"This lighthouse station has been restored and given a new life by the staff and volunteers from Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior (CLLS). New docks have been installed to help usher you from the harbour onto the island where you will find a historic boathouse with a map showing the 1 km route to the point of the island. The trail is well maintained and very flat and if you aren't into walking, CLLS provides bikes for visitors to get to Porphyry Point where the light tower and historic lighthouse keepers' quarters are located. Breathing life back into the island are the volunteers and staff who work to keep the place in top condition. Without them, the lighthouse station would be like several others elsewhere that have simply fell to disrepair now that the lights themselves are automated. Instead, volunteers get to stay for a week at a time to experience what it must have been like to work as a lighthouse keeper. Artists in residence bring a whole new perspective to island life and they are willing to share their works in progress with visitors. The old foghorn building has been transformed into a museum that tells the history of the people who tended to the lighthouse in times past and also showcases the works of artists who have spent time on the island.
It is definitely a unique experience to visit the island and will appeal to anyone who has an interest in history, geology, botany, or simply spending some quiet time on an isolated island."

Julie Rosenthal

"Arriving at Porphyry Island on a safe and comfortable Archie’s Charter from Silver Islet for the light keeper tour, I felt like I was leaving behind the normal city humdrum venturing into a brand new exciting world that I never knew existed in my own backyard. With the water so clear and turquoise I thought I was on an ocean far from Canada. I first noticed the excellent docking and mooring facilities in the harbour, where our tour guide eagerly met us at the docks and explained that most of the island was Porphyry Island Provincial Park nature reserve and that the lighthouse, actually a light station, was at the tip of Porphyry Point. Paul was a consummate host giving us a history of the island’s volcanic origins, some of its unique ecology being home to several arctic disjunct species and explaining what life was like for the families who lived and worked there before the modern conveniences of electricity and telephones, prior to automation of the light. Walking up the road to the point there was lush boreal forest covered in strands of old man’s beard with so many trails to explore. Ascending the tower to the top of the light I was overcome with the beauty of being surrounded by a vista of sea dotted with islands scattered around me it was like nothing I has ever witnessed before. What captured my attention was getting to see the Sleeping Giant in reverse from the typical view from Thunder Bay waterfront - from here it was foot to head. The old fog alarm building museum housed some neat artifacts and in the Gordon Graham Gallery we watched a film and looked at some of the art work the island inspired visitors to create. After that we had a delicious meal in one of the light keeper’s residences, which you can actually book accommodations at. Next I visited the black sand beach and discovered some beach glass perhaps tossed over the cliff by a keeper decades ago as rubbish which is now treasure. I held onto it for a while in my pocket feeling the inspiration of where I was, seeing how the island could transform something ordinary into something brimming full of possibility and opportunity, thinking of the hardships the keepers endured to ensure safe passage of vessels to and from the Lakehead, how the station was declared surplus by the Canadian government left to vandals and decay and how Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior came in with a group of concerned local volunteers and turned the light station into such a vibrant and memorable experience for so many. Being there put into perspective the importance of these historical nautical structures that helped guide so much early shipping commerce that helped settle the west and build the early Dominion, along with all the fishing and logging communities they supported. I could feel myself dropping out of autopilot into being mode, leaving things behind in a safe respite (don’t panic there is some wifi connection). The island had this great feeling of community that naturally arises between boaters, city slicker explorers and volunteers. It is a place that you really have to experience and to take the time to get to know because there is so much to do and see. Imagine seeing the stars there at night, getting to paddle around the bays, seeing the late summer monarch butterfly migration stop over, having a campfire on the beach and maybe a dip in Superior if you are brave (there is a sauna thankfully to warm up in). There is camping available in canvas tents and tons of volunteer opportunities (you can actually be a light keeper host or artist in residence). Definitely recommend the longer tour and checking out the CLLS website for programming, events and opportunities.  Their YouTube channel has some out of this world videos that will make you want to plan your visit when you see this hidden jewel for the first time. Porphyry Point Lighthouse is a must see, it has something for everybody to enjoy."

Andrew Ehn

"Working at the Lighthouse gives me a lot of insight about people that visit this island. All i need to do is remember my first visit to this island and to remember how i fell in love immediately. At first i did not understand why but over time I started to see what it was that was attracting me to this site, it was three things. The effects of volcanic action, the cold clear clean water, and the interesting wildlife and plant species. Coming from Precambrian Shield Country built 4.5 billions years ago, it was a surprise to see pushed up from under the waves of Superior a volcanic island created 1.1 billions years ago with its black sands beaches and interesting flaura and fauna. Then it was the water that was a turquoise colour which was nice to see at Thunder Bay is so silty near the shore. And then of course the lighthouse on the point of Porphyry Island, you could see for miles and miles (or Kilometers depending how you see things) over a 260 degree range. And the story of the lightkeepers past is well represented in the self guided signs on site, or you can come on a charter operating weekly usually Sunday's and Thursdays to learn more about the shipwrecks in the area. For further information go to the web site an look for the youtube button and watch Carlo Franco's adventure."

Canadian Lighthouses of Lake Superior