The Upper Arrow Lake Ferry is a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

across

Upper Arrow Lake The Arrow Lakes in British Columbia, Canada, divided into Upper Arrow Lake and Lower Arrow Lake, are widenings of the Columbia River. The lakes are situated between the Selkirk Mountains to the east and the Monashee Mountains to the west. Beach ...

in the

West Kootenay The Kootenays or Kootenay ( ) is a region of southeastern British Columbia. It takes its name from the Kootenay River, which in turn was named for the Kutenai First Nations people. Boundaries The Kootenays are more or less defined by the Kootenay ...

region of southeastern

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. Linking Shelter Bay and Galena Bay, the ferry, part of BC Highway 23, is by road about south of Revelstoke and north of

Nakusp The Village of Nakusp (Sinixt ''neqo'sp'') is beside the mouth of Kuskanax Creek, on the Upper Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia. Lying between the Selkirk and Monashee ranges, the village is known for its ...

Arrowhead–Beaton

In 1896, the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

's (CP) Revelstoke–

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

branch line opened along the east side of the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

. At that time, the Arrowhead–Thomson's Landing (former name of Beaton), head of the lake, east–west ferry service commenced. CP gradually withdrew its

sternwheeler A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were w ...

s from the lake. By 1942, only the

Minto Minto may refer to: Places Antarctica *Mount Minto (Antarctica) Australia *Minto, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Minto railway station * Minto County, Western Australia * Parish of Minto, New South Wales Canada * Minto City, British Col ...

remained. In 1954, CP abandoned the lake.

Beaton–Galena Bay–Arrowhead

In 1916, James C. Fitzsimmons began this upper lake service, subsidized by the province. Initially chartering the CP tug ''Columbia'', he soon bought the ''Yale''. In 1928, the Beaton Boat Co. became the operator, using its new steam tug ''Beaton'' to push a barge. In 1944, the Beaton Navigation Co. acquired the business. In 1953, the Arrow Lake Transportation Co. became the operator. The next year, the subsidy ended, and the Interior Tug and Transport Co. won the contract for a Beaton–Arrowhead–Nakusp– Castlegar service. The 13-vehicle capacity diesel ferry ''Arrow Park'' made three trips weekly. In 1956, the

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is the British Columbia government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is currently led by Rob Fleming. The ministry is resp ...

took over the route and bought the vessel, renaming it the ''Lardeau''.

Arrowhead–Galena Bay

In 1957, the most easterly terminal relocated from Beaton to Galena Bay. In 1968, the Arrowhead branch line closed, the western ferry terminal relocated to Shelter Bay (after the reservoir for the

Keenleyside Dam Hugh Keenleyside Dam (formerly known as the High Arrow Dam) is a flood control dam spanning the Columbia River, 12 km (6.5 miles) upstream of the city of Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada. Dam The dam is at the outflow of what was the u ...

flooded the former Arrowhead), and ferry fares were eliminated on the Upper Arrow Lake.

Shelter Bay–Galena Bay

Announced in 1965, and implemented within a few years, were the construction of a new Revelstoke–Shelter Bay road along the west side of the Columbia, the introduction of a Shelter Bay–Galena Bay ferry, and a major upgrade to the Nakusp–Galena Bay road.

Timeline

1969: DEV ''Galena'' with a 35-vehicle, 200-passenger capacity (built 1968), replaced the ''12 Mile'' and ''24 Mile'' ferries.
1990: DEV ''Galena'' modified to a 50-vehicle, 150-passenger capacity vessel. MV ''Needles'' relocated from

Needles Ferry The Needles Ferry is a cable ferry across Lower Arrow Lake in the West Kootenay region of southeastern British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean ...

route and renamed MV ''Shelter Bay'' (built 1969).
2002: The service, which operated 5am to 1am, was reduced to 6am to midnight.
2004: Western Pacific Marine became the service contractor.
2007: By this time, service was 6:30am to 11:30pm.
2008: Service was restored as 5am to 1am.
c.2013: WaterBridge Ferries became the service provider.
2014: Designed and built by WaterBridge Steel at Nakusp, the 80-vehicle, 250-passenger capacity MV ''Columbia'' was introduced to replace the two smaller vessels. Wider lanes and improved ramp transitions allowed faster loading and unloading.
2020: A vehicle drove off the Shelter Bay terminal ahead of the incoming ferry. The driver, who was rescued, did not suffer any major injuries. An underwater dive team attached a tow truck cable to the submerged vehicle, which was lifted from the water.

Operation

The ferry operates under contract to the

British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is the British Columbia government ministry responsible for transport infrastructure and law in the Canadian province of British Columbia. It is currently led by Rob Fleming. The ministry is respon ...

and is free of

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

s, as are all inland ferries in British Columbia. The MV ''Columbia'' sails every thirty minutes, from the first departure from Shelter Bay at 5am until the last at midnight, with a crossing time of about twenty minutes (the first and last departures are 5:30am and 12:30am from Galena Bay). The ferry has capacity for 80 vehicles and 250 passengers.

Footnotes

References

* * {{coord, 50.629187, -117.899619, region:CA_type:landmark, display=title Ferries of British Columbia Arrow Lakes Crossings of the Columbia River Canadian Pacific Railway