Thousand Islands Region, NY

We had a week to fill between Letchworth SP and our next destination – northern Vermont. And, a choice whether to go north or south around the obstacles of the Adirondacks and Lake Champlain. After talking with our NY guides Mike and Betty, we decided to head north and visit the Thousand Islands Region of NY.

We stayed at two separate campgrounds in the area. First, we spent the weekend at Wellesley Island State Park just across a toll bridge from the river towns of Alexandria Bay and Clayton. While the rest of the park was beautiful, the campground was a bit…challenging. The sites were directly across from each other and at a 90-degree angle to a single-lane road lined with trees. RVs can’t make those turns!

Technically, there are 1,864 islands in the St. Lawrence River straddling the international border between Ontario and New York. To qualify as an island, one has to be above water 365 days per year and have at least one tree. Most are privately owned and Canada and the US have roughly equal landmass. Some are tiny and almost completely covered by a small fishing cottage and some are large and have a castle. Literally, a Gilded Age castle. There is Singer Castle (of the sewing machine family) on Dark Island and Boldt Castle on Heart Island that can be toured.

The main thing for visitors to do here is a boat tour around the islands. After deciding that our kayaks were not the appropriate vessels for exploring the islands we opted for the “American Narrows Tour” with Uncle Sam that included an unlimited stop (at least until the last boat of the day) at Boldt Castle at the end of the tour.

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Most of these houses are kind of like living in RVs just without wheels and surrounded by water. A few have electricity running underground under the river. But most just use oil/propane and generators. River water is filtered and wastewater tanks are pumped out by “honey wagon” boats.

In the early 1900s, George Boldt, the Waldorf Astoria hotelier, was building a castle for his wife when she died unexpectantly. The castle was 90% complete but he ordered construction to stop. For over 70 years the castle was abandoned to abuse from weather and vandalism until the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority acquired it and began restoration with toll revenue. So far they have restored the outside and the first two floors of the castle.

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After the boat ride, we walked around the small towns of Alex Bay and Clayton. Clayton seemed especially nice and we really liked the waterfront park there.

We also got the answer to a question we had never asked ourselves before. Just where does Thousand Island dressing come from? Here, of course. All the tourist shops were selling bottles of the original recipe.

On Sunday, we moved a couple of hours east to Robert Moses State Park near Massena, NY (not to be confused with the Robert Moses State Park on Long Island with the exact same name. Why, NY?) for the workweek. This state park is also on an island but separated from the mainland by the Eisenhower Lock which you drive under.

There are 7 locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway between Lake Ontario and Montreal, 8 more between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, connecting the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. They used to break up the ice during winter but now the Seaway is just closed when the river is frozen.

It takes 7 minutes to fill/empty the lock with 22 million gallons of water. Ships are raised/lowered 42 feet and are in the lock for about 20 minutes.

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I forgot to get a picture of our campsite, but we were in a loop near the lock which was good because the loops near the beach did not have a cell signal. As we pulled out we got a “That was the smoothest pack up and departure we’ve ever seen!” from a neighbor. Coincidence.

Next up, a month-long stay in the Green Mountain State.