Pilot Island Site
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Details
Attraction
Location
Body of Water: Lake Michigan
Trail Name: Green Bay/Door County
Nearest City: Pilot Island
County: Door
Latitude: N 45°17.19054'
Longitude: W -086°55.19220'
Attraction
Features
Open to public?: Yes
Mooring buoy?: Yes
Mooring buoy in place?: No
Snorkelable?: Yes
Dive guide?: Yes
Trails sign?: Yes
National Register?: No
Attraction
Description
The Pilot Island shipwrecks rest in 20-50 feet of water and are marked with a Society seasonal mooring buoy. On the night of October 28, 1891, the scow-schooner Forest entered the Death's Door en route from Chicago to Nahma, Michigan. A gale struck and drove the ship onto the reef at Pilot Island. The following day, the crew of five rowed to shore and took refuge at the lighthouse. The next fall the dangerous passage wrecked two more schooners at the same spot. On Oct. 17 the J.E. Gilmore entered the passage and was blown onto the reef. The crew waited out the storm on board. On Oct. 28, a fierce storm drove the A.P. Nichols onto the rocks near the Gilmore and Forest. In a daring rescue, the lighthouse crew helped the sailors leap from the rolling Nichols onto the icy deck of the Forest to reach Pilot Island.
 
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Nearby
Attractions (2)
Pilot Island Site
Pilot Island Site Buoy
© 2026 - Wisconsin Sea Grant, Wisconsin Historical Society