Pilot Island

45°17′06″N 086°55′11″W / 45.28500°N 86.91972°W / 45.28500; -86.91972Adjacent toLake MichiganHighest elevation581 ft (177.1 m)Administration

United States

Pilot Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the Town of Washington, in Door County, Wisconsin; it is part of Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. An abandoned lighthouse, the Pilot Island Light, rests on the island,^[1]^[2] and three shipwrecks rest in the Pilot Island NW Site. Pilot Island lies in the middle of the southern opening of the Porte des Morts passage off the tip of the Door Peninsula.

Pilot Island earned its name due to the use of the island as a "pilot" by sailors going through the dangerous Porte des Morts passage.^[3]

The lighthouse started operations in 1858 and continues to this day to be a maritime navigational aid. The island was often foggy and the fog signal would run for long periods of time. The fog signal was discontinued in 1962.^[4]

Gallery

October 2, 2004
July 28, 2020
Map of Death's Door islands. Pilot island is located in the southeastern portion.

From the lake

Nearby islands

References

^ Seeing The Light – Pilot Island Lighthouse, (Archived September 9, 2010)
^ Life on Pilot Island in 1955, (Archived January 3, 2018)
^ "Pilot Island Lighthouse - WI Shipwrecks". www.wisconsinshipwrecks.org. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
^ Wisconsin Proposed Resource Management Plan Amendment Environmental assessment: Disposition of Public Domain Properties by Gayle F. Gordon, Parcel Descriptions and Resources by County, Door County, August 14, 2000, page 28