Of all the ferries in the world, this is one.
Before I took this trip, I didn’t know this ferry even existed, but I soon found out it has been around in one form or another since even before this lake was created. Aunt Lynette comes to visit me in the Missouri Ozarks each fall, and we decided we’d include this ferry in our fall foliage tour.
Approaching from the west side, the road down to the water is pretty steep, and even though you’re driving onto the ferry, it feels slightly odd:
Once you’re on board, you wait for more vehicles until the ferry fills up, and then you’re off to the other side of the lake, approximately 3/4 of a mile away. The ferry carries more than 30k vehicles per year across the lake, operates year round during daylight hours, and only stops service during bad weather.
Once underway, passengers are allowed to mill about and visit with other passengers or the crew, though these cyclists may have stayed on their bikes just to ensure the bikes weren’t jostled over. Everyone was exceedingly friendly on our brief trip.
For those interested, our ride was a rented Crown Vic LX with the sport suspension and big wheels. It handled the twisty, hilly southern Missouri/northern Arkansas roads with aplomb, though it is also true that aunt Lynette is not an aggressive driver. (She did, however, report a recent incident where she had to dust a guy with her Hemi-equipped AWD 300C.)
The trip takes about 40 minutes from driving on to driving off, but it felt like about 4. It was a really nice day for November, and we enjoyed this unusual (for middle America) journey into Arkansas.
The leaves, by the way, were fantastic.
I love the Ozarks. I’ve never made the ferry though, I actually didn’t even know it existed. Next time out that way I may have to run it.
I’ve done the Lake Michigan CarFerry from Manitowoc, Wi to Ludington, Mi. That was awesome. This year I think the mongrels and I are going to either do the Milwaukee, Wi to Muskegon, Mi Ferry across Lake Michigan or the Cassville Ferry from Cassville, Wi to Turkey Creek, Ia. across the Mississippi.
Boats, Cars and road trips.. I’m easy to please!
Impala, Crown Victoria, and 300 C? What year was it? Just kidding guys. Your Aunt Lynette makes me think of my Great Aunt Kessie agressively driving her 4.9V8 equiped DeVille. Love it when the old folks can afford 8 cyl and know how to use them.
Ooooh, I hope she forgives you for “old folks!” She’s in her 50s!!
Love these little ferries. It reminds me of a number of ferries like this back when I lived in the midwest and Maryland. Used to be quite a lot of them, over rivers before more bridges were built. There’s something so very relaxing about a ferry ride; takes one back to a slower life. There’s a lot fewer out West, it seems.
There’s still a ferry or two in operation on the Willamette River not all that far downstream from you. We got there too late or on the wrong day to ride one a couple of years ago.
I was going to mention one I remember riding across the Willamette in 2001 or so. aaandd… found it: the Wheatland Ferry
Mr. Tactful, I hope you paid a visit to Arkansas Highway 7 North from Arkadelphia to Harrison. One of Car & Driver’s Top 10 driving destinations and a favorite of mine.
Not that day, no. That’s a fair bit west and south of where we were generally.
I’ve never tried 7, but now I will! It’s really not too far from me here in beautiful SpringVegas.
I took one of these nostalgic ferries across Chautauqua lake at Bemus Point in NY. I grew up on the lake and never used the ferry until after I moved to Florida. What a great memory!
that parting shot was wonderful. I wonder if this is the same ferry that Josie Wales and the ‘kid took to escape the nasty Red Legs Terrell.
Last ferry I took was at the bottom of the Hatteras Peninsula (Ocracoke) where you have no choice but a two (?) hour ferry ride back to Atlantic Beach NC. Did it in mid September during my first ‘wander’ down the East Coast to Florida in the convertible 5.0 mustang — love ferries and sunny weather!
If you make it to Galveston there is a ferry between the bolivar peninsula and the island. Biggest difference is the dolphins.
Longest one I took was in 1966 from Gander Newfoundland over to Port Au Basque (spelling french correctly is optional) Nova Scotia.
Ferries are fun unless you happen to be on one that is overloaded and capsizes. Bad thought.
Methinks you went from Port Aux Basques in Newfoundland to Sydney Nova Scotia.
Great trip in the right weather.
Trouble is there is nothing decent to eat in Port Aux Basques unless you like salted fish. And it is quite a ways to Sydney. (Pack your lunch).
Old timers disease has removed many particulars. It was in 1966 and included 7k miles in 35 days in a new vw. What it did not remove was memories of the beauty of the maritimes. The brick streets of Antigonish (probably spelled wrong too) were beautiful. Can’t remember today if that was Nova Scotia or New Brunswick. After a year in Newfoundland it just reinforced my feeling that Canada is Beautiful.
At least they are truthful in calling it a ferry barge since it looks more like a barge than a ferry. But then again I’m from the Seattle area where most ferries are quite large often 2 car decks and a cafeteria area where you can buy beer, though they stop selling it 15min (IIRC) before docking time, though there are a few of those little ferries around here.
In regards to the CV unless you rented it in Saudi Arabia or from a place that rents used cars it had the standard suspension as the availability of the HPP package on CVs in North America died with the retail spec CVs. They just fitted the fleet spec CVs with the 17″ wheels from the LX-sport reportedly to increase their resale value of the contracted buy backs.
Several small ferry routes up here in British Columbia…Balfour to Kootenay Bay on Kootenay Lake, Needles to Faquier on The Arrow Lakes and between Galena Bay and Shelter Bay on Upper Arrow Lake. Many more across rivers and lakes all over BC and best of all….every one of them are free!!
http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/marine/ferry_schedules.htm