The ruined lighthouse at Waugoshance protects boats from a shoal area at the northern end of Lake Michigan.

[11] Boats from Chicago heading North (and ultimately) East need to navigate the narrow tip of northern Lake Michigan, and there are many dangers.

Boats large enough to safely travel in times of storm cannot approach the light closer than a few hundred yards.

This area is currently protected by White Shoal Light—built in 1910, nearby, powerful and larger—and Grays Reef Light which rendered this lighthouse obsolete.

[12][13] During the last half of the nineteenth century, this light marked the turning point for ships traveling through the Straits of Mackinac and along Lake Michigan's eastern shore between the mainland and the Beavers.

Thereafter, a "Gray's Reef passage" became more typical because modern freighters require considerably more depth, so Waugoshance is bypassed about 2 miles (3.2 km) to the west.

The lighthouse at Waugoshance was arguably the first light built in the Great Lakes that was totally surrounded by water.

Both its construction and its continued maintenance were rendered extremely hazardous by the severe weather conditions of the area.

[12] Although the light is now gray in color, it was originally painted in four broad horizontal Red and white stripes as a Daymark.

The nonprofit Waugoschance Lighthouse Preservation Society was formed by Chris West, and they bought it from the Coast Guard.

[25] Another source reports, however, that "In 2009, [it was] deemed excess by the U.S. Coast Guard", so it was "offered at no cost to eligible entities, including federal, state, and local agencies, non-profit corporations, and educational organizations under the provisions of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000.

He is the harbor master at the Mackinaw City Municipal Marina, and owns the "Ugly Anne Tour Company", which operates a converted lobster boat that was brought from Maine.

'[11] Short of that, Shepler's Ferry Service out of Mackinaw City offers periodic lighthouse cruises in the summer season.