There is a Lighthouse Less Than 3 Hours Away From Fort Collins, Colorado

Lighthouses have always fascinated me. I have seen quite a few in the Pacific Northwest and always made it a point to stop and see them whenever we were out for an ocean adventure while living in Oregon.

Most people can visit lighthouses on either coast of the United States. However, that doesn't have to stop you from seeing a lighthouse in a landlocked state. If you are up for a road trip, you can visit a lighthouse with only a three-hour drive from Fort Collins, Colorado.

Actually, the drive is less than three hours according to Google Maps. The 159-mile drive will take approximately two and a half hours through two states, not including Colorado, into Nebraska. Upon entering the Cornhusker state, you will find yourself near Scottsbluff, Nebraska. From Scottsbluff, you will then head northeast to Lake Minatare to the lighthouse.

Lake Minatare Lighthouse

This midwest lighthouse was built in 1939 by the Veterans Conservation Corps according to Wikipedia. The mock lighthouse is 55 feet tall and was designed as a combination shelter house and an observation tower.

While Colorado may not have any notable lighthouses of this stature, taking a quick trip to the Lake Minatare lighthouse could be a fun way to spend a weekend. If you really want to take in all of the glory of lighthouses, you need to head to the upper Midwest.

You would think that states such as Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Washington would have more lighthouses as they are coastal states. Nope. Michigan has the most lighthouses out of any of the states in the nation. 150 in total according to WhatStates.com.