Turn up at Lower Portland just after ten in the morning and you will wait. This small Transport for NSW ferry over the Hawkesbury, where the Colo River comes in, closes overnight and pauses twice a day, so it pays to know its hours before you leave Windsor or Wisemans Ferry.
Operating windows published by Transport for NSW, read on 13 October 2026, including its change to the maintenance closure from 1 November 2026 NSW Government – Vehicle ferries (Lower Portland ferry) · 2026-10-13
Check the clock before you set off for Lower Portland. The ferry here, a small cable punt over the Hawkesbury River at its junction with the Colo River, runs from 6am to 10pm every day, but it stops from 10.00am to 10.30am and again from 6.30pm to 7.00pm. The Hills Shire puts the pauses down to crew rostering under the relevant award; the state's page just splits the day into three windows. Either way, a car that reaches the ramp a few minutes after ten waits until half past.
Next, check the date. On one Wednesday morning a month the ferry is out for scheduled maintenance, and Transport for NSW has announced that from 1 November 2026 that stoppage grows to 9.30am–1pm on the second Wednesday. And in wet weather, check the river: the crossing is withdrawn once the Hawkesbury at Windsor reaches 3 metres and is still rising.
Once you are aboard it is quick: three minutes for about 190 metres of water, with room for eight cars and up to 48 tonnes aboard. There is no fare.
Lower Portland costs nothing, like every vehicle ferry the NSW Government runs. The constraint is size: the deck takes eight cars and the safe load limit is 48 tonnes.
| Car, ute or motorcycle | Free |
| Vehicle towing a trailer or caravan | Free |
| Truck within the 48 t safe load | Free |
| Cyclist or pedestrian | Free |
Free, as stated by the NSW Government for all its vehicle ferries; read on 13 October 2026 NSW Government – Vehicle ferries · 2026-10-13
The ferry sits where the Colo River joins the Hawkesbury, on the back roads that link Windsor with Wisemans Ferry. Downstream, past the river's long loops, the much bigger Wisemans Ferry crossing operates 24 hours and adds a second vessel when traffic builds. Upstream towards Windsor, the Sackville ferry, also free, also works through the night, which makes it the obvious fallback during Lower Portland's breaks.
The village side. River Road runs down to the ramp beside the mouth of the Colo, and The Hills Shire gives the crossing's address as 762 River Road. Carry on north along River Road for Wisemans Ferry.
The western approach is West Portland Road, which joins Sackville Road for Windsor. Transport for NSW put one of its new real-time ferry signs at 871 Sackville Road, opposite the West Portland Road turn, so you can see the ferry's status before committing to the side road.
Arriving just after either break starts means up to half an hour in the queue. Leave a margin before ten in the morning and half past six in the evening, or plan for a coffee.
Late drivers should head for Sackville or Wisemans instead; both are listed by Transport for NSW as 24-hour crossings.
From 1 November 2026 the monthly maintenance closure runs 9.30am to 1pm. Check the date before a mid-morning trip.
The council's rule of thumb: the punt stops once the river at Windsor hits 3 metres on a rising trend, earlier if debris or floodwater from the Colo makes the crossing unsafe.
New permanent mini message signs installed by Transport for NSW in 2026 show whether the Lower Portland and Sackville ferries are running, early enough to turn around.
Lower Portland was, until recently, an exception. The NSW Government runs most of the state's vehicle ferries, but this one was managed and paid for by local government, and Hawkesbury City and The Hills Shire councils spent years asking the state to take it on. In April 2024, with the ferry out of service for essential maintenance, the government agreed; Transport for NSW took control at 6am on Sunday 1 September 2024, bringing it into line with the other Hawkesbury River ferries under one authority. The same authority runs Sydney's Mortlake ferry on the Parramatta River, another free cable punt with gaps in its day: on weekdays it sits idle from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. Port Macquarie's Hibbard ferry, on the Hastings River, has stayed with local government: Port Macquarie-Hastings Council owns it and charges a fare for every crossing.
The state has since spent money on telling drivers what the ferry is doing. Between late July and mid-September 2026 Transport for NSW installed permanent mini variable message signs on the approaches to Lower Portland and Sackville, part of a set of six for its four Hawkesbury-area crossings, so that motorists can turn back in good time when a crossing is closed or the queue is longer than usual.
Three windows a day, weekends included, according to the state's ferry page: 6.00am–10.00am, 10.30am–6.30pm and 7.00pm–10.00pm. There is no overnight service.
Those are daily half-hour breaks, which the council says exist because of the crew's industrial and award arrangements; the ferry resumes at 10.30am and 7.00pm.
The state's page says the second Wednesday, 9.00am–11.00am, changing to 9.30am–1pm from 1 November 2026. The Hills Shire page still says first Wednesday, so check Live Traffic NSW if your trip falls on any Wednesday morning.
When the river height at Windsor reaches 3 metres and is rising. Tides, floating debris and inflow from the Colo River can bring the closure forward.
Eight cars, and no more than 48 tonnes in total. On a busy weekend that can mean waiting for a second trip.
No. Both are free Transport for NSW ferries on the Hawkesbury, but Wisemans Ferry is further downstream, runs 24 hours and carries far more cars per trip.
No. The state took it over at 6am on 1 September 2024; until then it was one of a handful of NSW vehicle punts still in local-government hands.