Photo Friday: The Lighthouse at Minatare
![The Lake Minatare Lighthouse is one of only seven inland lighthouses in the United States. It was built in the late 1930s by the Veterans Conservation Corps, a New Deal agency that provided jobs to unemployed veterans during the Great Depression.](https://i2.wp.com/www.journeyoflight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_6519-minitare-lighthouse-sunrise.jpg?resize=660%2C440)
On Lake Minatare in the panhandle of western Nebraska there is a lighthouse that doesn’t actually contain a light. The Lake Minatare Lighthouse is one of only seven inland lighthouses in the United States. It was built in the late 1930s by the Veterans Conservation Corps, a New Deal agency that provided jobs to unemployed veterans during the Great Depression. The 55 foot stone structure on a peninsula on the lake today it stands as a symbol of a former age. Last July I went to Lake Minatare to visit the lighthouse and climb to the top.
![Staircase at Lake Minatare](https://i2.wp.com/www.journeyoflight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_6586-staircase-lighthouse-minatare.jpg?resize=600%2C900)
As I climbed the stairs to the top, I found the walls to be very close. In fact, my shoulders touched both sides as I ascended. Definitely not something someone who is claustrophobia would want to do.
![Sunrise on Lake Minatare](https://i0.wp.com/www.journeyoflight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_6560-lake-minitare-from-lighthouse.jpg?resize=660%2C440)
A few minutes after I arrived at the top I saw witnessed a beautiful sunrise over the lake. As the sun rose in the east it lined up perfectly with the easternmost window at the top.
![Lighthouse at Lake Minatare](https://i1.wp.com/www.journeyoflight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_6550-lake-minitare-from-lighthouse-west.jpg?resize=660%2C440)
The view looking west.
![Lighthouse at Lake Minatare](https://i1.wp.com/www.journeyoflight.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/IMG_6487-lake-minitare-lighthouse-nebraska-vertical.jpg?resize=600%2C900)