Climb Aboard The SS Badger

Embark on a four-hour adventure aboard the last coal-fired passenger steamship in the U.S.

Passengers who wouldn’t be caught dead playing Bingo in their home towns rush to the lounge aboard the S.S. Badger when it’s game time. I know, because I’m one of them. For years I coveted the deck of Badger playing cards. When I did win, it was always after someone else had already chosen the cards. It was so frustrating that I whined to a couple seated at my table during a crossing last year, giving them my tale of woe.

To my great surprise, the woman won the very next game. She picked the cards, and she gave them to me. The free Bingo playing, with Badger-related prizes, is a seasonal thing because the Badger’s crossing of Lake Michigan is seasonal. This year, beginning May 16. The huge car ferry sails between Ludington, Michigan, and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. It’s part of my route to northeastern Minnesota, where I grew up.
It’s a four-hour cruise, covering 60 miles. The Badger’s water route is even considered to be part of U.S. 10. It eliminates driving all the way to the Mackinac Bridge and then across most of the Upper Peninsula. It also means no driving through Chicago. Ahhhhh. And it’s just plain fun.

“The Badger offers a really unique experience,” says Thom Hawley, in public relations. “It’s like nothing else in the world. Millions of people have crossed on the Badger. It’s one of the most traveled ships in the world.”

The Badger, which first sailed in 1953, is big – 410 feet long, seven stories tall. It was built to haul railroad cars across the lake. Loaded railroad cars. All year long. In 1992 she experienced a re-birth; now she carries up to 600 passengers and 180 vehicles. Cars, motorcycles, RVs, tour buses, 18-wheelers. Even the Budweiser Clydesdales.

It’s mantra? “Big ship. More fun.”

A cruise can include napping, but really? More often passengers walk the outside decks, sun on the chairs on the forward deck, take in a movie, play arcade games, and absorb some Badger history in the museum. The “boatique” offers great items that include T-shirts, sweatshirts, baseball caps, mugs, post cards. Meals are available in the Upper Deck Café. The Badger Galley, “a bingoholic’s dream stop,” has stadium-style oods. The soft pretzel gets my nod every time. And yes, you’ll find alcoholic drinks at a couple bars.

Live entertainment is generally on the upper deck.

“Explore the ship,” Hawley says. “There’s a lot to see.”

The Badger makes one round trip daily during the shoulder seasons. A second round-trip at night sails June 20-Sept 1. Sunsets on the westbound cruise can be stunning, and so romantic. With no city lights, stargazing is often spellbinding. And if sleeping is your thing, staterooms are available.

A video map in the lounge shows where you are in live time as you cross the lake.
Passengers typically sail with their vehicles, which are driven onto and off the ship by Badger personnel. Passengers do not have access to their vehicles during the crossing.

Pets stay in their owners’ vehicles or in the ship’s kennels. A wellness check, about halfway across the lake, allows passengers to visit their pets for a few minutes. “They’re part of the family, too, and you want to check up on them and see that they’re OK,” Hawley says.

Round-trip mini cruises at a discounted fare are available to passengers without a vehicle returning within 48 hours.

Shoreline cruises, with the Badger sailing along the coast for two hours, begin in June. Four cruises are scheduled for Ludington, four for Manitowoc. They’re perfect for those who want a short ship experience. Think date night, or to introduce kids to a ship experience.

A National Historic Landmark. the Badger is the last coal-fired passenger steamship in operation in the United States. The corporation is studying alternative fuel sources to become more environmentally sound.