The S.S. Badger still carries cars across Lake Michigan

The S.S. Badger is not a museum ship tied permanently to the dock. During its sailing season, the 410-foot ferry carries people, cars, campers, motorcycles, and trucks between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The trip takes four hours. One easy detail to miss when planning it: Ludington uses Eastern Time and Manitowoc uses Central Time.

The ship began with a different job. The Badger was launched in 1952 and entered service in 1953 for the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad. Four tracks on its car deck let the railroad move loaded railcars across Lake Michigan instead of sending them around the lake. Rail service out of Ludington ended in 1990. In 1992, Ludington native Charles Conrad bought the Badger and two companion ships, then brought the Badger back to carry passengers, road vehicles, and commercial trucks.

The careful version of its rarity matters. MiPlace, Michigan’s official National Historic Landmark site, describes the Badger as the last Great Lakes car ferry still in operation. The operator calls it the last coal-fired passenger steamship operating in the United States. Those are defined comparisons, not a claim that it is the country’s only coal-burning vessel of any kind. Its surviving railcar-ferry design and unusual steam machinery helped earn National Historic Landmark designation in 2016.

You can book a crossing or watch the ship from Ludington’s waterfront. For the wider harbor story, the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum has an exhibit about the Badger’s working life and the railcar-ferry era. Check the current sailing calendar rather than relying on a fixed date: schedules can change by season and weather.