Check which of the three tables you are traveling under before you look at a single departure time. The Madeline Island Ferry Line does not publish one schedule for the fall and winter — it publishes September 8 to November 1, then November 2 to 29, then a third headed November 30 until heavy ice, 2027, each one thinner than the one before. Turning up with the wrong table in your head is the standard way to miss a boat here.
The route itself never changes: Bayfield to La Pointe, about two and a half miles across the channel at the western end of Lake Superior, in 20 to 25 minutes. Five car ferries share the work, the oldest built in 1962 and the newest a rebuilt Texas state ferry that arrived in 2018. Between them they make close to 6,000 crossings a year.
What makes this crossing unlike any other car ferry in the country is what happens when it stops. The boats run from March or April until freeze-up; most winters the ice on the channel gets too thick to cut through around mid-January. At that point a windsled — a propeller-driven machine built, originally, out of airplane and boat parts — takes over the passenger run, and when the ice is thick enough to bear weight, a plowed ice road opens that is officially a seasonal extension of County Highway H. Not a substitute for the ferry. A different way of being the same road.
Three tables for one winter, and the return that stops on Sundays
Daily, September 8 to November 1
| From Bayfield Terminal | From Town Dock, La Pointe |
|---|---|
| 07:00 | 07:30 |
| 08:00 | 08:30 |
| 09:00 | 09:30 |
| 10:00 | 10:30 |
| 11:00 | 11:30 |
| 12:00 | 12:30 |
| 13:00 | 13:30 |
| 14:00 | 14:30 |
| 15:00 | 15:30 |
| 16:00 | 16:30 |
| 17:00 | 17:30 |
| 18:00 |
Evening sailings, September 8 to November 1
| From Bayfield Terminal | From Town Dock, La Pointe |
|---|---|
| 19:00 | 18:30 |
| 20:00 | 19:30 |
| 21:00 | 20:30 |
| 22:00 | 21:30 |
Daily, November 2 to 29
| From Bayfield Terminal | From Town Dock, La Pointe |
|---|---|
| 08:00 | 07:30 |
| 09:00 | 08:30 |
| 10:00 | 09:30 |
| 11:00 | 10:30 |
| 12:00 | 11:30 |
| 13:00 | 12:30 |
| 14:00 | 13:30 |
| 15:00 | 14:30 |
| 16:00 | 15:30 |
| 16:30 |
November 30 until heavy ice, 2027
| From Bayfield Terminal | From Town Dock, La Pointe |
|---|---|
| 09:00 | 07:30 |
| 11:00 | 08:30 |
| 12:00 | 09:30 |
| 14:00 | 11:30 |
| 16:00 | 12:30 |
| 14:30 | |
| 16:30 |
Three tables published for the 2026–27 season; the one in force on September 22, 2026 runs September 8 through November 1 Madeline Island Ferry Line — 2026 Ferry Schedule · 2026-09-22
A fuel surcharge, a tape measure, and a fare that leaves the driver out
The rates in force now include a fuel surcharge, added on August 5, 2026 under a rule the operator states openly: the surcharge applies because ferry fuel is at or above $4.25 a gallon. It is built into the figures below rather than added at the window.
Vehicle fares do not include the people in the vehicle. A car under 19 feet is $20.50 one way; the driver and every passenger buy their own ticket on top. And vehicles are charged by overall length including anything sticking out — hitch, brush rack, trailer, bike rack, or a load past the bumpers — and will be measured at the ticket window if there is any doubt.
