In 1905 William M. Miller and Harry Jones set up an ice-harvesting business on the Put-in-Bay waterfront, on the spot where the company's downtown dock still stands. Crews sawed blocks out of the frozen harbor by hand, stored them under sawdust, and delivered roughly a thousand tons a summer to the island's hotels, restaurants and moored yachts. The boats came later, and so did everything else.
What grew out of that is Miller Boat Line, still the workhorse connection between the Ohio mainland and South Bass Island. Lee Miller, the founder's son, held the year-round mail contract to the Bass Islands, and in the hard months mail and passengers crossed on ironclads — flat-hulled wooden boats with runners underneath and metal sheathing against the ice, hauled, shoved and floated across three miles of lake. The trip took about an hour and cost a dollar. It carried on until around 1929, when regular air service to the island began.
The first steel car ferry, the South Shore, arrived in 1945: sixty-five feet, twelve cars, three round trips a day, forty minutes each way from the downtown dock. The decisive change came later. When the company incorporated as Miller Boat Line in 1966 it built a new pier at Lime Kiln, on the island's southeast tip, and by 1972 the run from there to Catawba was the 18-minute short route the company still advertises — three miles instead of the old crossing, and twelve trips a day instead of three.
Hourly all day, and the two evening sailings with expiry dates
Daily, September 21 to November 1
| From Miller Boat Line Catawba Dock | From Lime Kiln Dock, Put-in-Bay |
|---|---|
| 07:30 | 07:00 |
| 08:30 | 08:00 |
| 09:30 | 09:00 |
| 10:30 | 10:00 |
| 11:30 | 11:00 |
| 12:30 | 12:00 |
| 13:30 | 13:00 |
| 14:30 | 14:00 |
| 15:30 | 15:00 |
| 16:30 | 16:00 |
| 17:30 | 17:00 |
Evening sailings, while they last
| From Miller Boat Line Catawba Dock | From Lime Kiln Dock, Put-in-Bay |
|---|---|
| 18:30 | 18:00 |
| 19:30 | 19:00 |
Schedule published for September 21 – November 1, 2026; read from Miller Boat Line on September 22, 2026 Miller Boat Line — Put-in-Bay Schedule · 2026-09-22
One-way fares, with the car charged separately from the people in it
Every figure here is one way, and the vehicle rate is the one people misread. A car costs $23.00 to cross — the car, and nothing else. The driver and every passenger in it buy their own $9.00 adult tickets on top, which is a different arrangement from the Maine island ferries where the vehicle fare carries the driver.
Trailer rates are also charged on top of the vehicle, each way, and step up by length. A bike rack or a luggage rack is extra again.
| Adult | $ 9 |
| Child 6–11 | $ 1.50 |
| Child under 6 | Free |
| Bicycle | $ 2.50 |
| Car or light truck | $ 23 |
| Motorcycle | $ 16 |
| Under 10 ft | $ 21 |
| 11–14 ft | $ 25 |
| 15–18 ft | $ 30 |
| 19–22 ft | $ 36 |
| 23–26 ft | $ 44 |
| 27–30 ft | $ 54 |
| 31–34 ft | $ 66 |
| 35 ft | $ 68 |
| Jet ski trailer, single | $ 21 |
| Jet ski trailer, double | $ 24 |
Fares as published by Miller Boat Line on September 22, 2026 Miller Boat Line — Put-in-Bay Fares (same table also printed on the schedule page) · 2026-09-22
The end of OH-53, and a pier on the island's southeast tip
Both docks belong to the ferry company, which is unusual and useful: parking, ticketing, freight and loading are all handled by the same people on both sides of the lake.
Miller Boat Line Catawba Dock
The dock is literally at the end of the road: OH-53 North runs seven miles up Catawba Island from the OH-2 interchange and stops here. That geography is why the company can offer what almost no ferry terminal on the Great Lakes offers — five free parking lots, usable for the day or overnight, with no charge either way.
Passenger and luggage drop-off is at the top of the dock. The docks, the lower decks of the boats, the shops and the restrooms are wheelchair accessible, and there are ATMs on both sides. Open alcohol containers are banned on the boats and on company property.
Lime Kiln Dock, Put-in-Bay
Lime Kiln sits on the southeast tip of South Bass Island, not in the downtown harbor — a distinction worth holding on to, because the other ferry company that serves Put-in-Bay lands in town. Golf cart rental and island transportation are clustered near the Miller landing precisely because arriving passengers need to cover that gap.
The dock is Miller's own, built with a breakwall and a steel and concrete pier when the company incorporated in 1966. Choosing it over the old downtown dock is what turned a 40-minute crossing into an 18-minute one.
Three miles of Lake Erie between Catawba Island and Lime Kiln
The line between the two docks is the shortest water gap between the Ohio mainland and South Bass Island, which is the entire reason the Lime Kiln pier exists.
