Pilot Island is an island in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

in the Town of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, in

Door County, Wisconsin Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,066. Its county seat is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. The dangero ...

; it is part of

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in the state of Wisconsin. It includes five all or part of six islands in Lake Michigan: Hog Island, Plum Island, Pilot Island, part of St. Martin Is ...

. An abandoned lighthouse, the

Pilot Island Light The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin. The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but is made of brick instead of stone. ...

, rests on the island, and three shipwrecks rest in the

Pilot Island NW Site The Pilot Island NW Site is the site of three shipwrecks on the northwest side of Pilot Island in Door County, Wisconsin. The shipwrecks lie in Lake Michigan under of water; buoys placed by the Wisconsin Historical Society mark their locations. ...

. Pilot Island lies in the middle of the southern opening of the

Porte des Morts Porte des Morts, also known as Porte des Mortes, the Door of Death, and Death's Door is a strait linking Lake Michigan and Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay between the northern tip of the Door Peninsula and the southernmost of the Potawatom ...

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. 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, with the noise curdling milk and destroying embryos in their eggshells. The fog signal was discontinued in 1962.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

Gallery

From the lake

Nearby islands

References

External links

Web-Map of Door County, Wisconsin Islands of Door County, Wisconsin Islands of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin {{DoorCountyWI-geo-stub