In 1769 Jonathan Warner set up a ferry over the Connecticut River between Chester and the Hadlyme side of Lyme. It kept his name, Warner's Ferry, until 1877, when the towns of Chester and Lyme took it over; it has been the Chester–Hadlyme Ferry since 1882, and part of the state highway system since 1917. During the Revolutionary War the crossing moved supplies, and Connecticut has since listed it as a State Historic Landmark.
Today the river is crossed by a car ferry that runs on demand, without a timetable, from April 1 to November 30. This fall that calendar met a breakdown: the boat went to the shipyard in early September for seals and dry-dock work, and the state's traffic site was still showing it as closed on September 23. No closure was listed on the evening of October 6.
Upstream in Hartford County, CTDOT's Rocky Hill–Glastonbury ferry keeps the same hours and charges the same fares, with a three-car barge pushed by a towboat instead of a self-propelled boat.
Open windows instead of departures, until the end of November
Hours and season as published by CTDOT, read October 7, 2026; service status from the CTroads ferry list updated October 6, 2026 at 7:34 p.m. CTDOT — Chester-Hadlyme Ferry · 2026-10-07
What a crossing costs: $5 Monday to Friday, $6 at weekends, $2 without a car
Payment happens on the boat. The deckhand takes cash or a check, and the department asks for exact change. The phone alternative is Token Transit, where the state's two river ferries share one agency listing, CTferry; an activated ticket expires after ten minutes, so wait until you reach the ramp before switching it on.
A motorcycle is charged like a car. Anyone crossing on foot or with a bicycle pays a flat $2 whatever the day.
| Car, SUV, truck or motorcycle, Monday–Friday | $ 5 |
| Car, SUV, truck or motorcycle, Saturday–Sunday | $ 6 |
| Commuter book, 20 vehicle crossings | $ 60 |
| Pedestrian | $ 2 |
| Bicyclist | $ 2 |
Fares from CTDOT's ferry page and the CTferry listing in Token Transit, both read October 7, 2026 CTDOT — Chester-Hadlyme Ferry, ferry operations and tickets · 2026-10-07
Ferry Road in Chester, the castle hill in Hadlyme
Both ramps are the ends of a state highway, with nothing to book and nowhere to check in: drive down, join the line and pay on board.
Chester Ferry Landing
The west-bank ramp is where Route 148 runs out of road. CTDOT sends drivers off Route 9 at exit 6, onto Route 148 east, and then follows its own ferry signs down Ferry Road to the water. If the boat is on the far side, you wait at the ramp; with no timetable, it comes back as soon as it has unloaded.
Chester is the Middlesex County side. The federal ferry-terminal file records parking at this landing, but the state publishes nothing about spaces or rules, so treat the line of cars at the ramp as a queue rather than a parking lot.
Hadlyme Ferry Landing
On the east bank Route 148 climbs straight away from the ramp toward Lyme. The landing area belongs to Gillette Castle State Park, whose stone castle stands about 200 feet above the river, and the state's art-trail panels near the ramp reproduce nineteenth-century paintings of this reach of the river.
Walkers coming off the boat can reach the park grounds without a car; the castle interior, though, opens only for scheduled tours.
Gillette Castle's stretch of the Connecticut, ramp to ramp
The two ramps face each other across the Connecticut about a quarter of a mile apart (measured by us on the federal ferry-terminal coordinates, not a CTDOT figure). The boat does not turn: the Selden III has an engine, a propeller and a rudder at each end and simply reverses its direction for the trip back.
Route 148 is the road the ferry carries: on a map the highway simply stops at one ramp and starts again at the other, Chester on the Middlesex County bank and Lyme on the New London County bank. CTDOT lists Gillette Castle State Park, Goodspeed Musicals and the Essex Connecticut River Double Cross bike loop among the trips the ferry serves.
Making the most of the last weeks of the season
- Look at CTroads before you leave
The state lists in-season closures there, and offers ferry alerts that arrive by text message or email. Pick the entry named Chester - Hadlyme Ferry, not the Rocky Hill one.
- Bring small bills
Cash or a check on board, exact change preferred. Token Transit works too, as long as you activate the ticket just before boarding.
- Castle tours end on Columbus Day
Gillette Castle's fall tours run on weekends and holidays through Columbus Day, October 12 this year; the interior then shuts until the Friday-to-Sunday holiday tours between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The park grounds stay open daily.
- Cyclists ride for two dollars
The $2 fare applies every day, which is why the crossing appears on the Essex-area river loop that the state promotes for bicycles.
- Weekends start late
On Saturdays and Sundays the first crossing is not before 10:30 a.m., and the crew stops at 5 p.m.
From Warner's Ferry to a hybrid replacement
Few crossings in the country have tried as many kinds of boat. The state's own history lists poled barges, sail barges, a barge driven by two horses on treadmills turning small side wheels, three steam sidewheelers in turn (Emily A. Wright, Middlesex and Cheslyme), then gasoline tugs with a barge (Selden, Pattaconk and Selden II). When the state took over the river ferries in 1917 there were three; Bissell's ferry was closed in 1925 for lack of traffic.
The Selden III was ordered in 1941, but wartime steel shortages held her up until 1949, when Luders Shipyard in Stamford launched her for $109,000 to a design by Winthrop "Wink" Warner. Unfinished ramps kept her off the river until the spring of 1950. She is 64 feet 8 inches long, carries eight or nine cars and up to 49 passengers, and soaks up 12 to 14 gallons of paint a year. In August 2026 CTDOT announced $6.4 million from the Federal Transit Administration and $1.6 million from the state to replace her with a diesel-hybrid vessel; no date for the new boat has been given. Its 2025 count came to more than 60,600 passengers and 27,900 vehicles.
Chester–Hadlyme questions for October and November
When does the Chester–Hadlyme ferry close for 2026?
Monday, November 30, 2026. CTDOT's season is April 1 to November 30, with one day off inside it: Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 26.
Is it running again after the September repairs?
CTDOT suspended service on September 8 for dry-dock maintenance and seal replacement. CTroads still listed it as closed on September 23, but showed no closure on the evening of October 6. The department has not announced the reopening in a press release, so check CTroads on the day.
Does the boat keep a timetable?
Not one with times. The boat crosses whenever vehicles or passengers arrive: on weekdays from 7 a.m. until 6:45 p.m., at weekends from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m.
What does a car pay on a Saturday?
$6 per vehicle each way, against $5 Monday to Friday. A book of 20 crossings costs $60 and is sold on board.
Can I visit Gillette Castle by ferry in late October?
You can reach the park, which sits on the hill above the Hadlyme landing and whose grounds open daily. The castle's fall tours, however, end on Columbus Day (October 12, 2026) and only return with the holiday program between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Why does the Selden III never turn around?
She is double-ended, with a diesel engine, propeller and rudder at each end, so she simply runs back the other way. She has been on this crossing since the spring of 1950.
Is the Chester–Hadlyme ferry the same as the Rocky Hill ferry?
They are different crossings. Both belong to CTDOT and share hours and fares, but Rocky Hill–Glastonbury is farther up the river, in Hartford County, and uses a three-car barge with a towboat.