St. Marys – Fernandina Water Taxi Now Running!
Preparing to shove off for the first time
The ferry that connects St. Marys and Fernandina is now running. The ferry will be running from Thursday to Saturday. Fernandina departure times are 10:00AM, 1:00PM, and 4:00PM. The St. Marys departure times are 11:30AM, 2:30PM, and 5:30PM. The ferry take about an hour to make the crossing from Downtown St. Marys to Downtown Fernandina (and vice versa). On Saturday they will run additional trips to help with evening outings which depart from Fernandina at 7:00PM and from St. Marys at 8:30PM.
Kevin McCarthy, who is operating the ferry service, has said that the ferry is bike friendly and has space for around 20 bicycles. In fact, the ferry is an alternative route on the East Coast Greenway. This provides St. Marys residents with the ability to load their bikes up and ride around Amelia Island before returning back to St. Marys.
For mountain bikers this is a great way to get over to Fort Clinch State Park to ride the trails without attaching the bike rack to your car for the boring drive, and remember that since you are riding your bike onto the park you can evade a parking fee because you won’t be parking a car.
A ferry ticket will set you back $15 for both ways, and the ferry can accomodate 49 passengers as well as the 20 bicycles. You can make reservations by calling (877) 264-9972, and make sure to let them know if you plan on bringing a bicycle so that there is room.
The maiden voyage has begun
Congrats, Kevin.
That’s aweome!