Travel > Travel by > Water > Ferries >

Merrimac Ferry

Note: The Merrimac Ferry, Colsac III, is closed for the winter season. An announcement will be made in spring 2013 when the free ferry service will resume.

• Is Wisconsin's only FREE ferry.
• Merrimac Ferry crosses the Wisconsin River between Sauk and Columbia counties.
• Shuttles WIS 113 traffic 24 hours a day, seven days a week, between Okee on the east bank and Merrimac on the west.
• The ferry holds 15 vehicles at a time, in addition to bicycles and pedestrians, and last year (2012) ferried over 282,000 vehicles across the river.
• A single crossing takes about seven minutes.
• Hazardous materials, including but not limited to, agricultural nitrogen, propane in excess of 100lbs, fuel in excess of 100 gallons, ARE NOT allowed on the vessel.
• Emergency and/or planned maintenance closures of the ferry will be posted on the Wisconsin 511 Travel information website.

Questions about the content of this page:
WisDOT Division of Transportation Systems Development (DTSD), division-office.dtsd@dot.wi.gov
Last modified: January 26, 2013