Next to its neighbor at Rochester, Reeds Ferry is the quieter of Butler County's two Green River crossings: roughly half the traffic, the same free ride and the same 8-to-8 day on the state's ferry sheet. It carries KY 269 between the Logansport and Prentiss banks, both within the county, while the Rochester boat takes KY 369 across into Ohio County.
Nor does it resemble the best-known ferry on this river, the Green River Ferry at Mammoth Cave. That one is a federal operation run by the National Park Service, and it has spent this fall suspended because the water is too low. Reeds belongs to the Butler County Fiscal Court, with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reimbursing it from state highway funds, and its published weak point is the opposite one: high water.
A note on the name. A New Hampshire community is also called Reeds Ferry, and most searches for it have nothing to do with boats. Everything here concerns the Kentucky crossing.
An 8-to-8 day on the state sheet, all week and all year
Hours from the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's ferryboat sheet (2023 edition, identical to its July 2013 sheet), checked October 15, 2026; Butler County's own website could not be reached for a second check KYTC — Ferryboats in Kentucky (schedule and map, 2023) · 2026-10-15
Free to cross, paid for out of state highway money
Both columns of the state's fare table, car and foot, say Free for Reeds Ferry. Funding arrives by another route: the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet reimburses publicly operated ferries out of the state's six-year highway plan.
The other Green River ferries on that sheet are free as well. Only three Kentucky crossings ask drivers for money, and all three are on the Ohio or the Mississippi.
| Car or pickup | Free |
| On foot | Free |
Free on the KYTC ferry sheets of 2023 and 2013, checked October 15, 2026 KYTC — Ferryboats in Kentucky (2023) · 2026-10-15
The Logansport bank and the Prentiss bank
Logansport landing
The federal ferry-terminal census files this ramp as Logansport, on KY 269 and Reeds Ferry Road, with Morgantown, the county seat, as its town. It records parking at the landing and names the Butler County Fiscal Court as both owner and operator.
Prentiss landing
The opposite ramp appears in the same census under Prentiss, with Beaver Dam as the mailing town, and again with parking. Kentucky's ferry sheet numbers the road KY 269 on both banks, so you stay on the same state route from one side to the other.
A hundred-meter hop on KY 269
Federal coordinates put the two Reeds Ferry ramps about 100 meters (330 feet) apart, the Logansport side near Morgantown and the Prentiss side toward Beaver Dam, both inside Butler County. Downstream to the west, the county's other boat at Rochester carries KY 369 over into Ohio County.
Set against other free, publicly run river crossings in the South, Reeds sits between extremes. NCDOT's Sans Souci Ferry in North Carolina takes two cars at a time on a cable; Kentucky's Turkey Neck Bend boat on the Cumberland is listed as running around the clock; Reeds keeps a plain twelve-hour day.
Checks worth making before you count on it
- Ring the ferry line
270-532-1803 is the operations number on KYTC's current page. For county business, the Judge/Executive's office in Morgantown is on (270) 526-3433.
- Watch the Rochester gauge
At 37 feet the Weather Service expects Reeds and Rochester ferries to stay closed; Rochester alone stops at 34. On October 15, 2026 the gauge read 28.78 feet, no flooding.
- Do not cut it close at 8 p.m.
The state sheet gives 8 p.m. as closing time with no last-boat rule, so arrive well before then if you need the crossing.
- Short pauses happen
Refueling and maintenance are on KYTC's list of reasons a Kentucky ferry may briefly stop.
- Long rigs: ask first
KYTC says Kentucky's ferries take any highway vehicle, trailers and RVs included, but no weight or length limit is published for Reeds.
Traffic counts, a 2025 flood and a new fuel tank
Kentucky counts ten working ferries on five rivers, seven of them paid for by the state, and Reeds sits in that state-funded group with Augusta on the Ohio. The contrast is instructive: Augusta's boat belongs to a nonprofit ferry authority and charges cars, while Reeds is run by the county and charges nobody. In fiscal year 2022 the state-funded ferries together carried 309,000 vehicles, according to KYTC.
Within Butler County, Reeds is the lighter-used of the pair. The annual ferry report given to the fiscal court in February 2025 counted 11,725 vehicles at Reed's Ferry and 24,144 at Rochester, the local Beech Tree News reported. On April 9, 2025 the river crested at 53.11 feet on the Rochester gauge, the third-highest crest on the Weather Service's list, and FEMA later paid about $38,000 toward repairing the county's ferry houses and garage. In April 2026 magistrates approved flood insurance for the Reeds Ferry house and a $2,465 double-wall fuel tank for the ferry.
Reeds Ferry, compared and explained
What are Reeds Ferry's hours?
8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Sunday, year-round, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet's ferry sheet. Call 270-532-1803 to confirm it is running before a long drive.
Does Reeds Ferry cost anything?
No. KYTC lists it as free for cars and for people on foot.
Who operates Reeds Ferry?
The Butler County Fiscal Court, which owns both landings. The county Judge/Executive's office in Morgantown answers on (270) 526-3433.
Which Green River level shuts Reeds Ferry?
The National Weather Service expects Reeds and Rochester ferries to remain closed once the Green River hits 37 feet on its Rochester gauge. On October 15, 2026 it read 28.78 feet.
How is Reeds different from the Rochester Ferry?
Reeds keeps KY 269 inside Butler County; Rochester takes KY 369 into Ohio County. Rochester carried about twice the traffic, 24,144 vehicles to 11,725 in the report given in February 2025, and stops earlier in a flood, at 34 feet.
Is this the Reeds Ferry in New Hampshire?
No. This page covers the river ferry on KY 269 in Butler County, Kentucky.
Trailers and RVs: does the boat take them?
KYTC says Kentucky's ferries can carry any highway vehicle, trailers and RVs included, but it publishes no limits on size or weight at Reeds, so call the ferry line first.