 1952, when the light was automated; the last, Thomas Andrew Hopkins, served from 1926. A keeper's dwelling was erected near the tower in 1905.
The lighthouse sits at the end of Highway 6 near Tobermory with parking available for visitors. The location provides access to glass-bottom boat tours that let you view the shipwrecks in the surrounding waters.
The waters surrounding this location hold multiple shipwrecks that attract divers from around the world seeking underwater exploration. These sunken vessels tell the story of how dangerous these waters once were for navigation.
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