Go See It
White City Township Park, Portage Entry: Go See It
The sandy Lake Superior beach and picnic park that now occupies the site of White City, the vanished early-1900s amusement resort, a short walk up the shore from the pier and lighthouse marking the Keweenaw Waterway's lower entrance.
The facts
- Drive
- 2 hr 26 min from Marquette
- Cost
- Free — no admission fee found for the park or the…
- Season
- Summer (June through early September) for swimming and…
- Hours
- No posted hours found for the park or the lighthouse…
Address
White City Road, off the Lake Linden-to-Jacobsville road, Torch Lake Township, Houghton County (no formal street number found). The lighthouse/pier parking is about 0.6 miles south, at the end of Dreamland/Jacobsville Road in Jacobsville.
DirectionsMore detail
- From Marquette
- , 128 miles via US-41 N (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
- Cost
- Free — no admission fee found for the park or the lighthouse grounds/pier.
- Season
- Summer (June through early September) for swimming and beach use. This is an exposed Lake Superior shoreline and the roads out here are not maintained for winter tourist traffic.
- Hours
- No posted hours found for the park or the lighthouse grounds/pier. Treat as daylight-hours day use; the uptravel.com listing notes the township may set closing hours and alcohol restrictions, without giving specific times.
- From the Bridge
- 5 hr 8 min, 291 miles via M-28 W and US-41 N, with the Mackinac Bridge toll (Google Maps route, usual traffic, read Sept. 27, 2026)
Nothing built by White City, the amusement resort that drew Copper Country crowds by boat in the early 1900s, survives today — no coaster, pavilion or hotel. The site is now a small Torch Lake Township beach park, a short walk up the shore from the pier and lighthouse marking the Keweenaw Waterway’s lower entrance.
Go for the beach, the picnic spot and the walk out to the lighthouse pier — not for ruins.
Before you go
- Nothing from the amusement-park era is documented as visible today — multiple sources describe White City as essentially wiped from the map, with the long pier to the lighthouse the one repeated survivor.
- What's actually there. a small (about 3-acre) township beach park with picnic area and fishing access; about a mile south near Jacobsville, a boat launch with a hard-surface ramp, roughly 20 parking spots and toilets; and, at the end of Dreamland/Jacobsville Road, a parking area from which you can walk the pier out to the Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Light (grounds open, tower closed, no fee).
- Roads in are described only as a winding township road off the Lake Linden-Jacobsville route — budget for gravel/rural driving and don't rely on GPS alone this far out.
- No interpretive signage or historical marker for White City was confirmed to exist — don't expect ruins or a plaque.
- Realistic visit. park, walk the beach, picnic, fish, and walk the pier to photograph the lighthouse.
Sources
- MTU Archives Blog, "A White City in the Copper Country" Read September 27, 2026
- 99WFMK, "The Ghost Amusement Park of White City, Michigan" Read September 27, 2026
- Outdoor Michigan, White City Township Park Read September 27, 2026
- UP Travel, White City Park listing Read September 27, 2026
- Visit Keweenaw, White City Park listing Read September 27, 2026
- Outdoor Michigan, South Portage Entry Boat Launch Read September 27, 2026
- Lighthousefriends.com, Keweenaw Waterway Lower Entrance Lighthouse Read September 27, 2026
- Google Maps, Marquette to White City Township Park (drive time) Read September 27, 2026
- Google Maps, Mackinac Bridge to White City Township Park (drive time) Read September 27, 2026
Verified September 27, 2026