Open, free and running 8 a.m. to midnight: that is the MV Lafferty's state on the Northwest Territories' DriveNWT map, last changed on 29 August 2026 and unchanged when we read it on 29 September. The average closing date is 1 November. After that, Fort Simpson waits for the ice.
Regular hours from the GNWT Department of Infrastructure ferries page (English and French versions agree), read 29 September 2026. Season averages 14 May to 1 November; 2026 closing date not yet announced. GNWT Infrastructure – Ferries · 2026-09-29
Why would a crossing of 730 metres, done in ten minutes, set the rhythm of a whole community's year? Because the MV Lafferty on the Liard River is the only way to drive into Fort Simpson from the south in summer and autumn, and the Northwest Territories can only keep it running while the river is open. The ferry carries Highway 1 over the Liard at km 458, and the GNWT Department of Infrastructure runs it for free.
What does that mean in practice this week? The Lafferty is in its last month or so. The department's figures give an average opening date of 14 May and an average closing date of 1 November, and DriveNWT, the territory's live conditions map, still showed the crossing open in our 29 September 2026 reading. Nobody had yet announced when the 2026 season ends.
And after the ferry stops? Fort Simpson's road link goes quiet until the ice can bear traffic. The department's five-year averages put the opening of the Liard River ice crossing at Fort Simpson on 2 December and its closing on 18 April — which leaves a gap of about a month in late autumn, and several weeks again in spring, with no road crossing at all.
None of the four territorial ferries charges anything. The English page states it in one line, and the French version of the same page repeats it. There is no pass, no booking and no toll collected on either ramp.
| Vehicle and driver | Free |
| Passenger | Free |
| Commercial vehicle | Free |
No cost, per the GNWT ferries page read 29 September 2026 GNWT Infrastructure – Ferries · 2026-09-29
The crossing sits at km 458 of Highway 1, the Mackenzie Highway, where it crosses the Liard south of Fort Simpson. The official crossing distance is 730 metres. For drivers coming up Highway 1 from the south, the ferry is the whole connection for about half the year, and the ice crossing covers most of the rest.
Arriving from the south, you have come up Highway 1 from its junction with Highway 7. DriveNWT had that 45-kilometre stretch, km 414 to km 458, posted as open with caution on a paved all-season surface in its latest update. The ramp is at km 458, and the queue forms in order of arrival.
On the Fort Simpson bank, Highway 1 carries on as gravel for about 15.5 km to the Fort Simpson Access Road, which DriveNWT listed as open. Leaving town late in the day, remember that the government flags the final scheduled trip as the one most likely to be full.
On the department's long-run figures, the Lafferty closes on 1 November on average. In 2024 it closed on 26 October, so plan any return trip well before the average.
The Liard River ice crossing at Fort Simpson opens, on a five-year average, on 2 December. Between the two dates there is no road crossing at all.
Two government sources gave us different maximum weights for the Lafferty, so we are not quoting one. Heavy loads should confirm the current limit on DriveNWT before setting off.
The final scheduled crossing of the day is often busy and space is not guaranteed. Extra trips are not added when the ferry is full.
DriveNWT is the territory's current road, ferry and ice-crossing condition service, replacing the earlier Highway Conditions Map. The Liard River Crossing has its own entry there.
The Lafferty itself is a propeller-driven ferry built in 1993, one of four vessels in the territorial fleet alongside the Johnny Berens at the Mackenzie River crossing on the same highway and the Louis Cardinal and Abraham Francis on Highway 8. It draws under a metre of water (0.95 m), has 6.5 metres of ramp clearance and no overhead limit, which is why tall loads are not a problem here.
The department's historical record shows how much the season moves. Over 25 years, the Lafferty has opened on average on 13 May and closed on 3 November; in 2024 it opened on 8 May and was out of the water by 26 October. Those are averages, not promises: the 2024 closing came a week ahead of the long-run figure.
Yes. DriveNWT listed the Liard River Crossing on Highway 1 as open; that listing carried a 29 August 2026 update stamp and was unchanged on 29 September.
The territory has not published one yet. The average closing date is 1 November, and in 2024 the ferry closed on 26 October.
Over the Liard River ice crossing, which on a five-year average opens on 2 December and closes on 18 April. Between the ferry's last day and the ice opening there is no road crossing.
Its regular hours are 8 a.m. to midnight. Within that window it crosses as vehicles arrive, about ten minutes a trip.
No. The Northwest Territories charges nothing on any of its ferries, and that includes commercial traffic.
We are not quoting a figure: the GNWT ferries page and the DriveNWT entry give different numbers. Check DriveNWT, or ask the department, before moving a heavy load.
From the north landing, Highway 1 runs about 15.5 km of gravel to the Fort Simpson Access Road.