Kootenay Lake

Ferry cameras: Balfour and Kootenay Bay right now

DriveBC's pictures from both ferry terminals, each one showing how old its picture really is.

Updated Pacific Time.

Balfour terminal

Five DriveBC cameras watch the Balfour terminal: the approach roads off Highway 3A and 31, the loading ramp and the Busk Road parking lot.

Balfour ferry terminal

5 min ago
Balfour Ferry Terminal, Balfour ferry terminal, looking north towards Highway 3A.

Balfour Ferry Terminal

Balfour ferry terminal, looking north towards Highway 3A.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Ramp, Balfour ferry terminal, looking south at ferry loading ramp.

Balfour Ferry Ramp

Balfour ferry terminal, looking south at ferry loading ramp.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Approach - SW, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance of Ferry Landing Road, looking southwest.

Balfour Ferry Approach - SW

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance of Ferry Landing Road, looking southwest.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Approach - NE, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance near Ferry Landing Road, looking northeast.

Balfour Ferry Approach - NE

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Balfour ferry terminal entrance near Ferry Landing Road, looking northeast.

DriveBC.ca

Balfour Ferry Busk Road Parking, Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Busk Road near the Balfour ferry terminal, looking at ferry parking lot.

Balfour Ferry Busk Road Parking

Highway 3A and Highway 31 at Busk Road near the Balfour ferry terminal, looking at ferry parking lot.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Kootenay Bay landing

Two DriveBC cameras cover the Kootenay Bay landing, looking back along Highway 3A at the ramp itself.

Kootenay Bay ferry landing

5 min ago
Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking northeast.

Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing

Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking northeast.

DriveBC.ca

Kootenay Bay Ferry Ramp, Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking southwest.

Kootenay Bay Ferry Ramp

Highway 3A at Kootenay Bay Ferry Landing, looking southwest.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

How to read the queue

The Balfour Ferry Ramp camera shows the loading ramp itself, where vehicles board. The Balfour Ferry Busk Road Parking camera shows the line-up in the lot off Busk Road, where cars wait once the ramp lanes are full. When that lot looks full, the next sailing from Balfour is likely to fill before a late arrival reaches the ramp.

Why is the picture old?

Every picture is fingerprinted each time the feed is read, so one that has not changed in 2 hours is marked as not refreshing, and one frozen for 24 hours is dropped from the grid and named underneath it. DriveBC refreshes these cameras about every 12 minutes, so an old picture almost always means the camera has stopped, not that an update is merely due.

Highway 3A cameras either side of the ferry

Highway 3A and Highway 31 carry the roads on both sides of the ferry, from Creston toward Balfour and on north to Kaslo.

Highway 3A and Highway 31

5 min ago
Coffee Creek, Highway 31 about 45 km north of Nelson and 25 km south of Kaslo, looking north.

Coffee Creek

Highway 31 about 45 km north of Nelson and 25 km south of Kaslo, looking north.

DriveBC.ca

Sanca Creek, Highway 3A about 1.6 km south of Sanca Creek Bridge, looking south.

Sanca Creek

Highway 3A about 1.6 km south of Sanca Creek Bridge, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Cooper Creek, Highway 31 at Duncan Lake Road about 35 km north of Kaslo, looking south.

Cooper Creek

Highway 31 at Duncan Lake Road about 35 km north of Kaslo, looking south.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - N, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking northbound.

Kaslo - N

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking northbound.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - W, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking westbound.

Kaslo - W

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking westbound.

DriveBC.ca

Kaslo - S, Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking southbound.

Kaslo - S

Highway 31 at Highway 31A Junction in Kaslo, looking southbound.

DriveBC.ca

Camera images and ferry status from DriveBC.ca, BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit.

Every webcam around the lake

Common questions

What time is the Balfour ferry cam showing?

The badge above each set of cameras states how long ago the picture was fetched, not a clock time printed on the photo. This page reads the feed every ten minutes, in Pacific Time, the zone Balfour keeps year round.

Is there a ferry cam app?

None of the sources this page reads mention a stand-alone app for these cameras; this page is built to work on a phone at the terminal instead. Check the province’s own Kootenay Lake ferry page for anything beyond the pictures shown here.

Which side has the longer wait?

Neither DriveBC nor this page publishes a wait-time number for either terminal. The parking lot cameras are the closest proxy: a full lot at Balfour or Kootenay Bay usually points to a longer wait for that side's next sailing.