Taking a car over, and getting it back off
- Miller is not the Jet Express
Two different companies serve Put-in-Bay. Miller runs from Catawba to the Lime Kiln Dock and carries vehicles; the Jet Express is a passenger-only line from Port Clinton and Sandusky into the downtown harbor, and in September it was running Friday to Sunday only.
- Parking costs nothing
Five free lots on the mainland side, all usable for daytime and overnight parking. Most day-trippers leave the car here and walk on rather than paying $23.00 each way to ship it.
- No same-day car round trip at weekends
Vehicles cannot be round-tripped on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday because of traffic. Monday to Friday they normally can, though at peak times even that is limited.
- Weekend cars need proof of a bed
The operator requires proof of accommodation for weekend vehicle travel to the island. Nothing is reserved for Put-in-Bay in either direction — cars load in the order they reach the ramp.
- Be in line by 17:00 to get the car off
Under the spring and fall schedules, vehicles leaving Put-in-Bay must be in line before 17:00 Monday to Saturday, and before 16:00 on Sundays and holidays, to be guaranteed passage. In summer it is 18:00 daily.
- Middle Bass is the one that books
Miller also runs to Middle Bass Island, and there vehicle reservations are required and taken up to two weeks ahead on 800-500-2421. Walk-on passengers still need nothing.
Five boats, and a family that kept the founder's name
The Market family has owned the line since 1978, when Bill Market III and his wife Mary Ann bought it from Lee Miller's widow. They kept the Miller name deliberately, and the fleet since then reads like a list of Sturgeon Bay and Cleveland yards: the Islander in 1983, the South Bass in 1989, the William Market in 1993, the Put-in-Bay in 1997 — lengthened from 96 to 136 feet in 2010 — and, newest and largest, the Mary Ann Market in 2023, which takes up to 600 passengers and about 28 vehicles.
The old boats did not die. The South Shore works the Chicago River today; the West Shore ended up at Mackinac Island, the William Miller at Bay City in Michigan, and the 1997 Put-in-Bay, under a new name, hauls freight at Mackinac too. On the island itself the ferry is the reason the day works: golf carts wait at the Lime Kiln ramp, and the last boat is the deadline for a whole island's worth of visitors. On Lake Superior the Madeline Island ferries work to the same rhythm until the ice takes the job off them.
The boats
Before a Put-in-Bay day trip from Catawba
Is Miller Ferry the same thing as the Jet Express?
No, and mixing them up is the commonest mistake on this crossing. Miller Boat Line sails from Catawba, at the end of OH-53, to the Lime Kiln Dock on the southeast tip of the island, and carries cars. Jet Express is a separate company running passenger-only boats from Port Clinton and Sandusky into the downtown Put-in-Bay harbor and to Kelleys Island; in September it was operating Friday to Sunday only out of Port Clinton.
Do I have to book to take a car to Put-in-Bay?
No. Vehicles to Put-in-Bay are taken first-come, first-served and no reservation is accepted. Middle Bass Island is the opposite: vehicle reservations there are required and can be made up to two weeks ahead on 800-500-2421.
What time is the last boat off the island right now?
17:00 as the daily baseline, with an 18:00 running daily through October 25 and a 19:00 on Fridays and Saturdays through October 10. After those dates fall away, 17:00 is it — and the matching last departure from Catawba is 17:30.
Can I bring the car over and back on the same day?
Not on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday — the operator says traffic makes it impossible. Monday to Thursday and Friday it normally works, although same-day round trips can be limited at peak times. Weekend vehicle travel also requires proof that you have accommodation on the island.
How much is parking at the Catawba dock?
Nothing. There are five free lots, all usable for both daytime and overnight parking. For a day trip that usually beats paying $23.00 each way for the car plus $9.00 a head for everyone in it.
Does the $23.00 vehicle fare cover the people in the car?
No, and this is where the arithmetic catches people out. The vehicle and motorcycle fares are for the vehicle alone; the driver and every passenger need their own ticket. Two adults driving over therefore pay $23.00 plus $9.00 plus $9.00, one way.
Where exactly does the boat land on South Bass Island?
At the Lime Kiln Dock, 2190 Langram Rd, on the southeast tip of the island rather than in the downtown harbor. Golf cart rental and island transport are right by the landing because of that.
What does a bike or a trailer cost?
A bicycle is $2.50 one way. Trailers are charged on top of the vehicle and by length, each way, from $21.00 under 10 feet up to $68.00 at 35 feet, plus $2.00 a foot beyond that. A single jet ski trailer is $21.00 and a double $24.00.
How long does the crossing actually take?
Under 20 minutes, which is how Miller states it. The company's own history calls it the eighteen-minute short route, established once the Lime Kiln pier replaced the longer run from the downtown dock.