According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 293.64 square miles (760.52 km2), of which 241.50 square miles (625.48 km2) is land and 52.14 square miles (135.04 km2) (17.76%) is water.[3] Whitefish Township is the sixth-largest municipality by land area in the state after the townships of McMillan, Marenisco, Hiawatha, Watersmeet, and L'Anse.
M-123 runs south–north through the township before turning east within the community of Paradise.
Whitefish Bay National Forest Scenic Byway (Lake Superior Shoreline Road) enters briefly in the southern portion of the township before having its western terminus at M-123.
Vermilion is an uninhabited unincorporated community and located at 46°45′47″N85°08′56″W / 46.76306°N 85.14889°W / 46.76306; -85.14889 in the northern portion of the township at Vermilion Point along the shores of Lake Superior.[11] The remote area was only previously surveyed until the Vermilion Lifesaving Station began operation in 1877. The small community grew to include mainly the servicemen at the station and their families. A post office in Vermilion was in operation from May 23, 1896 to October 31, 1922.[12] When the station was closed in 1944, the community was abandoned. Only one original station structure exists along with several recently restored structures.[13]
Romig, Walter (October 1, 1986) [1973]. Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More Than Five Thousand Past and Present Michigan Communities (Paperback). Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press. pp. 181, 571, 599. ISBN978-0-8143-1838-6.