Set Anchor

Step back in time and tour a WWII submarine and a Prohibition-Era Coast Guard cutter; learn about underwater technology robotics; or become an honorary crew member of an historic vessel of the high seas.

Maritime history, excitement expense and mystery all await the visitor at the Great Lakes Naval Memorial and Museum in Muskegon. The facility features permanent museum space, theater and gift shop as well as self-guided tours of the World War II submarine and Coast Guard vessel docked alongside. The complex, located near the Pere Marquette Park on Lake Michigan, welcomes visitors with an opportunity to tour one of the most decorated of World War II submarines, USS Silversides. This impressive vessel is called The Lucky Boat because she survived extensive battle in her heyday. The Silversides was commissioned by the Navy eight days after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was responsible for sinking 23 ships and damaging another 14 and is a National Historic Landmark.

The Coast Guard vessel USCGC McLane is referred to as Buck-and-a-Quarter for her 125-foot length. Her colorful career began in 1927 with intercepting Prohibition-era bootleggers or Rum Runners to confiscate and destroy their boatloads of illegal booze. McLane performed search and rescue in Alaska, and patrolled the Bering Sea during World War II.

Ask about the overnight encampment program and become an official "crew member" for a night--"Aye Aye" Captain!