The “off-season” on Beaver Island is generally considered to begin after school starts in September through the first full week of June. Island Aerie has rental rates that are lower in the off-season then during the summer season.
Those September days after school starts continue to promise warm, sunny days on the beaches and trails of Beaver Island – with the benefit of having the Island nearly all to yourself!
Special events for the public are regularly planned in the fall on Beaver, such as a weekend of Celtic Games, a 5 k walk/run race, and a food festival featuring local chefs and restaurants. The Beaver Island Chamber of Commerce actively promotes these events and can provide information regarding dates and other details.
Getting to Beaver Island by ferry in the fall can sometimes be an adventure in itself, as the “gales of November” descend upon the soulful waters of northern Lake Michigan soon after summer ends and the waves kick up to exhilarating volumes not often seen during the warmer months.
Contact the B.I. Chamber of Commerce at www.beaverisland.org for more info about events in the Fall!
Beaver Island in the winter evokes a feeling of frontier-like independence in the adventurous souls who make the effort to visit the Island. The ferry stops running in mid-December and doesn’t start up again until April. In the meantime, the two flight services pick up the business of those travelers who wish to truly escape their urban mainland lifestyle.
Although essential services remain available through the winter on Beaver Island – a few bars and restaurants, the grocery store, library, post office, gas station, and a few other locally-owned businesses – the summer vacation population is gone, leaving the die-hard Islanders and winter-lovers to appreciate the isolated charm and beauty of their own snowy Beaver Island.
Island Aerie is heated, thoroughly insulated, and kept open and ready for guests all winter long. The heating system is radiant in-floor heating, so the concrete floor on the first level is warm, and there is no blowing air or heat ducts to contend with. Upstairs rooms are individually heated. With its large, high windows, Island Aerie is a perfect place to snuggle in and admire the lovely snow drifting silently down on the trees and decks outside.
Snow-shoers and cross-country skiers alike will be astounded by the serene isolation to be found on the unlimited and untracked snowy trails and back roads of the Island. Amazing ice formations accumulate on the beaches. Ice-fishermen enjoy their chosen winter pastime right in town on frozen Paradise Bay, or upon the silent ice-covered waters of the inland lakes.
In regards to motorized off-road vehicles, while there are some of these that are owned and utilized by Islanders, there are no “official” snowmobile or ORV trails on Beaver Island. Additionally, it is very difficult to get snowmobiles and ATVs to the Island in the winter when the ferry isn’t running. Therefore, the population of snowmobiles and ATVs in use on Beaver Island in the winter is relatively small when compared to the rest of Northern Michigan in the snowy months.
After a long, quiet winter on Lake Michigan, Beaver Islanders – and savvy visitors – get seriously geared up for ST. PATRICK’S WEEKEND on Beaver Island! Many of the Island’s oldest families and residents claim Irish ancestry, and the Celtic tradition is promoted in many places and ways on the Island. Therefore, St. Patty’s Day is an extremely important occasion for Islanders and many others who hold this holiday dear.
The holiday weekend is filled with pre-planned events, games, and parties, some of which are continuations of traditions established generations ago. The entire community is welcome to attend the planned events, and the Island extends a jubilant greeting to visitors and guests as it celebrates the long-awaited arrival of Spring!
Check out past editions of The Beaver Beacon for stories and photos about the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations on Beaver in recent years! See www.beaverbeacon.com
Spring arrives on Beaver Island with an exuberant delicacy that inspires relief and joy in all who experience it. Morel mushrooms and rare lady slippers orchids abound in secret special places. The island human population continues to be small at this time of year, so the island is an exceptional location for secluded contemplation as life blooms again in Northern Michigan.
