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    Lake Express High-Speed Ferry

    3.7 (26 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Chadrick J.

    Just for the simple fact they get you across the lake and back safely with your vehicle they easily land at four stars. I used to feel like why land in Muskegon the desolate ghost town. I've learned to appreciate the ease of being only 45 minutes or less from Grand Rapids after landing or about an hour away from Big Rapids when I need to head up for an Advisory board meeting at FSU. No matter how you cut it taking the ferry makes life easy and saves miles on the car as well as wear and tear on the vehicle. Most of all you avoid driving through the never-ending hustle of Chicago! Just sit back and relax. You might find a few of the lakefront gems on the Muskegon side one of my favorites being the Lake House Waterfront Grille.

    Early morning Milwaukee departure
    Brianne S.

    So - I truly have mixed thoughts on the ferry. At the end of the day, it's vastly preferable to fighting Chicago/Gary traffic, construction, tolls, and crazy people. This is a fact. On the other hand - it's kind of ridiculously expensive for what you get. I don't understand the rationale of not simply charging "per carload" - my single human self can't possibly add that much more weight to justify almost 100 in addition to the cost of shipping my vehicle. It is easier than flying, and more relaxing when coming home from Detroit, so it is what it is. I have always found the staff to be super helpful and kind (even very early in the morning), and at the height of the pandemic were very insistent upon safety precautions. I wish there was some kind of roof so you could sit outside and not get fried in fine weather. I wish there was wifi in the main cabin (even for pay!). I wish there were more ice cream in the snack bar. But, the trip is efficient, the crossing is safe, and I didn't stress-sweat through my clothing like I do when traversing the Illinois expressways.

    Ferry docking at Muskegon
    Diane S.

    We had a blast. Saved hours of driving through Chicago. We had driven from Southeastern PA to make the 4:45 in Muskegon. We arrived at 3:15 and were the 4th vehicle. Professional service, clean passenger areas. We spent the extra $ to be in the "premier zone" which had very few passengers It was a Tuesday so I'm guessing about 50-60 passengers total. The view comings into Milwaukee is first rate.

    Monitors
    Dallas R.

    We were looking forward to taking the ferry from Muskegon, MI to Milwaukee while avoiding the horrendous traffic driving around Lake Michigan and past Chicago. We went on a wet, windy day and found the ride to be less than pleasant because of pronounced side-to-side rocking. It was too windy to go up on the deck, and the weather wasn't pleasant enough anyway. The cost is quite high even for a pair of seniors with a car. The boarding process is quite efficient (the driver drives his own vehicle onboard) and there is plenty of comfortable seating and tables. There is a counter that offers drinks and limited food choices. Overall the trip expends about four hours (2.5 crossing + 45 min each port to on/offload) which did save some time & much aggravation. It's great to avoid the drive but not sure I'd do it again.

    Rohan D.

    Comfortable fun way to shave off a couple of hours on the trip from Southeast Wisconsin to Western Michigan. The station is nice, although it's best to get here 45 minutes before departure, they can usually handle you up to 20 minutes before if you bought your ticket online. Parking lot seems safe, the station and pier are clean, pretty, it's a good departure or arrival point. The ferry itself is a bit expensive, I suppose it depends on how much your time is worth and how comfortable you are sitting in a car through Chicago area traffic. The main problem with this end of the ferry is that if you come across without a car, either on foot or on a bicycle, you need someone to pick you up unless your destination is Muskegon or bicycle distance from here. To get to Grand Rapids, for example, it's a long two city bus ride to the Greyhound terminal and there are only two departures a day so you have to time it just right, suddenly the time spent is comparable to driving from Milwaukee. As for the Ferry, on a nice day it is a very pleasant ride, much better than driving, any bus, or flying. But it depends on who's on board. It's a little better to pay the slight upcharge to get into premium as there are less loud uncontrolled children (I don't know why people don't have cats instead) but there's no guarantee it will be peaceful. One time although it wasn't filled, there was a group or a person at every table (seats are configured around tables), and the one free table (I wanted to get some reading and work done en route) was next to a group of loud talkers. So annoying. No Internet so I couldn't get work done. I thought I would watch the movie, "A Wrinkle in Time" was such a disappointment but that was okay because if it were a good movie, I would have been even more annoyed as the screen was positioned behind these very bright lights so I couldn't see it very well. And, the loud talkers were loud enough I couldn't hear the movie very well. I think you'll enjoy your trip more if you bring some noise cancelling headphones or hearing protection. The limited menu is good, I especially like the breakfast sandwich. So, same problem on the other end, the Milwaukee Terminal isn't served well by public transportation, it's a long walk to the bus with luggage, and I've had a couple of Uber drivers who had some trouble finding it. But if you take the departure that leaves at the butt crack of dawn you'll enjoy a beautiful sunrise over Lake Michigan.

    Coach seats
    Brian A.

    Great ride, seats were clean, not super comfy but overall a good trip. $215 for a car and me which seemed pretty expensive but worth not having to go through Chicago traffic to head east. Snack bar food was decent and service was very good. I'd def take it again. .

    Rachel F.

    Pricey but worth it! There's no easy way to get to Kalamazoo from Milwaukee. 1.) Fly to Detroit, rent a car, rock two hours west, 2.) car ferry across the lake and rock an hour and a half from Muskegon to KZoo, or 3.) roadtrip it. Now, when roadtripping I'm generally playing passenger, and since my better half wasn't accompanying me on this quick jaunt to our Easterly, mitten-y neighbor I elected to go w/ option numero dos. (Take the ferry across Lake Michigan rather than drive solo and carve south along the lake = easy and sort of adventurous, right?) Yup. So glad I chose door number two! It was quick and easy to board, the staff was friendly and professional and the vessel itself? Clean and comfortable. It's also a super rad experience if you're into gazing at and pondering calm depths simultaneously. (Sometimes it's not calm, apparently, but both to and fro were pretty smooth sailing on my voyage.) Drawback: price, esp. when traveling w/ a car (it's a little steep). Otherwise, smooth sailing and an excellent option!

    Marc B.

    Thought we'd take the Ferry over rather than make the miserable drive around the south curve of Lake Michigan. Easy boarding and friendly people. They show a movie on-board (pay for headphones) and have a little cafe counter with sandwiches and drinks. The boat is a jet-propelled high-speed catamaran. If the weather is nice you can walk out on the deck. If it's cold outside, it can be a little chilly indoors. Bring a jacket. BE AWARE: I really liked it but there were some pretty rough waters coming over. 5-7 foot waves tossed the little catamaran about in the water and a number of people got sick. The cleanup crew was quite busy calmly walking around with disinfectant and towels.

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    7 years ago

    Great, easy fast ferry! Very rapid loading and unloading. Decent galley with great beers. No WiFi though.

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    8 years ago

    The trip was so much easier than driving around Chicago. Hope to travel this ferry again.

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    Ask the Community - Lake Express High-Speed Ferry

    Review Highlights - Lake Express High-Speed Ferry

    BUT the ride was smooth, the breeze felt great, and when Milwaukee came into view---it was Beautiful!

    Mentioned in 11 reviews

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    Lake Express High-Speed Ferry - transport - Updated July 2026

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