The Haverstraw-Ossining ferry fires up its weekend service on Saturday, May 23, and runs hourly boats through October 31, per the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's season announcement. Boats sail between roughly 11:23 a.m. and 9:10 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, at $4.75 one way for adults, and the crossing to the Westchester side takes about 15 minutes.
The ferry is timed to meet Metro-North Hudson Line trains at Ossining, so a Rockland family can leave Haverstraw on a Saturday morning and be at Grand Central without touching a car or paying the Tappan Zee toll. On weekends the railroad supplements its schedule with extra trains around the ferry connection windows.
The part residents miss is the last leg on this side. Rockland County's free TOR Ferry Connection bus also returns for the season, running Saturdays and Sundays from May 23 through October 31 to shuttle riders between Haverstraw neighborhoods and the ferry dock. That link is what makes the service usable without a car or a parking spot at the landing.
Bikes are allowed on the boat, which opens up the Hook Mountain path on the Rockland side and the river trail network in Westchester, and the trip itself is short enough that it works for a half-day rather than a full commitment. Parking at the Haverstraw landing is the usual pinch point on summer weekends, which is exactly why the TOR shuttle exists.
Related stories: New City: Rockland County correction officer exam application window closes June 12 · Rockland County: every school budget passed on the May 19 vote, led by Clarkstown's 75 percent yes.
What this means for residents: weekend errands and day trips get cheaper options. The ferry-plus-train combo reaches Cold Spring, Ossining's river towns and Manhattan, and it bypasses the congestion and bridge traffic that come with every holiday weekend. Weekday rush-hour commuter service on the route runs year-round as it always has; the seasonal change is the addition of weekend boats.
For context, the weekend service returned as a pilot in recent seasons and has stuck around, becoming part of the river towns' summer rhythm alongside the Haverstraw waterfront's restaurants and the village's events calendar. Boats run hourly, so missing one is not a crisis, but check the MTA timetable before you go: holiday schedules differ, and service can shift around Hudson Line track work.