You get to Wards Island by our Ferry system at the foot of Queens Quay & Yonge Sts. To cross on the ferry there is a fee: Adults are $5.00, seniors are $3.00, children 12 & under are $2.00 and children under 2 are free. You may wish to call ahead and check the fees. 416-392-8193 or you can find it in the 'blue' section of the white pages listed under "Ferry Boats - Toronto schedule & Fares". The ferries are easy to board and there are washrooms on board but they are not wheelchair accessible however where you wait for the ferry there are accessible washrooms as well as on the islands. The ferries were built many years ago. There is an upper deck that is accessible by stairs only and is open and the lower deck that is closed in but all windows so the view is great for the 10 - 15 minute ferry ride. Be sure to take your camera. Ferry departures are posted both at the main dock at Front & Yonge Sts. and over on the island. As a child my favourite place to go was "Center Island"
This island is an oasis as far as I'm concerned. There are picnic tables and public washrooms all over Ward's Island. Be sure to pack a lunch with you as there are no concession stands on this island. There's an old lighthouse there and an old firehall and these coaches you can rent to pedal around for the day if you are able.
Click here to see information on "Center Island"
*NOTE* WHEELTRANS INFORMATION
This is tricky. You can get wheeltrans to drop you off at the ferry docks. Simply book the ride as you normally do. You will be dropped off to the left of the main gate though. The drop off point for Wheeltrans is right inside the ferry dock at the place where the Wards Island ferry departs from. When you leave the wheeltrans bus you simply go straight to where the ferry loads. Since you are already past the paying gates entry is free. At least we were not required to go around and pay.
Now.. here is the tricky part. When you are coming home and are waiting for your wheeltrans pick up you wait in the same place you were dropped off BUT it seems some wheeltrans drivers don't know where this is! Yes indeed, we were left stranded there Aug. 16th, 2002 because the wheeltrans driver waited for us somewhere else and called us in as a no-show! Be warned, if your ride isn't there on time phone wheeltrans and find out where it is! Or better yet, while still on the island waiting for the ferry back to the main docks stick a quarter in a pay phone and call ahead to confirm where you are going to be picked up. Personally, I don't care if this annoys them, we were stuck there and they wanted us to wait yet another hour for a ride home after we already waited an hour. All because the driver didn't know the drop off/pick up point. If it is a cool or rainy day you don't want to be waiting forever because there is little or no shelter where you wait.
