A Second World War submarine moored on the edge of an inland lake: that sums up Muskegon well, a Michigan port city where American naval history has gathered hundreds of kilometres from the ocean. Great Lakes cruise ships dock at Heritage Landing, a riverside park right downtown, and most attractions can be reached on foot or in a few minutes by vehicle.

A Fleet of Museums

Muskegon Lake, the sheltered body of water separating the city from Lake Michigan, is home to a collection of museum ships rare in North America:

• The USS Silversides, a Gato-class submarine commissioned shortly after Pearl Harbor: fourteen Pacific patrols, twenty-three enemy ships sunk, twelve battle stars. You move through its narrow passageways, between torpedoes and stacked bunks, guided by enthusiasts who know every lever on board.
• The USS LST 393, one of the few surviving D-Day landing ships, converted into a veterans' museum; its decks carried tanks and soldiers to the beaches of Normandy.
• The SS Milwaukee Clipper, a Roaring Twenties passenger ship, recalling the days when people made the crossing to Wisconsin in their Sunday best, with an orchestra and a movie theatre on board.

Depending on where your ship is berthed, a short ride may be needed to reach the Silversides, located near the channel leading to Lake Michigan.

The Lumber Barons

Before the grey hulls, there were the logs. At the end of the 19th century, Muskegon sawed entire forests and shipped its lumber to Chicago; the fortunes built then left spectacular traces. The Hackley and Hume homes, two neighbouring Victorian residences built by lumber magnates, can be visited with their carved woodwork, stained glass and turrets. Charles Hackley, the more flamboyant of the two, bequeathed parks, a library and a hospital to his city, so his name still appears almost everywhere in the streets. The neighbouring downtown, dotted with murals and craft breweries, lends itself to a stroll without a set itinerary.

Sand and Water

The city also owes its reputation to its beaches. Pere Marquette Beach stretches its pale sand facing the open water, with a red lighthouse at the end of the breakwater and waves that make you doubt you are on a lake. It can be reached in a few minutes by taxi or shuttle; the water stays cool even in summer, which stops neither swimmers nor boarders. The curious may prefer to watch the comings and goings in the channel: the fast ferry to Milwaukee, sailboats, tugs and, on good days, a Great Lakes freighter several hundred metres long.

Planning Your Stop

Half a day is enough to combine the Silversides and the lumber barons' homes; a full day lets you add the beach, the Milwaukee Clipper or simply a terrace table downtown. Distances are modest, parking is plentiful and drivers are chatty: ask them what the city was like in the sawmill days, and the conversation will last all the way to your destination. A renowned farmers' market also livens up downtown on certain days of the week, a chance to taste the region's cherries and blueberries in season.

This port of call surprises with its density: from the Pacific War to forest fortunes, from beach sand to steel passageways, everything fits within a few square kilometres around a lake. You leave Muskegon having crossed a century and a half of American history, thinking, as you lean on the railing while the red lighthouse recedes, that the Great Lakes have nothing to envy the seas.