
Why we had to go see it…
Being Coasties, lighthouses used to be part of expertise and areas of operation (AOR). So, the mariners in us just had to go search for this mysterious beacon. Afterall, our Coast Guard began with an impressive history of lighthouse management also known as the U.S. Lighthouse Service. For almost two centuries, Coast Guard members and their families were Lightkeepers. So, you can imagine our reason to go explore the Lake Minatare Lighthouse.
We climbed to the top…
Once we arrived, we spotted it in a small park-like setting. It stood there looking so lonely.
We entered through the old wooden arched door to the spiral steps that led us to what used to be the lantern room. We were able to get a better look at the beacon’s purpose.
The Lighthouse itself consists of a tower structure supporting the lantern room where the light operates. The lantern room is the glassed-in housing at the top of a lighthouse tower containing the lamp and lens. Its glass storm panes are supported by metal Astragal bars running vertically or diagonally.
Considering when it’s age, it was well built. However, this lighthouse was not subject to the harsh sea water or ocean salty air as the lighthouses on the Atlantic, Pacific or Gulf coasts. So, you could say it’s aged well and will continue to stand the test of time.
However, this lighthouse was really NOT a ‘light’ house…
So, as you probably can understand our ray of disappointment.
About the Lake Minatare State Recreation Area…
This SRA offers camping pads with electrical hookups and more than 100 non-pad sites. Facilities include showers, laundry, modern restrooms, dump station, water, picnic tables, shelters, boat ramps, unsupervised swimming, fishing and fish cleaning stations.
Lake Minatare recreation area claims choice camping and boating facilities. The modern campground has asphalt pads with electrical hookups, modern restrooms and showers. In addition, the area can more than another 100 units on undesignated primitive sites around the lake. Other facilities include: picnic tables, shelters, drinking water, fire grates, a trailer dump station and vault toilets. Minatare has an excellent sand beach, east of the dam. The beach is unsupervised, so swimmers should always use caution.
How to get to Lake Minatare State Recreation Area and Lighthouse…
41.93306, -103.49556
41°55’59″N, 103°29’44″WFrom Scottsbluff: The intersections of Hwy. 71 and Hwy. 26, go three miles north on 71 to Lake Minatare Road. Turn east on Lake Minatare Road and go eight miles to a T with Stonegate Road. Take a left (north) on Stonegate Road for one mile. Turn right into the Lake View entrance immediately after crossing the canal bridge. The office is half mile up the road on your right.
From Minatare and Hwy. 26: Turn north on Stonegate Road at the northeast corner of Minatare. Go nine miles on Stonegate Road to the Lake View entrance, turning right after crossing the canal bridge. The office is half mile up the road on your right.