Region: Ludington · Overview: Working port city anchored by SS Badger (last coal-fired steamship ferry in US) and Ludington State Park (most popular state park in Midwest). · Key events: Freedom Festival (Jul 4, 72nd year, running since 1874, Americas 250th) · Best hotels: Cartier Mansion B&B (1905 lumber baron, 10/10 Expedia, 21+, from $150) · Ludington State Park campgrounds (355 sites, book 6mo out, Cedar open year-round) · Content hook: The last coal-fired steamship in America leaves from here every morning. You can cross Lake Michigan in 4 hours, and nobody on either side of the lake talks about it enough. · Top attractions: SS Badger car ferry (60 mi, 4h to Manitowoc WI, $85+ adult, 620 pax, 180 vehicles) · Big Sable Point Lighthouse (1867, 112 ft, 1.8-mi hike each way) · Stearns Park Beach (wide, underappreciated, 1927 bathhouse) · Ludington State Park (5,300 acres, 18 mi trails, 3 mi beach)
Place · USA
Ludington, Michigan
USA
Ways to explore
Verified facts
Stearns Park Beach in downtown Ludington has a fully restored 1927-era bathhouse — one of very few surviving Great Lakes bathhouses — plus extensive boardwalk and lifeguards, within walking distance of the SS Badger dock.
The Ludington Freedom Festival, in its 72nd year in 2026 (July 4), has run continuously since 1874 — one of Michigan's oldest surviving Fourth of July celebrations — and features the Scottville Clown Band, a grand parade, and donation-funded fireworks over Lake Michigan.
Big Sable Point Lighthouse near Ludington, built in 1867, sits at the end of a 1.8-mile trail and rises 112 feet; its black-and-white banded tower is among the most photographed lighthouses in Michigan.
Ludington State Park encompasses 5,300 acres between Lake Michigan and Hamlin Lake with over 18 miles of trails and 3 miles of Lake Michigan beach.
The SS Badger carries 620 passengers and 180 vehicles and offers staterooms for overnight crossings; its 2026 season opens May 15.
The SS Badger and its sister Great Lakes car ferries sat idle until Ludington native Charles F. Conrad bought all three in 1991 for $1.5 million and relaunched the Badger as a passenger/auto ferry in 1992 — its first season drew 115,000 passengers against a hoped-for 80,000.
The SS Badger is a coal-fired steamship built in 1952 and the only remaining active coal-fired steamship passenger ferry in the United States, crossing 60 miles of Lake Michigan between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin on a 4-hour voyage.
The 410-foot SS Badger has carried over 2.5 million passengers in its modern ferry era; the crossing saves roughly 300+ driving miles around Lake Michigan, with live music on deck in summer.