Payment is cash, check, or Visa or Mastercard. Reservations are not taken for passengers, for cars and trucks with camper trailers, or for motor homes; only semi trucks, buses and pre-arranged tour groups need one.
| Passenger 12 and over, one way | $ 11 |
| Passenger 12 and over, round trip | $ 22 |
| Passenger 6–11, one way | $ 5.50 |
| Passenger 6–11, round trip | $ 11 |
| Child under 5 | Free |
| Bicycle on deck, one way | $ 5 |
| Bicycle on deck, round trip | $ 10 |
| Auto under 19 ft, one way | $ 20.50 |
| Auto under 19 ft, round trip | $ 41 |
| Auto 19 to under 22 ft, one way | $ 28 |
| Auto 19 to under 22 ft, round trip | $ 56 |
| Motorcycle, one way | $ 11 |
| Motorcycle, round trip | $ 22 |
| Cargo trailer and hitch under 17 ft | $ 20.50 |
| Cargo trailer and hitch 17–22 ft | $ 28 |
| Cargo trailer 22 to under 25 ft | $ 42.50 |
| Cargo trailer 25 to under 30 ft | $ 65 |
| Motor home 22 to under 25 ft | $ 66.75 |
| Motor home 25 to under 30 ft | $ 90.75 |
| Motor home 30 to under 35 ft | $ 111.75 |
2026 rates including a fuel surcharge, in force since August 5, 2026; read on September 22, 2026 Madeline Island Ferry Line — 2026 Ferry Rates · 2026-09-22
A turn off Highway 13, and a village that starts at the ramp
Both ends are short walks to somewhere useful, which is unusual for a car ferry. The catch is on the island side: no public transportation, and seven miles between the landing and the parks.
Bayfield Terminal
The landing is at the northeast end of Bayfield: turn east off State Highway 13 onto Washington Avenue and the road runs out at the slip. The operator publishes 20 Washington Avenue specifically as a GPS address, which is worth using — the terminal is not where a street map of downtown Bayfield would lead you.
Parking at the landing itself is limited. There is more around town, some of it on streets with a two-hour limit, and several lots that allow overnight stays and up to two weeks. Smoking is banned in the Bayfield passenger terminal as well as on the boats, including inside your own car on deck.
Town Dock, La Pointe
The village of La Pointe begins at the end of the ferry dock — shops, restaurants, churches, the heritage center, lodging, grocery stores, a small public beach, a library and bike, moped and paddleboard rental, all within walking distance. That matters because there is no public transportation on the island at all.
The island runs 14 miles end to end and 3 miles across, carries more than 50 miles of road, and puts the parks 7 miles from the landing. Year-round the island holds about 275 residents; in summer that climbs to somewhere between 2,800 and 3,000.
Two and a half miles of Chequamegon Bay, 160 feet deep
The crossing is about 2.5 miles by the operator's own reckoning, and the water under it reaches somewhere between 157 and 163 feet at its deepest — a real Lake Superior channel rather than a shallow bay hop. Madeline Island lies at the inshore edge of the Apostle Islands, and the crossing runs within sight of several of them. It is a useful reminder that a Great Lakes crossing is not a bay hop with a grander name.
Loading a car onto a Lake Superior boat
- How early to be in line
The operator gives two figures in two places: its rates page recommends being on the dock 20 minutes before your intended sailing, its FAQ says 10 to 15. Use 20 on a Sunday morning off the island.
- Your car is measured end to end
Overall length includes the hitch, a brush rack, a bike rack, a trailer or a load past the bumpers, and the crew will measure at the window if needed. A 19-foot car with a rack is a 19-to-22-foot fare.
- Nothing to reserve, with three exceptions
First come, first served for passengers, cars, camper trailers and motor homes. Semi trucks, buses and pre-arranged tour groups do need a reservation, on 715-747-2051.
- Dogs cross for nothing
Free, provided they are leashed, in a cage or in your vehicle, and never left unattended. Several island patios and outdoor sites are dog-friendly.
- You can get out of the car
Tell the crew while they are loading you and you can leave the vehicle. Every boat has passenger cabins and outdoor seating. Smoking is not permitted anywhere on board, including inside your car.
- Text alerts beat phone calls on the island
Text madferry to 715-200-9057 for schedule changes. The operator notes that texts often get through in parts of the island where voice calls will not.
