Kentucky has ferries at ten places, and the Transportation Cabinet sorts them by who pays: one federal, two private, seven funded by the state. Augusta sits in the state-funded group, yet it differs from every other member in one way — the boat is owned by a nonprofit authority rather than a county or the state, which is also why it cannot tap the federal ferryboat money that pays for new boats elsewhere. Downriver at Cave-in-Rock, where Kentucky splits the cost with Illinois, the crossing was free on the cabinet's 2013 sheet. At Augusta a car pays seven dollars, in cash.
What you get for that is a direct hop across the Ohio between two roads that otherwise never meet: KY 8 through Augusta, in Bracken County, and US 52 along the Ohio bank in Brown County. The boat is the Jenny Ann, the operator is the Augusta Ferry Authority, Inc., and the City of Augusta hosts its hours, fares and status notice on the municipal website.
Compared with the state-run tug on Kentucky Lake at the Benton–Houston Ferry, where Tennessee charges walk-ons fifty cents, this is a pricier and more self-reliant operation. Compared with Kentucky's free federal crossing inside Mammoth Cave National Park, the Green River Ferry, it is a working commuter link rather than a park road.
Eight to eight on the river, with the last Kentucky departure at 7:45
Hours as published by the City of Augusta and read on October 1, 2026; the 8-to-8 pattern also appears in the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's ferry listings. Year-round, no winter timetable. City of Augusta — The Augusta Ferry · 2026-10-01
Seven dollars a car, one way, and bring cash
Every fare is per direction, and the ferry takes cash only, so a round trip by car is two payments of seven dollars. Regular users can buy a book of ten passes for $60, which brings a car crossing down to six dollars.
| Car or pickup truck | $ 7 |
| Trailer | $ 3 |
| Motorcycle | $ 3 |
| Semi with trailer | $ 15 |
| Walk-on passenger | $ 1 |
| Book of 10 passes | $ 60 |
Fares dated August 1, 2022 by the City of Augusta, still posted on October 1, 2026 City of Augusta — The Augusta Ferry: Prices as of August 1, 2022 · 2026-10-01
Main Street in Augusta, a turnout on US 52 in Ohio
You will find no ticket office or waiting room at either landing, and the ferry takes cash only.
Augusta landing
The Kentucky ramp is right in town: follow Main Street north until it meets Riverside Drive and the river, a few blocks from City Hall at 219 Main. The state route through Augusta is KY 8, which is how drivers from Maysville or Northern Kentucky arrive.
The federal ferry inventory lists no parking at this end, so walk-on passengers are better off leaving a car in town and walking the last blocks down Main Street to the water.
Boude's Ferry landing
On the Ohio bank there is no town at all, just a ramp beside US 52 roughly a mile downstream of Higginsport. It still carries the name of John Boude, who started the crossing, and the federal inventory files it under Georgetown, the Brown County seat.
Coming along US 52 from Cincinnati or from Ripley, look for the turnout between the highway and the water; the USGS topographic map marks the ferry line leaving from that point.
Six hundred meters from a Kentucky street grid to a bare Ohio bank
From ramp to ramp the Ohio is a little over 600 meters wide here — under half a mile. The boat crosses almost straight over, angling slightly downstream on the way north, as the ferry line on the USGS map shows.
On the Kentucky side the landing is part of a small river town; on the Ohio side it is a gap in the trees along US 52. That contrast is the reason the ferry exists: it is the direct road link between KY 8 and US 52 on this stretch of the river.
Crossing the Ohio at Augusta without surprises
- Cash, and the right change
The city's own notice says cash only. A car is $7 each way, a walk-on $1, a motorcycle $3.
- Mind the 7:45 last boat
The final trip from Kentucky is at 7:45 p.m. The service day ends at 8 p.m. on both banks.
- River level decides
An Ohio River ferry can be stopped by high water, low water or wind. Call (606) 756-3291 or read the notice on the city home page before a long detour becomes your only option.
- Watch before you drive
The city's ferry page streams a live camera of the crossing, which is the quickest way to see whether the Jenny Ann is moving.
- Ten-pass books for regulars
A book of ten passes costs $60. For someone crossing to work every weekday, it is the cheapest way over.
- Christmas is the one day off
The ferry runs every other day of the year, weekends and holidays included, on the same 8-to-8 hours.
John Boude's hand-worked ferry and the nonprofit that keeps it going
The city dates the service to April 2, 1798, when John Boude began carrying passengers between Kentucky and Ohio on a ferry moved by hand. Kentucky had been a state for six years. The Ohio landing still bears his name, and the city describes the Augusta Ferry as one of the oldest ferry services still operating anywhere on the Ohio River.
Keeping it going is now a matter of budgets. Kentucky's long-range transportation plan for 2022–2045 assumes the Augusta Ferry will need one complete replacement — towboat and barge together — within that period, and records the operator's own estimate of $3.5 million for it. Because the owner is a 501(c)(3), that cost sits in the state's needs list rather than in the federal ferryboat program. The same plan uses the pay of an experienced Augusta deckhand, $45,000 a year, as its benchmark for crewing costs across Kentucky's ferries.
The boats
What drivers ask before taking the Jenny Ann
Is this the ferry at Cincinnati?
No. The Augusta Ferry runs well upstream of Cincinnati, in Bracken County, between Augusta and Boude's landing near Higginsport. Kentucky's transportation cabinet lists the Cincinnati-area crossing separately, as a different, privately run ferry.
When does the Jenny Ann make its last trip from Augusta?
The last trip from the Kentucky side leaves at 7:45 p.m. The ferry operates from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day except Christmas.
Can I pay the Augusta Ferry with a card?
No. The City of Augusta's notice says the Jenny Ann is cash only. A car or pickup is $7 each way and a walk-on passenger $1.
How do I know the Jenny Ann is running when the Ohio is high?
Call (606) 756-3291, look at the one-line status notice on the City of Augusta's home page, or open the live ferry camera on the city's ferry page. Kentucky's cabinet notes that high or low water, wind and weather can all close its ferries.
Is there a cheaper rate for people who cross every day?
Yes: a book of 10 passes costs $60, compared with $7 per single car crossing.
Can a semi use the Augusta Ferry?
The city's fare list includes a semi with trailer at $15 each way, so yes, within whatever limits the crew sets on the day.
On the Ohio bank, where does the Jenny Ann come ashore?
At Boude's Ferry landing, beside US 52 about one mile west of Higginsport in Brown County. There is no village at the landing itself.