2022
On the first weekend of September, we decided to take a one day trip to 1000 Islands and nearby places, including a cruise on the St. Lawrence River.
What is special about 1000 Islands, you ask? I have the answer (from Wikipedia)
The Thousand Islands constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about 80 km downstream from Kingston, Ontario. The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the U.S. islands in the state of New York.
The islands range in size from over 100 km2 to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, or uninhabited outcroppings of rocks. To count as one of the Thousand Islands, emergent land within the river channel must have at least one square foot (0.093 m2) of land above water level year-round, and support at least two living trees.
Driving from Toronto, the first stop is at a city called Gananoque which is called Gateway to the 1000 Islands.
This is a quiet and lovely city with lots of parks and eateries. Since none of us were feeling very hungry we just decided to explore the Heritage Village by the St. Lawrence River.
It has some small museums and a nice big park, as well as historical significances. Roadside parking was free on Sundays, which was good.
Our Landmarks of the 1000 Islands Cruise was starting at 2:15 pm and boarding starts 30 minutes prior. Hence we decided to head towards the starting point of the cruise further East.
This particular cruise runs for a hour and takes the passengers through navigable part of St. Lawrence River, which I learned had been dredged to allow cargo ships to enter from the Atlantic Ocean and move their cargo all the way to Ports in Toronto and Detroit along Lake Ontario.
Not too long from starting the cruise, we can see a stature of St. Lawrence after whom the river is named. The name Saint-Laurent (Saint Lawrence) was originally applied to the eponymous bay by Jacques Cartier upon his arrival into the region on the 10th of August feast day for Saint Lawrence in 1535.
Aboard the cruise there is an audio commentary in both English and French, in which we learned of two islands on either side of the Canada-US border separated by a walking bridge.
Zavikon Island is home to a bridge that, at only 32 feet in length, is considered the shortest international bridge in the world. It connects a Canadian island with an American island in the middle of the Saint Lawrence River.
Boldt Castle is a major landmark and tourist attraction in the Thousand Islands region of the U.S. state of New York. Open to guests seasonally between mid-May and mid-October, it is located on Heart Island in the Saint Lawrence River.
There are other cruises like a 5 hour one (for people with valid US visa or Canadian Citizenship) who can embark at the castle and stay/explore for a few hours. From our cruise, it looked magnificent and said to be valued around $40 million. And the cruise ship slowed down, circled the castle and header back to the Canadian side of St. Lawrence River this being the middle point.
Although there are multiple trails and hikes in the area, and it being a cloudy day (cannot watch the sunset from top of the trails) we decided to visit the 1000 Islands Observation deck as the final exploration.
It is a big 6 storey observation deck with 360 degree view of the nearby area, on the way we crossed a big bridge which leads to the US- Canada land border as well.
After spending some 20 minutes on top of the deck, we decided to head back for the 3 hour drive back to Toronto.
Cheers!
