Categories: Travel

This scenic B.C. lake is home to the longest free ferry ride in the world

Photo via Shutterstock

Who doesn’t love a scenic ferry ride, especially when it’s free? If you’re currently racking your brain to think of which ferries are free to hop on, here it is: The Kootenay Lake Ferry. Not only is it completely free to ride, but it’s the longest free ferry ride in the world, sailing across one of B.C.’s largest lakes.

It’s definitely a trek to get there from Vancouver, at just over a nine-hour drive. But it’s absolutely worth the visit if you’re in the area this season.

The ferry offers scenic 35-minute trips between Kootenay Bay and Balfour aboard one of two vessels (the M.V. Balfour or the Osprey 2000), with service available year-round.

The ferry currently operates under its summer schedule through Labour Day weekend, after which point it will run a little less frequently. So now is a great time to start planning your trip, because this is your only way to experience this beautiful lake by boat!

Here’s when the Kootenay Lake Ferry operates during the summer months

From Balfour Terminal

6:30 a.m.
8:10 a.m.
9:50 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
1:10 p.m.
2:50 p.m.
4:30 p.m.
6:10 p.m.
7:50 p.m.
9:40 p.m.

From Kootenay Bay Terminal

7:10 a.m.
9 a.m.
10:40 a.m.
12:20 p.m.
2 p.m.
3:40 p.m.
5:20 p.m.
7 p.m.
8:40 p.m.
10:20 p.m.

Know before you go

“When traffic is heavy, the ferries ignore the schedule and unload, reload, and depart as quickly as they can to keep your wait as short as possible,” adds the Kootenay Lake Ferry.

Operators suggest leaving one hour and 15 minutes before the next scheduled departure if you’re heading north from Creston.

If you arrive in between ferries and end up having to wait a bit, it’s not the worst thing! You’re surrounded by sandy beaches, restaurants, and scenic rest stops in both Kootenay Bay and Balfour.

Note that both vessels can accommodate RVS and vehicles of all sizes, though food services are only available aboard the Osprey 2000.

Sailing into a different time zone

While setting your clocks forward and back an hour is officially a thing of the past in B.C., passengers will still technically cross from one time zone to another while on board.

“The east shore of Kootenay Lake to Creston doesn’t ever change its time – it’s on Mountain Standard Time year-round. Mountain Standard Time is the same as Pacific Daylight Time,” says Kootenay Lake Ferry.

The new permanent Pacific time means that B.C. will be aligned with Alberta and MST regions from November until March.

From March until November every year, however, Pacific time is aligned with California, Washington, Oregon, and other areas observing Pacific Daylight Time.