Teal Lake Public Beach
Negaunee
Canoe, Hike, Kayak, and Swim
Teal Lake Beach is a narrow municipal sand strip at the foot of Croix Street on the north edge of Negaunee, about twelve miles west of Marquette in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The city parcel runs roughly 190 metres along the shoreline but only about 20 metres deep, so the whole place reads as a shoreline ribbon rather than a wide beach. The groomed sand inside that strip is smaller still. Negaunee widened it from 1,000 to 1,800 square feet during a project that broke ground in July 2022 and was cut open on June 19, 2023. The work cost $107,700, with $82,600 coming from a Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development grant and $25,100 from the city.
The water here is cold and clear and the bottom is sand for the first few strides, then it goes soft and dark. Teal Lake covers about 466 acres and reaches roughly 32 feet, and Michigan fisheries surveys describe its shallow shoreline as very limited, with most of the lake already deeper than three and a half feet. That is what swimmers notice first. You walk in on a gentle grade and then the bottom leaves you sooner than a big sandy Great Lakes beach would. The 2023 project added a concrete ramp down from the street and a roll-out beach mat that carries over the sand and into the shallows, plus benches and a picnic table built to ADA specification, which makes this one of the easier Upper Peninsula shorelines to reach on wheels.
Swimming in Teal Lake was illegal for most of a century, and not for any reason involving the water quality. The lake was Negaunee's drinking supply, so the city ordinance banned it. People swam anyway. When Negaunee stopped drawing from the lake in 1995 the ban came off, and Chapter 1064 of the city code now permits swimming and fishing from the shorelines. An absolute control area still fences off the old intake structures, and gas engines remain banned lake-wide, so what you hear on the water is oars, paddles and the occasional electric trolling motor.
The city's Beach and Park Use Policy limits the designated swimming area to May through September, 7:00 am to midnight. There is no admission charge, no gate and no parking fee, and there are no lifeguards at any hour. Glass containers, alcohol and pets are all prohibited in the beach area, and swimming or wading inside the boat mooring area is out. Teal Lake Beach is not on Michigan's BeachGuard monitoring list, so no state E. coli results are published for it. The only Marquette County beaches the state samples are on Lake Superior.
Parking is a small free asphalt lot just south of the sand off Croix Street. Restrooms, a picnic shelter and a playground are at Miners Park, about half a mile northeast along the shore. An ADA compliant launch dock went in during 2025 with rollers for kayaks, funded by the Ishpeming Rotary Club, the two cities and a Michigan DNR grant, and the Marquette Rowing Club uses it. The Iron Ore Heritage Trail passes through town, and the ground under all of it is the Negaunee Iron Formation. William Burt's 1844 survey party found ore outcrops just south of this lake, the Jackson Mine opened in 1847, and the Michigan Iron Industry Museum sits a few minutes east.
Realistically the swim window is late June through August. The lake freezes hard enough that the town runs a melt-out guessing contest and an ice fishing derby on it every winter.
More Information
City of Negaunee announces completion of beach expansion project on Teal Lake | WNMU-FM
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https://www.wnmufm.org/recreation/2023-06-22/city-of-negaunee-announces-completion-of-beach-expansion-project-on-teal-lakeIron Ore Heritage Trail
The Iron Ore Heritage Trail is a 47-mile, year round, multi-use, interpretive trail that crosses the Marquette Iron Range in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Call us the outdoor linear museum where you exercise your body and mind. Those who bike, walk, run, hike, ORV, snowmobile, cross country ski, birdwatch, and/or wander will find a section of trail perfect for your activity.
https://ironoreheritage.com/Ribbon cutting held for Teal Lake dock in Negaunee
The Ishpeming Rotary Club, the cities of Ishpeming and Negaunee, a Michigan DNR grant and other sponsors made this new dock possible.
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2025/08/12/ribbon-cutting-held-teal-lake-dock-negaunee/Teal Lake at Negaunee, MI - USGS Water Data for the Nation
Discover water data collected at monitoring location USGS-463025087365001, located in Marquette County, Michigan and find additional nearby monitoring locations.
https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/463025087365001/Teal Lake Beach is officially open
The beach has expanded from 1000 square feet to 1800 square feet.
https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/2023/06/19/city-negaunee-officially-opens-teal-lake-beach/Be courteous, informed, and prepared. Read trailhead guidelines, stay on the trail, and don't feed the wildlife.
Read More
- Plan Ahead and Prepare
- Travel & camp on durable surfaces
- Dispose of waste properly
- Leave what you find
- Minimize campfire impacts
- Respect wildlife
- Be considerate of other visitors
Directions
From Negaunee
- Head north on Baldwin Ave toward US-41 S (39 ft)
- Turn left onto US-41 N (0.3 mi)
- Turn right onto Croix StDestination will be on the left(0.3 mi)
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