The Seaway Trail is a driving/boating
route along the shores of the St. Lawrence River and eastern
Great Lakes, with scenic landscapes including Niagara Falls
and 1000 Islands. Historic sites include 26 lovely
lighthouses, the St. Lawrence Seaway, War of 1812, and great
museums. Enjoy welcoming harbors, agricultural landscapes,
quaint villages, world-class sport fishing, 127 nature
sites, cities, and seven entry points from Canada. Start
your adventure at the Seaway Trail Discovery Center, located
in Sackets Harbor, with nine rooms of interpretive exhibits,
murals, and an orientation in a fantasy car. This center is
open year-round.
"The National Scenic Byways Program recognizes highways that
are outstanding examples of our nation's beauty, history,
culture, and recreational experience by designating them as
All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways along the St
Lawrence River
The Thousand Islands
region is a watery venue of rocky, forested islands
straddling two nations and marking the beginning of the
storied St. Lawrence River as it leaves Lake Ontario to flow
hundreds of miles northeast into the Atlantic Ocean in
eastern Quebec.
Some of the Thousand Islands – officially they number 1,864
– are mere rocks with a couple of trees, too small for
habitation, though some hold a single cabin. Others are
large enough for many cottages, and busy Wellesley Island
contains a Victorian village, several state parks, a golf
resort and hundreds of summer homes. The largest, Ontario's
charming Wolfe Island, supports a year-round farming
population of nearly 1,500.
You can ride on a tour
boat or rent a houseboat. Watch hulking ocean-going
freighters pass along the St. Lawrence Seaway. Go scuba
diving to look at underwater shipwrecks. Attend vesper
services by boat. Take a shuttle boat to shop at the Boateak
on Bluff Island or a ferry to dine at an inn on Wolfe
Island. Stay overnight at a B&B on a boat or an island. Camp
in a cabin on Canoe Island or a tent on Mary Island, and
island-hop between campsites in Canada's St. Lawrence
National Park.
You can visit North
America's largest freshwater maritime museum, see first-rate
theater at a playhouse beside the water, visit a nature
center on Wellesley Island, reminisce in the Victorian homes
and ambiance of Thousand Island Park, relive the past on
Wolfe Island, and enjoy the local Thousand Island salad
dressing and River Rat cheese.
And everyone ogles Boldt
Castle, the $2.5 million monument to a man's love and a
broken heart on Heart Island, an omnipresent landmark off
Alexandria Bay.
Just as the islands and towns vary, so do the people who
populate or visit this busy summer vacation area. All types
can find their place among the myriad islands and
attractions of the mighty St. Lawrence. |
