Madeline Island Ferry: Schedule, Last Boat Back and Fares

The Madeline Island ferry leaves Bayfield, Wisconsin for La Pointe about every hour — every half hour in summer — and the crossing takes about 25 minutes. There are no reservations. A round trip is $22 a passenger and $41 for a car under 19 feet. In winter the windsled and, when the ice allows, the ice road take over.

How to use it

Pick the day you go. The planner lists every boat that day both ways — from Bayfield and from La Pointe — as the ferry line’s timetable prints it for that weekday, marks the last boat back, and counts the hours you can spend on the island. Say who is going and whether you take a car, a bike or a motorcycle to see the round trip’s cost. Pick a winter day and it explains the windsled and the ice road; pick a day in 2027 after April 12 and it shows 2026’s times for those dates, labelled as 2026’s, until the ferry posts its 2027 timetable. This is Madeline Island in Lake Superior, Wisconsin — the Magdalen Islands (Îles de la Madeleine) ferry from Prince Edward Island is another boat, in Canada.

The 2026 timetables

The Madeline Island Ferry Line posted six timetables for 2026. Some boats run only on some weekdays (“Mon-Fri only”, “Th-Sat only”, “Fri only” on its charts), so the same season gives a Friday more boats than a Sunday. The boats from Bayfield on a Monday, a Friday and a Sunday, and the last boat back from La Pointe:

Each cell: the boats from Bayfield that day · the first and the last · the last boat back from La Pointe. In summer, from June 25 to September 7, the ferry crosses “Every 1/2 hour from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.” from Bayfield. The winter timetable carries the ferry’s own warning: “Schedule depends on weather and ice.” Its schedule page now shows September 8 onward; the spring and summer rows are the 2026 timetables it posted in February and April 2026.

Fares

The ferry line’s 2026 chart, with the fuel surcharge it added on August 5, 2026 (“Effective August 5, 2026, ferry rates include a fuel surcharge because ferry fuel costs are at or above $4.25 per gallon.”). A vehicle’s fare covers the vehicle only — its driver and passengers pay their own.

The chart prints “under 5 years” as free and 6–11 at the child fare; it does not say which a five-year-old pays — ask at the ticket window. Longer vehicles, campers, trailers and boats on trailers are priced by length on the rates page, and “All vehicles are charged by overall length including extensions (hitch, brush rack, trailer, bike rack or load extending beyond bumpers).” Islanders and regulars can buy discount cards — “Discount cards are only available for purchase in the ferry line office located on Madeline Island and may be used year round.”

In winter: the windsled and the ice road

When Lake Superior freezes between Bayfield and the island, the ferry stops. The Town of La Pointe’s answer: “Once the ferries stop running for the winter, there is a passenger only windsled that travels on a limited schedule. The windsled is used until the ice road is considered safe enough for cars and light trucks to travel. The windsled is used again in the spring when the road is deemed unworthy of travel but the lake ice is too thick for the ferries to cut through.” The chamber of commerce adds “The Windsleds, Inc. van runs while the ice road is open.” and “Please contact the Windsled Hotline for up-to-date information at 715.747.5400.” No one can say on which winter day each one runs: it is the ice. Last winter the town’s public works report for January 2026 said “The beginning of the month wasn’t looking good for us, but the extremely cold temps made it happen.” — and in February: “The Ice Road has taken a beating, and I don’t foresee it lasting much longer, so be prepared for lengthy wind Sled season.”

Worked examples

A Saturday day trip in October. Ferry on Saturday, October 10: 15 boats from Bayfield, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.; the last one back 8:30 p.m. — over thirteen hours on the island from the first boat.

A family of four with a car, a Friday in November. Two adults, two children aged 6–11 and a car under 19 feet: Round trip: $107 (2 passengers 12 and over × $22 + 2 passengers 6–11 × $11 + 1 car under 19 ft × $41).

A Thursday in November. The 5:30 p.m. boat from Bayfield runs Monday to Thursday, but the last boat back that day leaves La Pointe at 4:30 p.m. — take the 5:30 only if you are staying the night.

A weekend in February 2027. The ferry runs its winter timetable until heavy ice; after that, the windsled for passengers and, once the town says it is safe, the ice road for cars. Call the Windsled Hotline before you drive up.

Common mistakes

• Missing the last boat back. In November the last boat from La Pointe is 4:30 p.m. except on Fridays; in the winter timetable it is 4:30 p.m. every day.
• Expecting a reservation. “Tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.” — “We recommend arriving on the dock 20 minutes before your desired departure time.”
• Measuring the car without the bike rack. A rack or a hitch can move a car into the next fare.
• Counting on the ice road. It opens only when the ice allows, and some winters only briefly.
• Reading last summer’s times as this summer’s. The ferry posted 2026’s timetables in February 2026; until 2027’s are up, the planner labels 2026’s.

Plan the trip

Read the most beautiful towns in Wisconsin (Bayfield is its best harbor town), the US states with the best peninsulas (the Bayfield Peninsula among them) and Door County. Before a winter trip, check the Apostle Islands ice caves and Lake Superior’s ice cover; in summer, the water temperature.