The Car Ferry - S.S. Badger

S.S. Badger passes the Ludington North Pier lighthouse.
5/20/2018   dwm photo

The last time I took the ferry across Lake Michigan, I was five or six years old.

It may have been the S.S. Badger or the Midland.  I don't recall, but learned on this trip the Midland was still going back then.

The ferry travels from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and back.  During the summer it makes two round trips, including a night crossing.

My only memory of the ferry as a child was sitting alone in a room where kids could watch television.  It was a black and white TV and this was before videotape, so it was tuned to the strongest signal it could find.

Cars, bikes, and tractor-trailer rigs can ride the ferry.
5/21/2018   dwm photo

Just where my parents were on the ferry, I have no idea.  I'm sure they were around and probably checked on me often, I don't remember.

As I walked around the ship before we left the dock, it looked familiar.  Passengers make the trip on one of the top two decks or can spring for a private stateroom.

We crossed the big lake on a nice day with almost no wind.  It is hard to imagine the water being more calm than it was for our trip.

Sailing west past Ludington
North Pier light.  5/21/18 (dwm)

There wasn't much sun and it was fairly cool, so I was thankful to have a sweatshirt and jacket to keep warm while walking around the upper deck.

It's a comfortable ride.  On the main deck, there are a couple of concession stands with a variety of food.  There are also signs advising folks prone to motion sickness to take it easy with the food.  A compact gift shop offers mementos and things you might like to pass the time.

The Badger is one of two remaining ships of the fourteen that used to link Wisconsin and Michigan as a railroad over water.  These days, the boat is considered part of U.S. Highway 10.

The S.S. Badger was built in 1952.  It is 410 feet long, 60 feet across, and 7 stories high.  The height was very noticeable as we left the dock in Ludington and seemingly flew past waterfront condominiums

The forward portion of the
upper deck.  5/21/18 (dwm)

Car ferry service began in 1875 to carry railroad cargo from one terminal to the next.  Eventually, the ships were built with railroad tracks so the railroad cars could be loaded on in one place and attach to another locomotive on the other side.

Railroad cars don't make the trip anymore, but large tractor-trailer rigs can avoid the Chicago traffic and save quite a few miles making the trip by water.

The ferry can carry 600 passengers with a 50 person crew.

The Manitowoc Breakwater
light.  5/21/18  (dwm photo)

Riding the ferry was a trip back to younger days for me.  In fact, the S.S. Badger is a National Historic Landmark.  The engines that create 3,500 horse-power are a mechanical engineering landmark recognized by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

The engines are coal-fired like the original ferries.  One difference is that the boat no longer dumps coal ash into the water during the trip.  While the smoke stack leaves a wake across the sky, it is much less than the combined pollution of the cars, trucks, and rigs in the hold.

The experience aboard the S.S. Badger is something folks in the upper Mid-west should consider.  It isn't cheap, but you can't compare it to the cost of driving from Ludington to Manitowoc.

At $59 per person and another $59 for the vehicle - our discounted fare - it was a special part of our vacation.  Smartly, that is how the ferry markets itself.  There are games and movies.  There are crossings at night where you could sleep, or enjoy looking up at the stars from the middle of the dark lake.

A truck rolls off the ship in
Manitowoc, WI.  5/21/18 (dwm)

It is a four hour trip that takes either three or five hours depending on your destination.  Travel from Michigan to Wisconsin and it is only 3 hours on the clock as you fall back to Central Time.  Head to Michigan and the four hour voyage will take five.

The boats run from early May to mid-October with two round-trips a day from June 15 to Labor Day.

While I don't remember much of my first crossing, this one was memorable, relaxing, and fun.