Travel to Alexandria Bay area - need some advice

ZaGaSaRha

New Member
Nov 4, 2018
11
Boat Info
2002 Sea Ray Sundancer 380, win 8.1L gas
Engines
(2) Mercruiser 8.1L V-Drive Inboards with 0 hrs on rebuilt starboard engine and 1000 hours on port
Hello Sea Ray friends

My family and I are planning a trip in a few weeks to the A Bay area, with stops in Cape Vincent (fuel only), and overnights in Clayton and Alexandria Bay.

I've heard the channels are well marked, but that there are some great beaches off the main channels that are worth exploring. We have a 380 with a 14 foot dinghy, so my plan was to get some recommendations from all of you and then get close in the 380 and closer in the dinghy.

Any suggestions of places to see, beaches to visit, etc. are welcome. We have all adult (>16) year old kids and 2 dogs, so the beaches need to allow for my dogs to play as well.

Thanks

SAM
 
THE beach where everybody goes is called Palmer's Beach. It's on the west side of Grindstone Island, and as far as I know it won't be identified on any map. It's a small cove that will easily take 50 boats on a Sunday afternoon. Its off the main channel and the inlet to it is filled with rocky reefs, not all of them marked. If its a high west wind it will be pretty rough. With the high water levels the sand "beach" will likely be under water, so not dog friendly.

On windy days we all congregate on the west side of Eel Bay. Nice sandy bottom, but again no real land for dogs.

The north side of Wellesley Island State Park has 3 small inlets. One houses a marina and the second is a state park sand beach (not boat accessible). The third inlet is at the end of a camping cul-de-sac. Its a nice friendly spot and very protected from the elements. Swimming and dogs are "technically" not permitted (no life guards), but they are "tolerated" and not shooed away. OTOH, the bottom is kinda rocky and the beach doesn't have much sand. Nevertheless,
we meet the same people there every year, and after 32 years, we all know everybody's name....LOL.

Other good beaches require traveling thru Canadian waters, which won't be accessible by USA boats for at least another month. You don't want to meet up with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police Boat....(as me how I know).

Just get a good map. It can be treacherous up there.
 
Small correction to Jim’s comments....it’s Potter’s Beach on the west end of Grindstone..another spot to anchor if there is a strong west wind (maybe the same spot to anchor on the west side of Eel Bay) is the northeast corner of Grindstone, just south of Canoe Point State Park. If you overnight in Clayton, the closest beach is on the south west side of Picton Island...you’ll see it if you head northeast in the channel between Picton and Grindstone. Let us know if we can help with more info.
Here’s an image of Potters on a good day.

upload_2020-6-19_21-22-52.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OMG Brain Fart. I don't know where Palmer came from. Potters for sure.
 
Hello Sea Ray friends

My family and I are planning a trip in a few weeks to the A Bay area, with stops in Cape Vincent (fuel only), and overnights in Clayton and Alexandria Bay.

I've heard the channels are well marked, but that there are some great beaches off the main channels that are worth exploring. We have a 380 with a 14 foot dinghy, so my plan was to get some recommendations from all of you and then get close in the 380 and closer in the dinghy.

Any suggestions of places to see, beaches to visit, etc. are welcome. We have all adult (>16) year old kids and 2 dogs, so the beaches need to allow for my dogs to play as well.

Thanks

SAM
Hi Sam, the above 3 beach areas are all beautiful. Potters and Picton can be a little rough in west and south west winds. The west end of Eel Bay is nice but you tend to lose the sun in the afternoon due to the trees on the island. Canoe Point has a nice little Marina to stay with bath/shower facilities for $23/night. Otherwise the Clayton village owned docks are really nice on both ends of the town.(1 marina by Harbor Hotel and 1 long dock by Antique boat Museum) Nice facilities and easy walking to most local restaurants/attractions.
My two labs are with us all the time and have no problems relieving themselves at any of the locations. You can easily throw a frisby for your pooches at any of them and allow them adequate rest time between tosses Picton is posted but the shore is wooded sorta steep with lots of debris. Dogs do there thing and I've never seen anyone on the island bother a pet owner who just lets their dog relieve themselves.
Abay is nice but touristy. Boldt Castle is Gorgeous but not sure if its open. A boat ride through the area is definitely worth the time. Beautiful Homes and Scenery
 
A boat ride through the area is definitely worth the time. Beautiful Homes and Scenery

Understatement for sure....:)

We went there the first time in 1977. Took an Uncle Sam's Cruise to get the lay of the land, then went to the TI Bait Shop for a river chart and took off on our own.

That year was the first time that the Castle was open to the public. It still showed like a ruins. Today the restoration is magnificent.

We've been back for 32 more vacations since then. Will be back in a couple of weeks.
 
If you are still planning the trip, here are some updates.
Canadian Law Enforcement has been overzealous (imo) in enforcing the border closure. The Can/US border zigzags through the islands so one has to pay close attention to your track....inadvertently straying on the wrong side could lead to fines up to $750/person on the the boat. There has been a lot of confusion on this, whereas previously as long as you didn’t anchor or touch Canadian soil, you didn’t have to clear customs. Now, US boats cannot enter Canadian waters. The border closure has been extended til Aug 21.
Potters Beach and Picton Island beach is now closed due to Covid. I assume you could anchor off, but again coming ashore is prohibited.
https://tilandtrust.org/conservation/news/potters-beach-preserve-temporarily-closed
 
Last edited:

Forum statistics

Threads
112,950
Messages
1,422,888
Members
60,933
Latest member
juliediane
Back
Top