In service, no delays: that was the Gagetown entry on 511 New Brunswick at 7:25 a.m. on 29 September 2026. The province's seasonal ferry F85 runs on demand from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. until late November, and it costs nothing to cross.
Season and hours as published by the NB Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (ferries page, April 2026 version, unchanged from September 2025); status from 511 New Brunswick, 29 September 2026. Season ends in late November, no exact 2026 date published. Government of New Brunswick – Ferries in New Brunswick · 2026-09-29
The cable ferry is a New Brunswick invention. The provincial government credits Captain William Abraham Pitt with devising the underwater-cable system and putting it to work in 1903 on the Kennebecasis, carrying traffic from Reeds Point over to Gondola Point. More than a century later the Saint John River crossing at Gagetown still runs on the same principle, with the deck guided along a cable from one bank to the other.
Its recent history is less settled than its technology. Service at Gagetown was dropped in the provincial budget of 2016 as a cost-cutting measure, and for four summers there was no crossing. On 15 June 2020 the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure announced its return, and the ferry, designated F85, went back into service on 28 June 2020, seven days a week through to the fall.
That seasonal arrangement has held since. The department now publishes a season of roughly the first week of June to late November, with on-demand crossings every day from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., free of charge.
The province does not charge on any ferry it operates, and Gagetown is no exception. Tourism New Brunswick lists it as a toll-free seasonal service run by the provincial government.
| Car and driver | Free |
| Passenger | Free |
| Cyclist or pedestrian | Free |
No charge, per the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (April 2026) Government of New Brunswick – Ferries in New Brunswick · 2026-09-29
The department puts the crossing at 0.6 km and about five minutes on the water. It links the village of Gagetown on the west bank of the Saint John River with Lower Jemseg on the east. Both landings now fall within the Village of Arcadia in Queens County. Other provincial river ferries downstream, such as Evandale and Belleisle Bay, run year-round; Gagetown is the one that follows a summer-to-autumn calendar.
The west-bank ramp is at the end of Ferry Road in Gagetown, now part of the Village of Arcadia. You queue on the road and wait for the deck, which takes fifteen cars at a time. There is nothing to buy and no gate.
Tourism New Brunswick calls the east side Scovil, or Lower Jemseg. This is the bank for the Grand Lake Meadows Protected Natural Area, which the province describes as its largest freshwater wetland. If you are coming back to Gagetown in the evening, aim to be at the ramp well before 9 p.m.
Inside New Brunswick, 511 gives 24-hour information on ferry service interruptions. From outside the province, the number is 1-800-561-4063.
On-demand service stops at 9 p.m. and resumes at 8 a.m. There is no night crossing here, unlike the province's year-round ferries.
The deck holds fifteen cars and the ride takes around five minutes; if the line is longer than one load, you wait for the return trip.
The province describes the season as ending in late November. No 2026 date had been posted when we checked.
The east bank gives access to the Grand Lake Meadows Protected Natural Area, according to Tourism New Brunswick.
When it announced the return, the province tied the decision to farming and tourism around Gagetown, and pointed out that its river ferries also move livestock and farm machinery between places that would otherwise be hard to reach. That is still the useful way to think about F85: a working crossing that happens to be pleasant, rather than an attraction that happens to carry cars.
The boat itself arrived second-hand: according to Wikipedia's account of the 2020 return, F85 is the former Belleisle Bay ferry, refitted for the job. The department lists its capacity as fifteen cars.
Yes. 511 New Brunswick listed Gagetown as in service, with no delay and no service disruption, at 7:25 a.m. on 29 September 2026.
The department says late November. It has not published an exact 2026 closing date, so check 511 through November.
There is no fixed departure; the ferry runs on demand until 9 p.m. Arriving at the ramp after that means waiting for 8 a.m.
No. The Government of New Brunswick does not charge on any ferry it operates.
The service was cut in the 2016 provincial budget to save money. The province announced its return on 15 June 2020 and the ferry resumed on 28 June 2020.
The province credits Captain William Abraham Pitt, who first ran an underwater-cable ferry in 1903, across the Kennebecasis from Reeds Point to Gondola Point.
F85 carries up to fifteen cars. The crossing is 0.6 km and takes about five minutes.