Out of service. The Country Harbour cable ferry stopped on 2 September 2026 for the dry-dock inspection Transport Canada requires every five years; the province expected it back in late October, but 511 Nova Scotia still showed the service suspended on 26 October. Once it returns, crossing is free and the boat leaves each side once an hour until 6:30 p.m., then runs on demand.
Timetable pattern from the Nova Scotia provincial ferries page (unchanged since at least June 2025); service suspended since 2 September 2026 per the provincial advisories of 1 September and 9 October and 511 Nova Scotia; checked 26 October 2026 Nova Scotia – Provincial Ferries (Country Harbour) · 2026-10-26
$6 million, 15 cars, 35 to 40 years. Those are the numbers Nova Scotia put on the Theodore O'Hara when it entered service in November 2021: about $6 million, split roughly evenly between Ottawa and the province, for a cable ferry expected to work for three to four decades. It replaced the Stormont II, a 12-car boat that had served for 41 years.
The name came from a school contest. Pupils at St. Mary's Education Centre/Academy were asked to name the new ferry, and the winning entry from a Grade 2 student honoured Theodore O'Hara, the first keeper of the Port Bickerton lighthouse, who tended the light from 1901 to 1931. His descendants attended the launch in Isaacs Harbour on 13 November 2021.
In autumn 2026 the ferry went into dry dock. A provincial advisory of 1 September announced about eight weeks out of service from Wednesday 2 September, for the inspection and maintenance that Transport Canada requires every five years. On 9 October the province still gave late October for the return.
Nothing to pay, whatever you drive: the provincial fee column shows $0.00 both for private cars and light trucks and for commercial trucks at Country Harbour, as it does for every Nova Scotia road ferry. There is no ticket and no booking; you queue at the ramp.
| Car or light truck, with occupants | Free |
| Commercial truck | Free |
Nova Scotia provincial ferries table, Fees column, read 26 October 2026 Nova Scotia – Provincial Ferries, fees · 2026-10-26
Country Harbour is a long inlet on Nova Scotia's Eastern Shore, in Guysborough County. Route 211, the coastal road, crosses it by cable ferry between Port Bickerton on the south-west shore and Isaacs Harbour on the north-east shore.
Workers in the area and emergency vehicles are the users the province names first: its 2021 release speaks of shorter routes for emergency crews. It is one of four cable ferries on Nova Scotia's list; another free crossing on the same 511 Nova Scotia list is the passenger boat from Caribou to Pictou Island in the Northumberland Strait.
Route 211 comes up from Port Bickerton and ends at this ramp. It is the more westerly of the two landings, which matters for reading the provincial timetable.
While the ferry is away for its inspection, the ramp is a dead end. The 2026 advisories do not name a detour, so plan your Eastern Shore route around the harbour before you set out.
On the other side Route 211 carries on north to Isaacs Harbour North. This is the easterly landing, and it is where 511 Nova Scotia places its Country Harbour marker.
The new ferry was launched at a ceremony on this side of the harbour, in Isaacs Harbour, on 13 November 2021.
511 Nova Scotia showed Service Suspended on 26 October 2026, unchanged since 2 September. Look again before counting on the crossing.
The provincial table gives 902-387-2200 for the Country Harbour ferry.
After 6:30 p.m. there is no set departure: the operator crosses when traffic is waiting.
Bicycles ride free on Nova Scotia's provincial ferries, so the Route 211 coastal ride does not cost extra here.
511 Nova Scotia labels the stoppage a yearly refit, while the provincial advisory ties it to the five-yearly federal inspection. Either way, the 511 entry had not changed since 2 September when we checked on 26 October, and no newer advisory had been posted.
The timetable printed by the province has not moved in years: the version archived in June 2025 is word for word the same, with the summer pattern from 1 July to 30 September and the hourly pattern the rest of the year.
Not as of 26 October 2026. It has been out of service since 2 September for its five-yearly Transport Canada dry-dock inspection; the province expected it back in late October, and 511 Nova Scotia still showed it suspended.
From October to June it leaves the east side on the hour and the west side on the half hour, and runs on demand after 6:30 p.m. In July to September it leaves each side every half hour between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
On the map the Isaacs Harbour ramp lies east of the Port Bickerton ramp, so on-the-hour departures are from Isaacs Harbour and half-hour departures from Port Bickerton.
No. Nova Scotia lists $0.00 for cars, light trucks and commercial trucks.
Fifteen cars, three more than the Stormont II it replaced in 2021.
Theodore O'Hara, the first lighthouse keeper at Port Bickerton, from 1901 to 1931. A Grade 2 student suggested the name in a school contest.