Every traveler has a destination they should have visited years earlier.
Mine was Ludington.
Despite growing up in Michigan and spending years exploring virtually every corner of the Wolverine State — not to mention much of the world — I had somehow never set foot in this city of 7,655 souls on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, the second-largest of the five Great Lakes.
Ludington has an understated appeal. Instead of sprawling resorts with budget-busting prices, the seat of Mason County and a gateway to Up North, as the vaguely defined Northern Michigan region is called, offers the sort of all-American summer vacation that has become increasingly difficult to find.
Visitors stay in modest independent hotels, rent vacation homes or pitch tents at nearby Ludington State Park. That also makes Ludington considerably more affordable than Traverse City and Petoskey farther up the Lake Michigan coast or Door County, Wisconsin.
Downtown is compact, walkable and tidy. Flowers line the streets, American flags flutter from lampposts and storefronts, businesses are largely occupied, and neatly trimmed lawns show civic pride still matters. It feels like the kind of Main Street many communities spend millions trying to recreate but rarely achieve.
The centerpiece is Stearns Park Beach. Its broad stretch of white sand extends roughly 2,550 feet, rivaling beaches in Florida and Texas along the Gulf of America. Admission is free — something unheard of at many comparable beach destinations.
Centuries before vacationers arrived with beach chairs and coolers, French explorers and missionaries navigated these waters by canoe.
The most celebrated was the Rev. Jacques Marquette.
The 17th-century Jesuit missionary evangelized native populations while discovering vast stretches of the interior that would later become part of the United States. He died nearby in 1675 at the age of 37. The site where he was first buried, just outside the city in Pere Marquette Township, is marked today by the Father Marquette Memorial Cross.
Marquette’s legacy remains visible throughout the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. Cities, counties, schools, parks, rivers, lakes and businesses bear his name.
The SS Badger, a 410-foot coal-fired passenger and car ferry, crosses 62 miles of open water between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. More than a tourist attraction, the voyage serves as an extension of U.S. Highway 10, allowing motorists to bypass the considerably longer drive around Lake Michigan. The route dates to more than a century ago, when ferries started to carry railroad cars across Lake Michigan. Watching the Badger steam into port feels like stepping back to a time when ferries were an essential part of the nation’s transportation network rather than nostalgic attractions.
Sometimes the most rewarding journeys aren’t halfway around the world. They’re closer to home.
Ludington was one of those places for me.
If you go
By car, Ludington is about three and a half hours from Detroit, four hours from Chicago and five hours from Indianapolis.
Snyder’s Shoreline Inn is within walking distance of most everything to see and do. Travelers who prefer the familiarity of a chain hotel should book a room at the Holiday Inn Express.
House of Flavors is best known for its ice cream, but it also serves a full menu of comfort food. For a more upscale meal, consider Table 14 or Timbers Prime Steakhouse. The Old Hamlin is a dependable family-style choice.
Pere Marquette Winery, located near the Father Marquette Memorial Cross, produces wines from estate-grown vinifera and hybrid grapes. Its tasting room is open on weekends.
Also worth visiting are Historic White Pine Village, an open-air museum; the Port of Ludington Maritime Museum; and two landmark lighthouses, North Breakwater Light and Big Sable Point Light.
Legacy Plaza hosts the free Live in the Plaza concert series from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Thursday through Aug. 27 and every Friday through Sept. 25. The downtown plaza also hosts a farmers market from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 18.
The Pure Ludington Sunset Beach Bonfire Series at Stearns Park Beach brings together residents and visitors for bonfires, live music and views of the setting sun. The final two events of the summer are July 30 and Aug. 20 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Dennis Lennox writes a travel column for The Christian Post.
Dennis Lennox writes about travel, politics and religious affairs. He has been published in the Financial Times, Independent, The Detroit News, Toronto Sun and other publications. Follow @dennislennox on Twitter.