When the boats stop: windsleds, vans and a highway made of ice
La Pointe people have been improvising winter crossings for a very long time, and the operator's own history is unusually frank about how that went. Father John Chebul got lost on the ice in a gale in 1871 and wandered the harbor for hours; a man was found frozen to death between Bayfield and La Pointe in February 1858. Mail went by dog sled. In 1898 someone opened a saloon on the ice road halfway between Ashland and Washburn, on the grounds that it sat outside the harbor boundary and therefore outside a $500 license fee.
The windsleds arrived in the 1940s, pioneered by Harry Nelson and the Russell brothers of La Pointe, and they solved the specific problem of ice that is neither open water nor safe ground. Today's sled is run by Arnie Nelson and works, on average, about twenty days a year. It is not the ferry company's: both the sleds and the winter vans belong to the Town of La Pointe and are managed by Windsled Inc. The number to call is the 24-hour recorded line, 715-747-5400.
The sequence over a full winter goes ferry, windsled, ice road, windsled, ferry: the passenger-only sled runs a limited timetable once the boats stop, the road opens when it is judged safe for cars and light trucks, and in spring the road is condemned before the ice is thin enough to cut. Depending on the week, then, the same two and a half miles is a ferry ticket, a seat on a sled, or a drive down a lake. The Put-in-Bay boats on Lake Erie meet the same winter without any of that machinery to fall back on.
Five boats, two of which can break eight inches of ice
What Bayfield and La Pointe travelers need to settle first
Which table applies to the date I am traveling?
September 8 to November 1 is the fullest, with hourly sailings from Bayfield between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. November 2 to 29 drops the early and late ends except on Fridays. From November 30 the service goes down to five daily sailings to the island and seven back, and the operator prints that it depends on weather and ice.
Why can I go over at 6 p.m. on a Sunday but not come back?
Because the current table is asymmetrical. The 6:00 p.m. sailing from Bayfield runs daily, but the matching 6:30 p.m. return from La Pointe is marked Monday to Saturday only. On a Sunday the last daily boat back to Bayfield is the 5:30 p.m.
Does the $20.50 car fare cover me as well?
It does not. The rate card is explicit that driver and passenger fares are not included in vehicle rates. A single adult driving a car under 19 feet pays $20.50 for the car plus $11.00 for themselves, one way.
Why did the fares go up in August?
A fuel surcharge. The operator applies one when ferry fuel costs reach or exceed $4.25 a gallon, and says rates have included it since August 5, 2026. It is inside the published figures rather than added at the booth.
How do people get to Madeline Island in the middle of winter?
By windsled, and then by road. When the ice gets too thick for the ferries — usually around mid-January — a passenger-only windsled takes over on a limited schedule, and once the ice is judged safe for cars and light trucks the ice road opens as a seasonal extension of County Highway H. The sled comes back out in spring, when the road is unsafe but the ice is still too thick to cut.
Is the windsled run by the ferry company?
No. The town owns them, not the boat company: the windsleds and the winter vans are property of La Pointe, and Windsled Inc. runs them. The ferry line publishes their schedule as a courtesy and warns it can change at any time without notice. The recorded 24-hour line is 715-747-5400.
How long before departure should I be in the Bayfield line?
The operator gives two different answers. Its rates page recommends being on the dock 20 minutes before your intended departure; its FAQ puts the general rule at 10 to 15 minutes. The busiest sailings — the weekday 7 a.m. from Bayfield, the 4:30 p.m. off the island, and Sunday mornings — are the ones to give the full 20.
Does a bicycle cost extra, and what about a bike rack?
$5.00 one way and $10.00 round trip carried on deck. If the bike is on a rack on your car instead, it counts toward the vehicle's overall length and can push you into the next fare bracket.
Do the ferries stop running in bad weather?
Not often. The operator points out that each of its boats has a different hull and responds differently to wind and waves, so if one cannot land safely another is used. A reduced schedule is much more likely than a shutdown; alerts go on the advisories page and out by text.