Pilot Island is a small, low-lying islet just under two miles southeast of Plum Island. A two-and-a-half-story keeper’s dwelling with a square tower topped by a decagonal, cast-iron lantern room was erected on the island in 1858. The lighthouse was fitted with a fourth-order Fresnel lens and capable of casting a flashing white light for a distance of 46 feet.

Pilot Island is now under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the lighthouse and brick fog signal building are the only structures remaining on the island. The Pilot Island Lighthouse can best be seen from the Northport-Washington Island Ferry or the excursions that pass by the island during the annual Lighthouse Festival the second weekend of June.