Access to the Saugatuck, Michigan, Gap-Filler Radar Facility

By Tom Page, based on information from Mrs. Kit Lane (Saugatuck area historian)

The gap-filler radar facility at Saugatuck was probably unique in the fact that it did not have an access road that went right up to the building. Instead, the road stopped at the base of the Mount Baldhead sand dune, and from there 282 steps - built by the Air Force - led to the top. According to the local historian, Kit Lane, it became a point of honor for the Air Force troops to make the steps without stopping. There had been earlier steps up the side of Mount Baldhead, but part of the deal was that the Air Force would build new ones. Some seem to think that it might also be possible to drive a jeep up the west slope of the dune, where a swath through the vegetation had been cleared for a ski run, but there is no information suggesting that anyone actually drove up the slope. Reportedly, to get the building supplies to the top during the building of the radar tower and the building, a rail system on wooden ties was built parallel to the steps. Although details are not certain, supplies, equipment, and tools probably were raised to the top using some type of motor-driven rope-and-pulley system. The fuel tank for the diesel generators was at the bottom of the dune, and a pipeline ran to the top; it has since been removed. It is possible that there was also a water line that went to the top. Both of these were above ground. [One has to wonder how often the water line froze during winter (?).]