The ferry is located at the terminus of State Route 409, it departs from Puget Island, Washington, which the Julia Butler Hansen Bridge links to the mainland.

[2] In 1990, the ferry temporarily had a 24-hour schedule following a landslide on State Route 4 at KM Mountain that destroyed a section of the highway.

During a scheduled eight-day closure of the Lewis and Clark Bridge (near Longview, Washington) in July 2023, service on the Wahkiakum County ferry was doubled to handle detour traffic.

A priority line for first responders, healthcare workers, and medical appointment travel was set up to allow them to skip the queue.

[7] The Washington state government began providing an operating subsidy for the ferry in 1969 and studied an outright acquisition, but found that it would be of little statewide benefit.