Yes, people do live on islands in Lake Superior, but it depends heavily on the specific island and the season. Madeline Island (part of the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin) is the only one with a significant year-round residential population, centered in the town of La Pointe. It has a permanent community of about 300–400 people, which swells to thousands in the summer. Residents rely on a ferry in the summer and an "ice road" or windsled in the winter to reach the mainland. Conversely, Isle Royale, a National Park in Michigan, has no permanent year-round residents. While it has researchers and seasonal park rangers during the summer, the island is completely closed to the public from November to mid-April due to extreme winter conditions and isolation. Other smaller islands, like the Slate Islands or Michipicoten Island, are largely uninhabited or used only for temporary research and light tourism. For those seeking true isolation, living on a Lake Superior island is a rugged lifestyle defined by the lake's unpredictable weather and a deep sense of self-reliance.