Southport Magazine

The ferry is finally open again! After a maintenance shut down beginning in the spring and delayed by the COVID restrictions, the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry began running again in mid-August, and we are so glad so have it back. The visitors the ferry brings to our community are a huge help to our local businesses, and going the other way, it offers us an affordable and fun day trip. This is especially welcome at a time when travel is a bit problematic. It is really comforting to have a great getaway so close to home. 

The Southport-Fort Fisher Ferry is the southernmost of North Carolina’s seven routes and uses two boats, the M/V Southport themed to Duke University and the M/V Fort Fisher themed to UNCW, leaving each dock, when all is going well, every 45 minutes. We’ve included the current schedule here, but there are summer and winter schedules and weather and maintenance issues can lead to changes, so your best bet is to check the Southport-Fort Fisher ferry’s Twitter account @NCFerrySPort to see if there are any updates. 

The ferry is one of the best deals going, we think. A car is $7, motorcycle $3, bicycle $2 and if you want to park and just ride across on foot it’s only one single dollar. The boat can carry more than 30 vehicles at a time, but still tends to fill up when busy, so it’s best to arrive a while before scheduled departure to ensure you’ll have a spot. There are picnic tables at each terminal, so waiting around isn’t bad at all. And if you get there early enough, you get a front row seat, which we think is the coolest. 

The trip takes about half an hour and you get to see quite a bit. Leaving the Southport terminal, you’ll see ADM’s dock and the old Price’s Creek Lighthouse, a short brick tower built in the 1800s. The Bald Head and Oak Island Lighthouses are also visible looking off the other side as you depart. 

Some of the treats en route include views of Sunny Point, the US Army’s East Coast shipping depot, always pleasure craft, and sometimes, if you’re lucky, huge ships heading to and from the port in Wilmington. 

The Fort Fisher Ferry terminal sits right in the middle of some great spots. Taking a right out of the terminal exit leads to a boat ramp and protected water for kayak trips. There are often kite surfers scooting around out here as well. Battery Buchanan, a part of the Fort Fisher Historic Site, is also here, and though it’s little more than a hill with some signage, it’s still historical, so you should go see it. 

If you’re feeling nimble, there’s a sea wall that extends out into the river separating it from what used to be an inlet. It goes all the way out to a little island, but gets slippery and isn’t all the way above water at high tide, so beware. We’re not experts on sea walls, but this one must be special as it has its own little monument. Again, go see it — you owe it to yourself. 

Heading the other way out of the terminal, you’re heading north toward Kure and Carolina Beaches, but no need to go that far to find fun. The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is one of our favorite destinations, but is closed until we move out of Phase 2 COVID restrictions. They have some awesome online offerings you can read all about on page ##, though, and they deserve your support. On the way down the road to the aquarium is a beach access and also an access road for vehicles to drive out on the beach, which is a blast if you’re equipped for it. 

Winding up the road a bit more takes you to the main Fort Fisher State Historic Site, also closed due to the pandemic. The parking lot at the visitors center are closed, but the grounds are open for walking and are accessible from the parking area across the street. Called Battle Acres (sounds like a Monopoly property, doesn’t it?), there is plenty of parking, a great ocean view, a beach, a monument, and a grove of live oaks perfect for shading your picnic. You DID bring a picnic, didn’t you? 

Taking the ferry back only costs another $7 for your passenger car and is simply the reverse process of how you got here, so why not? 

There you go. For 14 bucks you got two boat rides, lots of history, views of nature, a picnic in the shade and best of all, you got out of the house for the day. 

Priceless.