Qualla: Balboa Island Ferry

Balboa Island Ferry: Introduction

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0. At four miles per hour, the Balboa Island Ferry might be the slowest way to cross anything in Southern California. That is precisely the point. Since 1919, when Joseph Allan Beek first pushed off from shore in a giant rowboat called The Ark, this three-vessel fleet has carried passengers less than a thousand feet across Newport Harbor, docking approximately every five minutes, day after day, year after year. The speed limit in the harbor is five miles per hour. The ferry runs just under it. Beek's three sons still run the business, and the three wooden boats their father built in the 1950s remain in service, having transported more than two million passengers between Balboa Island and the Balboa Peninsula.

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Image: Visitor7 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Balboa Island Ferry: The Ark and After

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Joseph Allan Beek obtained ferry rights from Newport Beach in 1919 and started with what he had: an oversized rowboat equipped with a small engine and a set of oars in case it failed. There was no schedule. Customers telephoned when they needed a ride across. The fare was five ce...

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Image: Don Ramey Logan | CC BY-SA 4.0

Balboa Island Ferry: Hollywood on the Water

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0. The ferry's unhurried charm caught the attention of filmmakers early. In 1949, director Max Ophuls chose the ferry for scenes in The Reckless Moment, a film noir starring James Mason and Joan Bennett. The Commodore appeared in the 1999 Disney telefilm The Thirteenth Year. Califor...

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Image: Don Ramey Logan | CC BY-SA 4.0

Balboa Island Ferry: Landmarks Within Reach

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit OC Historical Archives cc 1921, Public domain. The ferry deposits passengers at the Fun Zone, established in 1936, where a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel still operate among shops and food stands. The Balboa Pavilion, Newport Beach's most famous landmark, dates to 1906, built as a sister project with the Balboa Pier to lure ...

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Image: OC Historical Archives cc 1921 | Public domain

Balboa Island Ferry: A Dollar and Change

Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Don Ramey Logan, CC BY 4.0. Current fares reflect over a century of modest inflation. Adults pay $1.25. Vehicles cost $2.25. Children five to eleven ride for fifty cents; those under five travel free. Adults with bikes pay $1.50, children with bikes seventy-five cents, motorcycles $1.75. The boats require c...

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Image: Don Ramey Logan | CC BY 4.0