Wahkiakum Ferry Schedules 2026

The Oscar B is the last ferry operating on the lower Columbia River. It crosses a state line — Washington to Oregon — it runs 365 days a year, it takes about twelve minutes, and it takes cash only.

The crossing turned 100 in 2025

The Wahkiakum–Westport ferry marked its hundredth anniversary on 21 June 2025. Wahkiakum County itself has operated the service since 1962, so the county took over a crossing that was already nearly forty years old. Where a bridge would have ended a service like this decades ago, here the boat simply carried on.

On the hour one way, quarter past the other

Departures from the Washington side leave on the hour, every hour, from 05:00 to 22:00. From Westport, Oregon they leave at quarter past, 05:15 to 22:15. Our data records 18 departures in each direction, which is exactly that hourly pattern, at 15 minutes a crossing against the operator’s stated average of about 12. There is no seasonal timetable and no reduced Sunday service. Every day is this day.

Six dollars for a car

The fare table is short and it scales hard with length. A car or truck under 22 feet is $6 and its passengers ride free. A foot passenger alone pays $2, a bicycle $3, a motorcycle $4, a motorcycle with trailer $5. Above 22 feet it climbs steeply: $12 to 30 feet, $18 to 40, $36 to 50, $40 to 55, $44 to 60, $52 to 70 and $60 for 70 to 75 feet. A long haulage rig pays ten times what a car pays.

The commuter book is the real fare

Frequent traveller tickets carry no expiry date, and the discount is substantial. A 44-trip vehicle book costs $144 — about $3.27 a crossing against the $6 walk-up, a saving of roughly 45%. A 22-trip vehicle book is $78, pedestrians $26, bicycles $39 and motorcycles $52 for 22 trips. For anyone living on one bank and working on the other, the book is not an offer, it is the price.

The Washington dock is not in Cathlamet

Our listing names the northern terminal for Cathlamet, the county seat, but the ferry actually leaves from the dock on Puget Island, reached from Cathlamet by bridge. If you are navigating to it, aim for the island rather than the town centre. The Oregon end is at Westport.

Before you drive down

A single-vessel, cash-only service that runs every day of the year has one obvious failure mode: maintenance. The county publishes closures and schedule changes on its own ferry pages and keeps a dedicated information line on 360-795-7867. On a crossing with no alternative for many miles in either direction, that call is worth making before you commit to the drive.