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Crossing the Harbor

Sunset over the harbor from the Canton waterfront promenade
Pictured: Canton Waterfront Park, one of the places in this guide

Crossing Baltimore's harbor by water taxi, free boat or kayak: the weekday Harbor Connector that costs nothing, the Water Taxi's $20 day ticket on the Water Trolley, and the city's new self-service kayak launches at Rash Field and Fells Point.

Updated Sep 28, 2026 · each stop says the day its sources were read, and what they left unconfirmed

Baltimore grew up around its harbor, and the water is still the shortest line between half its neighborhoods. Fells Point, Canton, Locust Point and Federal Hill face each other across it, while the buses have to drive the long way round. Crossing by boat is the quickest way to learn the shape of the city, whether you landed this morning or have lived on one shore for years without crossing to the other.

There are three ways across, and this is the order to try them. The free one first, because almost no visitor knows it exists. Then the ticketed one, which runs at the weekend when the free boat does not and goes out to Fort McHenry. Then the one you paddle yourself, from two new launches with no booking and no staff. Between them, something crosses every day of the week.

Before you go

  • The Harbor Connector runs weekdays only, and not on New Year's Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
  • The Water Trolley sails April 1 to October 31 only: weekends in April and again from September 8, Friday to Sunday from May to Labor Day. Out of season, the one boat you can pay for is the on-demand taxi, booked through the TransiGo app.
  • On the Trolley, the last boat from Fort McHenry is at 4:47pm on a Friday and 5pm at the weekend, well before the rest of the route stops.
  • In the operator's words, 'accessibility varies by vessel, dock, tide, weather, and boarding location', and it asks anyone with mobility needs to make contact before the trip. Service animals ride; on the Connector, other dogs do not.
  • The kayak launches open sunrise to sunset, every day. Rash Field has paid parking; Bond Street Wharf is street parking only.
  1. 1

    Departs Fells Point · On the water · Free

    Harbor Connector

    Start with the free one, because it costs nothing and almost no visitor knows it exists. Baltimore City runs it for people going to work, three routes on weekdays: Locust Point to Fells Point every 15 minutes from 6am, Federal Hill to Pier 5 every 15 minutes from 7am, and a slower loop through Locust Point, Fells Point and Canton every 45 minutes. It crosses water the buses have to drive around, so on a weekday it is the fastest way between two waterfront neighborhoods. Ride it at rush hour and you see the harbor as the city uses it.

    Sources read Sep 28, 2026

    Not confirmed: The city publishes no accessibility statement for the Connector itself, so the access line is Harbor Boating's answer for the whole fleet it runs. Harbor Boating's own Connector pages return 404, so the timetable is the city's.

    Hours: Weekdays only. Route 1 from 6am to 8pm; Route 3 from 7am to 8pm; Route 2 from 7:15am to 11:25am and 3:50pm to 8pm · full listing

  2. 2

    Departs Inner Harbor · On the water · $

    Baltimore Water Taxi

    At the weekend, when the Connector stops, pay for the boat. Harbor Boating runs three services under the Water Taxi name, and the one to buy is the Water Trolley: $20 for an adult day ticket, $10 for children 3 to 12, infants and dogs free, on and off at eight stops on two routes. The Inner Harbor route leaves Harborplace from 11am; the Outer Harbor route leaves Fells Point from 11:15am and takes in Fort McHenry. The Trolley's future is unsettled, with on-demand boats reported as its replacement, so ride it this season while it runs.

    Sources read Sep 28, 2026

    Not confirmed: The operator publishes no hours or fares for the on-demand taxi and points to the app instead; the daily 11am to 7pm window and the ten docks come from press, not from Harbor Boating. Trade press has reported the ticketed Trolley may be phased out in favour of the on-demand boats, which the operator does not say anywhere, so treat the Trolley's future as unsettled. The access answer covers the whole fleet rather than any one boat or dock, and the street addresses of the landings are not published.

    Hours: Trolley: Inner Harbor route 11am to 7:10pm from Harborplace; Outer Harbor route 11:15am to 7:44pm from Fells Point, Fort McHenry stop ends 4:47pm Fri and 5pm Sat-Sun. Harbor Connector: weekdays only, HC1 6am-8pm, HC2 7:15-11:25am and 3:50-8pm, HC3 7am-8pm. On-demand: daily, reported as 11am-7pm. · full listing

  3. 3

    Departs Fells Point · On the water · $

    Baltimore Blueway public kayak launches and Rent.Fun rentals

    Or cross under your own power. On August 28, 2026 the city opened its first public kayak launch at Rash Field, at the foot of Federal Hill, alongside a second at Bond Street Wharf in Fells Point. There is no booking and no staff: download the Rent.Fun app, scan the QR code on the rack and a kayak unlocks, paddle and life jacket included. Both open sunrise to sunset, every day, though in practice this is warm-weather paddling. Launch from Rash Field for the skyline, or from Fells Point to paddle out past the landings the boats use.

    Sources read Sep 18, 2026

    Not confirmed: Rent.Fun publishes no prices on the Blueway pages, so the $ band is an assumption. The Blueway's two pages give different addresses for the same kiosks (901 S Bond St vs 1633 Thames St; 201 Key Hwy vs 400 Key Hwy), so check on the ground. Age limits and accessibility are not published.

    Hours: Kiosks open every day from sunrise to sunset · full listing