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.
About 1 miles away (straight line)
Lake · Ludington & Manistee
Pere Marquette Lake
Ludington's harbor lake: a city marina with fuel and transient slips, a four-lane launch, open water past the no-wake channel, and the S.S. Badger dock.
Photo: WMrapids, Wikimedia Commons (CC0 1.0)
Pere Marquette Lake is Ludington’s harbor, and it is a working one. Come to launch for Lake Michigan, to tie up at the city marina, or to watch the S.S. Badger come and go.
The no-wake zone covers the channel and the west end of the lake; past Yacht Club Peninsula there are no local limits, so the open water is all-sports. The city marina sells gas and diesel, pumps out holding tanks and takes transient boats, and the four-lane ramp at Peter Copeyon Park has room for about 57 trailers and a fish-cleaning station.
This is where the Pere Marquette River ends its run, just south of the city, after flowing roughly 67 miles west from the junction of its Middle and Little South branches. The Ludington Harbor Channel connects the lake to Lake Michigan.
Ludington is the Michigan port of the S.S. Badger, the coal-fired car ferry that crosses to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, in season, and the city runs a municipal marina on the harbor. Expect company on the water: during busy periods, federal navigation rules treat the channel, the lake and the nearby Lake Michigan waters as a single regulated area.
Upstream, the Pere Marquette River is both a state-designated Natural River and, from its forks down to US-31, a National Scenic River.
On the water
Motorboats and rules
Slow no-wake from the outer breakwater through the channel and into the lake as far as a line west of Yacht Club Peninsula.
Boating
The Ludington Municipal Marina publishes separate positions for the harbor channel entrance and the marina entrance. Federal rules set up a regulated navigation area covering the harbor channel, Pere Marquette Lake and nearby Lake Michigan waters, which the Coast Guard can enforce when vessel traffic is heavy, such as during fishing derbies and regattas.
Stocking
No DNR stocking recorded since 2015 for Pere Marquette Lake itself. Brown trout and lake trout go into Lake Michigan at Ludington Harbor most years.
Public boat launches
Peter Copeyon Park launch
City of Ludington launch with four lanes, two piers, parking for about 57 trailers and a fish-cleaning station.
Marinas
- Ludington Municipal Marina and Harbor View Marina
City marina on the north side of the harbor near downtown. It lists seasonal and transient slips for boats up to 125 feet, a broadside day dock, 90-octane non-ethanol gas and diesel, pump-out, water and electric, restrooms and showers, laundry and a fish cleaning station. Transient reservations are by phone from April 15.
Fishing, launching at a state site or parking at a state park? See licenses and passes for what you need before you go.
Anything not listed here is unverified. Do not assume public access across private shoreline. Check the Michigan DNR boating access listings and the current fishing regulations.
Through the seasons
Summer
The S.S. Badger's 2027 season is scheduled to run from May 14 to October 10, with crossings between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.
Location
Map of Pere Marquette Lake
2 places on an OpenStreetMap map
Places to stay near Pere Marquette Lake
Lakefront cottages and homes are listed by the local rental managers and booking sites below.
Hotels and inns
Upscale
Cartier MansionFeatured by the Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in its bed and breakfast guide
Mid-range
The Fresh Coast Inn at LudingtonFeatured by the Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in its bed and breakfast guide
Budget
Ludington Pier HouseListed by the Ludington Area Convention & Visitors Bureau · Listed by Pure Michigan, the state travel bureau
Listed as open May through October.
Search all hotels in Ludington: Booking.com · Expedia · Hotels.com · Google Hotels
We don’t take bookings or earn anything from these links. Rates, availability and any booking problems are handled by the booking site.
More places to stay in Ludington
- The Lamplighter Bed and Breakfast · A five-room bed and breakfast in an 1894 Queen Anne Victorian on Ludington Avenue, a few blocks from downtown Ludington.
- Pure Ludington lodging directory · The Ludington visitors bureau's list of hotels, inns, resorts, cabins, cottages and campgrounds in the Ludington area.
Vacation rentals
- Jaqua Vacation Rentals · milakeshorevacations.com
The rental arm of Jaqua Realtors, offering Lake Michigan shore cottages and homes in areas that include Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Ludington.
- Michigan Lakeshore Rentals · michiganlakeshorerentals.com
A rental manager along the Lake Michigan shoreline from Silver Lake and Pentwater north to Ludington.
- West Shore Vacation Properties · myludingtonvacation.com
A local company managing vacation homes and cottages in Ludington, Manistee, Onekama and the surrounding lakeshore.
Nearby towns
Nearby attractions
Straight-line distances from the map point.
Attraction
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.
Under a mile away (straight line)
More lakes and rivers nearby
River · Ludington & Manistee
Big Sable River
A one-mile stretch inside Ludington State Park for tubing, paddling and salmon and steelhead fishing, with paddlesport rentals in the park in season.
- Public launch
- Rentals
Lake · Ludington & Manistee
Hamlin Lake
Ludington State Park's big all-sports lake: ski and tube the open water, swim at the park beach, paddle the marsh trail, and ice fish for bluegill in winter.
- All-sports
- Swim beach
- Public launch
- Rentals
Lake · Ludington & Manistee
Pentwater Lake
An all-sports harbor lake at Pentwater with two marinas and a channel to Lake Michigan. Swim at Mears State Park; ice fish the lake in winter.
- All-sports
- Swim beach
- Public launch