Ludington, MI - our homeport
by Dave and Judy Jones
We
only moved north to Ludington for one year after spending a number of seasons at
the Whitehall Municipal Marina.
A declining number of seasonal slip holders, dwindling transient traffic and indifferent support led to us looking around
at other ports within a reasonable driving distance of our home in Portage, MI. We were somewhat spoilt by the location
at Whitehall with great views from the upper deck over the park and White Lake but the time had come to move on. We did
consider other marinas on the Lake but, with the exception of Ellenwood Landings, nothing beat the facilities and views at the
Muni.
Our search was primarily to the North although we did consider southern ports. A key factor was that our cruises usually take
us North, so to head in that direction made sense. Even though we were already a 1½ hour drive away from home, an additiona
l drive of up to an hour was not out of the question as we usually travel to the boat on Wednesday evenings and depart early on
Thursday, returning Sunday. The trip from the Marina to the pier
head took us 20 – 25 minutes anyway.
After ruling out Pentwater due to limited availability and cost, we looked seriously at Ludington. We had docked there the
previous summer and enjoyed the town. After considering each of the main marinas, we chose Harbor View and were fortunate
to get a slip at the end of the dock with a great view down the channel over the park to the Big Lake. While more expensive than
the adjacent Muni, Harbor View has floating docks, good power options for a NT with double outlets, cable TV, a pool and an
excellent clubhouse. The only drawback is the Badger Ferry. Early and late in the season, the ferry only makes one crossing to
Manitowoc and overnights in Ludington with boilers fired. A SW wind carries the airborne particulate over the marina and
deposits it on the boat. We soon learnt that the first thing you do in the morning is to quickly hose the boat down. Winds from
other directions are not a problem. The Marina staff do give the boats a quick hose down on Thursday, before most people arrive
at their boats. The great news is the Badger will probably convert to oil by 2012. Transient fees are relatively high but diesel
prices are good.
Entering the channel, both the Muni (first) and Harborview (second – look for the ferry) are on the port side, accessed
through fairly narrow openings in the rip-rap prtotected seawall.
Both marinas are just a short walk (few minutes) North to the downtown area. Most of the downtown is spread along the
main street of about six blocks (US 10) with several of the side streets having some stores. At the West end of the downtown
street lies the Ludington pierhead and the City Beach just to the North. For the more athletic with bikes, you can head East on
residential streets, then turn North to hit US 10 and continue east to the big stores, Walmart, Lowes, Meijers, etc. Just past the
hospital (walk able) is a large True Value Hardware store with an excellent selection of tools, supplies and SS fasteners.
There is a bus service from
downtown so enquire at the marina.
Downtown only recently acquired a supermarket on the North side of the main street heading towards the beach.
Although small, it is a very upscale store with great meat and fish, local produce and a big wine selection – good opening hours.
For the more basic
needs, the 7-11 opposite is OK.
Just beyond the supermarket is the House of Flavors (but not just an ice cream shop). Ludington is the home of HOF, which
originally was a dairy. The interior includes many historic items from the old dairy and an extensive collection of early 50s
memorabilia. They serve an excellent breakfast as well as the traditional
selection of ice cream.
One disadvantage to Ludington is the lack of a marine store. For some reason, WM did not make it several years ago. The
closest is in Pentwater, opposite the Municipal Marina.
Key
Attractions
City
Park between Harborview and the City Marina with interesting bronze sculptures
Book
Nook – books and coffee near Harborview.
Redolencia Coffeehouse- really laid back coffee shop (limited snacks) with live
music at the weekends
Le
Serving Spoon (on main street) – great deli sandwiches
House
of Flavors – check out both the breakfast and the ice cream
Free
movie nights in the Park next to HOF in summer (bring your chairs and get there
early) as it turn
Walk
to the pier head and watch the sunset
Watch
the Badger dock from the boat or the seawall, quite an impressive maneuver as
it turns into the slip
Visit
the beach at the end of the main street
If you have a bike, bike along the shore to Ludington State Park and a bit further north to Big Sable Lighthouse (8 miles
from Ludington). Pentwater is about 15 miles south with
one big hill – ride around Bass Lake
Restaurants:
Jamesport Brewing Company, James Street Station (pub), PM Steamers (bit
overpriced); Luciano’s
Farmer’s
Market on Thursday in season
Childrens’
Museum
In summary, Ludington feels like a small town (year round population of ~10,000) with a significant tourist influx with
all the amenities one needs and more if you want to take a long walk or a short bike ride. Great beaches and sunsets.
If you like Frankfort, you will like Ludington