Nearby are Ludington State Park (which includes the Big Sable Point Light), Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, and Manistee National Forest.

Ludington is the home port of the SS Badger, a vehicle and passenger ferry with daily service in the summer across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

In 1675, Father Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer, died and was laid to rest near the modern site of Ludington.

In 1845, Burr Caswell moved to the area near the mouth of the Pere Marquette River as a location for trapping and fishing.

Restored in 1976 by the Mason County Historical Society, the structure stands today as a part of White Pine Village, a museum consisting of several restored and replica Mason County buildings (see external links).

[7] The area's population boom in the late 19th century was due to these sawmills and also the discovery of salt deposits.

With all of this commerce occurring, Ludington became a major Great Lakes shipping port.

[citation needed] In 1875, the Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) began cross-lake shipping operations with the sidewheel steamer SS John Sherman.

It became apparent quite early that the John Sherman was not large enough to handle the volume of freight, and the F&PM Railroad contracted with the Goodrich Line of Steamers to handle the break bulk freight out of the Port of Ludington.

[citation needed] In 1897, the F&PM railroad constructed the first steel car ferry, the Pere Marquette.

This was the beginning of the creation of a fleet of ferries to continue the rail cargo across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

[citation needed] Ludington has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) bordering on the hot-summer subtype Dfa seen further south in Michigan.

Winters are cold and snowy, and summers too are moderated by Lake Michigan, with the record high being below 100 °F (38 °C).

In town, there are Whitehall Industries, a division of the UACJ group (aluminum extrusion and aluminum fabrication), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (manufacturer of calcium chloride products), Great Lakes Castings Corporation, Amptech, Inc., and Carrom Company.

In the 1970s, WKLA-FM (Adult Contemporary) and WKZC-FM (Country, licensed to nearby Scottville) were added.