Beaver Island Lake Michigan
Frequently Asked Questions
Off St. James, the island's only village, tucked at the head of Paradise Bay, one of the finest natural harbours in the region. Small Great Lakes ships call here; the village starts at the end of the dock.
In Lake Michigan, about fifty kilometres from Charlevoix, a two-hour crossing. It is the most isolated inhabited island on the lake.
As a legacy of the Irish families who settled it. The nickname stuck, and the village surnames still carry it.
Yes, and it is the only monarchical episode in United States history. In the 1850s a Mormon dissident named James Strang established his community here and had himself crowned king, ruling the island until his assassination a few years later.
The historical society museum, housed in the print shop Strang built in 1850, the village of St. James, and a walk out to a beach. The island is wooded and quiet: this is a call to breathe.
Around 600 year-round residents, surrounded by forest and beaches. The population swells in summer, but it stays far from the crowds of mainland ports.
The beaches are handsome and the sand is pale, but Lake Michigan water stays cool even in August. Most passengers walk rather than swim.
The US dollar. Cards work in most St. James businesses, but the offering is limited: keep a little cash.
Yes, for a quiet day: beaches, woods and a village with no traffic. There is, however, no organised activity and no children's attraction.
June through September, the Great Lakes sailing window. Outside that period Lake Michigan turns difficult and the island folds in on itself.
