Ludington & Manistee
Ludington
A Lake Michigan harbor town for beach and lighthouse trips, with the S.S. Badger car ferry and a big dune state park just north of town.
Under a mile away (straight line)
Attraction · Ludington & Manistee
S.S. Badger
A 1953 coal-fired steamship and National Historic Landmark that carries passengers and vehicles across Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Photo: WMrapids, Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
The S.S. Badger is the way to cross Lake Michigan with your vehicle, and the ship is a piece of working history in its own right. She links Ludington with Manitowoc, Wisconsin, on a crossing of about four hours, billed as 60 miles. It suits road-trippers heading west and anyone who wants a day on the lake. Book ahead and be at the dock an hour before sailing; pets ride on the car deck, not in passenger areas.
The 410-foot car ferry has room for up to 600 passengers and 180 vehicles, and she sails each year from May into October. Rail tracks are still set into the lower deck from her years carrying railroad cars.
She entered service in 1953, and her operator describes her as the last coal-fired passenger steamship in operation in the United States. In 2016 the Department of the Interior designated her a National Historic Landmark.
Lake Michigan Carferry Service, formed in 1992, operates the Badger and counts millions of passengers carried since then.
Practical information
- Managed by
- Lake Michigan Carferry Service
- Season
- The ship sails from mid-May into October. The 2027 season is scheduled for May 14 to October 10, with added overnight crossings from June 18 to August 20.
- Ludington dock
- 701 Maritime Drive, Ludington
- Crossing
- Each crossing takes about four hours, and the ship passes from Eastern to Central time on the way.
- Official website
- ssbadger.com
Location
Map of S.S. Badger
4 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Nearby towns
Also nearby
Straight-line distances, not driving distances.
Beach
Stearns Park Beach
Ludington's free city beach on Lake Michigan: 2,500 feet of sand, a playground, mini golf, accessible paths and the pier to the North Breakwater Light.
Under a mile away (straight line)
State park
Ludington State Park
A big dune park between Hamlin Lake and 7 miles of Lake Michigan shore, with three campgrounds, 21 miles of trails and the walk to Big Sable Point Lighthouse.
About 7 miles away (straight line)
Lighthouse
Big Sable Point Lighthouse
An 1867 lighthouse, 112 feet tall and banded black and white, on the Lake Michigan shore in Ludington State Park. You reach it on a 1.8-mile walk or ride.
About 8 miles away (straight line)