About Beaver Island

Michigan's Most Remote
Inhabited Island

Beaver Island sits 32 miles off the coast of Charlevoix in northern Lake Michigan — the largest island in the lake and one of the most unspoiled communities in the Great Lakes. Accessible only by ferry or small plane, it's a place that asks something of you just to get there — and rewards you generously once you do.

Known as the "Emerald Isle" for its deep Irish roots and lush hardwood forests, Beaver Island has a character unlike anywhere else in the Midwest. With a year-round population of around 600 souls, life here moves at the rhythm of the seasons — ice fishing in winter, sailboats in summer, and the kind of dark, star-filled skies that remind you how quiet the world can be.

The island's history is as colorful as its landscape. In the 1850s, a self-proclaimed Mormon king named James Strang ruled the island with an iron fist — until his own followers shot him. Irish fishermen followed, and their descendants still call Beaver Island home today. That layered past gives the island a storytelling richness you can feel in every conversation at the hardware store or the harbor.

This live camera looks out over Paradise Bay and St. James Harbor from Powers' Do It Best Hardware on Main Street — a family business and a cornerstone of island life since 1998. Whether you've visited a hundred times or are dreaming of your first trip, this is your window to the Emerald Isle, streaming live 24/7.