A journey into Ontario’s 1000 Islands area is a fascinating ride through history — with an old railway tunnel that’s been brought to life by lights and music, castles, forests, hiking trails and legends of rum runners and pirates from days gone by. Adventure is never far away on this awesome outdoor playground, located a bit east of Kingston. Before we get into the To Do/To See list, there’s this: Heights scare the bejeezus out of me.
Some people fear flying, others don’t want to be in the dark or confined in a tight space. For me, it’s heights. I’m so glad I stepped a bit outside of my comfort zone and got a taste of the adventure.
Let’s backtrack. A mini vacation for my wife Kelly-Anne and me started in Brockville, where we stayed two nights at the fabulous Sir Isaac Brock Bed and Breakfast . A beautifully restored 1824 limestone Georgian home, it’s owned by the best of hosts, Ida and David Duc.
I knew it would be good when David’s first words to me were a reference to a line from the Monty Python and the Holy Grail movie. Yes, “there are some who call me ..
. Tim.” With made-to-order breakfasts, there are two luxury suites.
Downtown Brockville is a walk away. We had dinner at the 1000 Islands Brewery, with delicious food options and a tasty selection of in-house brew. We began the next day with a visit to the Aquatarium at Tall Ships Landing , with interactive exhibits and a beaver named Justin Beaver.
It’s a great family outing. After you’re done, take a walk along the waterfront. Next stop: The Brockville Museum .
We learned about William Buell and the founding of Brockville. Temporary exhibits include Brockville’s Summer Olympic connections (until Oct. 11) and Quilting Memories.
For lunch, we went to Boboli, a must-stop for soup and sandwiches. We stopped by Brown’s Bay Beach and Picnic Area, a recent revitalization project. Added is a bayfront building, with areas for food and beverage service, changing rooms, comfort stations, outdoor showers, a water bottle refill station, and a new seating and picnic area.
Then, it was time to push aside my fears at Treetop Trekking’s 1000 Islands location, near the banks of the St. Lawrence River, just west of Brockville on the Thousand Islands Parkway (they’ve got six other locations in Ontario — Hamilton, Barrie, Brampton, Stouffville, Ganaraska and Huntsville). Our wonderfully patient guides Jess and Doc got me through the ziplining course where you slide down a suspended cable between trees (the longest zipline is 305 metres).
There’s much more than ziplining on site — there’s an aerial game trek, discovery courses, Treewalk Village for younger ones and a night trek (more on that later). We walked through the Brockville Railway Tunnel (built in 1860), which, with its sights and sounds, is well worth the visit. We had dinner at The Noshery Steakhouse, Trip Advisor’s top-rated restaurant in Brockville.
As you walk in, you spot retro posters (including Scarface, Die Hard, Beverly Hills Cop and Star Wars) and Funko Pops decorating the interior. One reviewer said: “It’s like steak with a side dish of Star Wars.” The next morning, we drove to Gananoque.
A two-person kayak has been called the divorce boat (maybe it’s just a myth), but we got through our adventure in good spirits ...
and still together. The 1000 Islands Kayaking tour, with our very-informative guide, Mike, gave us a front-row seat to the beauty of the islands, including a quick stopover in Half Moon Bay where visitors can guide their boats to shore for worship services. We had a great lunch at Laverne’s Eatery, where the food is made with fresh, seasonal ingredients.
We got another perspective of the 1000 Islands from high above, taking a ride with 1000 Islands Helicopter Tours , with chief pilot, Bill Fox. That heights thing was tugging at me again as I clutched the bar in front of me. But what a spectacular view and great history lesson from Bill as we looked down on castles, shipwrecks and islands.
Trivia: There aren’t actually 1,000 islands; there are 1,864. More trivia: To be considered an island, a piece of land must stay above water throughout the year and be capable of supporting a living tree. A pasta dinner at Riva was perfect — the restaurant had an amazing ambiance.
Then, it was back to Treetop Trekking. No ziplining this time, it was the night trek (with a headlamp illuminating the bridges and planks we had to navigate above the ground). Despite Treetop’s thorough safety measures and no reason for me to panic, our guides had to listen to me emphatically declaring, “I can’t do this” way too many times.
But, fear of heights be damned — I did it. We comfortably settled into the Holiday Inn Express and Suites. The next morning, we had breakfast at Panache Bakery and Cafe.
Delicious. We loaded up on freshly baked goodies to take home..
