Twenty kilometres up from the Trans-Canada, between Chase and Sorrento, a cable ferry links the west shore of Adams Lake with the community on its east side. It is free and runs on demand from 05:00 until 03:00; in the two hours after that, it moves only for emergencies. DriveBC showed no incident on the crossing on 29 September 2026.
Hours from the provincial Adams Lake page (last updated 21 August 2026), matching DriveBC's ferry feed and the provincial ferry brochure on 29 September 2026; year-round, no seasonal closure published BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit – Adams Lake Cable Ferry · 2026-09-29
Adams Lake lies in the Shuswap, inland from Chase, and for the people who live along its east side the road to everywhere else starts with a ferry. By the province's reckoning the ramps are about twenty kilometres off Highway 1, roughly 80 km north-east of Kamloops and 50 km north-west of Salmon Arm. Its job, as the ministry's own brochure puts it, is to reach the community on the east side of the lake.
The boat is a cable ferry, the Adams Lake II, working a fixed cable line across the lake. It takes six minutes to cross and has room for ten vehicles and 48 passengers. Like every inland ferry the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit runs, it is free, and it is operated day to day by a contractor, WaterBridge Ferries Inc.
The schedule is what sets Adams Lake apart. Most of the day the ferry simply goes when traffic arrives, from 05:00 through to 03:00 the next morning. For the two hours from 03:00 to 05:00 it stands down, crossing only in emergencies.
British Columbia charges nothing on its inland ferries, and Adams Lake is on that list. The zero below covers every vehicle and every person on board; there is no toll gate, pass or registration.
| Vehicle with all occupants | Free |
| Walk-on or cyclist | Free |
Free under the province's inland ferry policy; policy page dated 31 July 2026, checked 29 September 2026 BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit – Inland Ferries · 2026-09-29
The cable line runs north-east from the west ramp to the east ramp, and at six minutes a trip the boat is not in a hurry. The province locates the ferry by the highway it leaves behind: some twenty kilometres up from the Trans-Canada, where Highway 1 runs from Chase towards Sorrento.
This is the landing you reach coming up from the Trans-Canada. The province puts the crossing roughly 80 km north-east of Kamloops and 50 km north-west of Salmon Arm, and the last stretch leaves Highway 1 about 20 km short of the lake.
DriveBC keeps two cameras on this side, one on the lineup and one on the landing itself. With ten vehicle spaces per trip, the lineup camera is the quickest way to tell whether you will make the next crossing or the one after.
The east landing serves the community on the far side of the lake, which is the reason the crossing exists. The two ramps fall in different regional districts: Thompson-Nicola on the west, Columbia-Shuswap on the east.
A third DriveBC camera watches this ramp, so residents heading out early can check conditions on their own side before driving down.
Regular on-demand service stops at 03:00 and resumes at 05:00. In between, the ferry crosses only for emergencies.
The deck takes ten vehicles. With a six-minute crossing each way, a long lineup can mean a wait of two or three round trips.
West lineup, west landing and east landing all have highway cameras, linked from the provincial ferry page.
That total covers everything aboard at once. Heavy commercial loads should call the contractor, WaterBridge Ferries, on 250-265-2105 before committing.
The ministry's ferry page and the vessel's name use Adams Lake; the ministry's own list and DriveBC write Adam's Lake. It is the same crossing.
Adams Lake II was the first boat delivered under the province's 2016 contract with WaterBridge Steel of Nakusp, worth $27.9 million for four new cable ferries. When it arrived on site for final outfitting in April 2017, the transportation minister singled out the Adams Lake Indian Band, along with other lakeshore residents, as the people it was built to serve, and it was in service that spring. The same programme went on to replace the Glade, Harrop and Arrow Park ferries, some of whose vessels had been working since the 1940s.
Day-to-day operation sits with WaterBridge Ferries under the province's Arrow Lakes Ferry Agreement, a single contract that bundles this Shuswap crossing with three routes far to the south-east, Upper Arrow Lake, Needles and Arrow Park, and runs to 30 November 2028. For a crossing on the same programme that never pauses at night, see the Harrop ferry on Kootenay Lake's West Arm.
Only in an emergency. The province lists regular on-demand service from 05:00 to 03:00, with the 03:00 to 05:00 window reserved for emergencies.
Roughly 20 km. You leave Highway 1 between Chase and Sorrento and head north to the lake. From Kamloops it is roughly 80 km, from Salmon Arm about 50 km.
No. All of British Columbia's inland ferries are free to use, and that includes this one.
Adams Lake II carries up to ten vehicles and 48 passengers, with a maximum load of 34,000 kg across the vessel.
The contractor, WaterBridge Ferries Inc., whose office number for this crossing is 250-265-2105. Road and ferry incidents are also posted on DriveBC.
Both appear in official sources. The ministry's ferry page and the vessel, Adams Lake II, drop the apostrophe; the ministry's ferry list and DriveBC use Adam's Lake.