SR 409 goes on a route north from the northern ferry dock of the
Wahkiakum County Ferry on
Puget Island, to
SR 4, also referred to as the
Ocean Beach Highway, The
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) found in 2007 that, on average, more than 2,800 motorists utilize the road daily south of the northern terminus in Cathlamet, making the highway the second busiest state route in the county, after SR 4 at Boege Road, which more than 4,100 motorists utilize daily. towards the
Julia Butler Hansen Bridge and
Cathlamet. SR 409 originates at the ferry dock on Puget Island which serves as the northern end of the Wahkiakum County Ferry. From the dock, the road travels north past the island's interior, before turning northwest to parallel the
Cathlamet Channel. After intersecting Little Island Road, the highway immediately turns onto the
Julia Butler Hansen Bridge spanning over the Cathlamet Channel. Once SR 409 exits off the bridge in Cathlamet, it becomes Front Street. Later, after intersecting River Street and Columbia Street, the highway becomes Main Street, the designation used from the intersection point to SR 4.
Ferry leaving the
Westport, Oregon dock towards the
Puget Island dock, the southern terminus of SR 409. The year-round Wahkiakum County Ferry, designated
Wahkiakum, runs from
Westport, Oregon to the southern terminus of SR 409 at Puget Island. The ferry connects SR 409 to a road that connects to
U.S. Route 30, which runs across Oregon;
Wahkiakum County began running the ferry in 1962, on a route from Westport to Puget Island. The ferry travels more than eighteen trips per day, and runs from 5:00 am to 10:15 pm and holds up to nine vehicles. The ferry costs 50¢ for foot passengers, $1 for bicycles, $2 for motorcycles, and $3 for passenger cars and other vehicles under . The county later replaced the Puget Island – Cathlamet route with the Puget Island – Cathlamet Bridge in 1939. ==History==