First trip to 1000 Islands

[Strecker25]

Hey all, The wife and I are soon to be taking delivery of our new to us 98 290DA and I want to plan a trip for a long weekend during the summer. We dock in upstate NY in a bay off lake Ontario near Rochester. The 1000 Islands seems like a good destination for a first trip. I was thinking we would get some transient slippage for at least the first night, and possibly spend a night on the hook if we can find a good spot.

In good weather it looks like a pretty easy trip, and we may even ride the shoreline to see some of the other harbors on the way. I've heard navigating the islands can be a bit tricky. We do have a new raymarine a68 plotter with chirp. Not that knowing rocks are under you on the screen is going to help much once you're on top of them, but the charts could help some.

some quick info on our setup -- It's just the two of us, the boat does have AC/heat and a 4kw genny. I wouldn't mind taking up to 5-6 days to do the trip if necessary.

Anyways, any pointers on the islands or even the ride up from rochester would be great. I've heard it's amazing up there but have never been.

 

[electricaldoctor]

We keep our boat at Ed Huck Marine at Rockport, Ontario. We are directly across the St. Lawrence River from Alexandria Bay, NY. If you prefer to say on the American side, there are plenty of places to stay in the area. Here are a few locations for your consideration. Keewaydin State Park http://nysparks.com/parks/24/details.aspx or at The T.I. Club ttp://thousandislandsclub.com/

 

[my3sons]

The marinas mentioned above are good, but If you are looking for something a little nicer, the Riveredge Resort in Alex Bay has transient docking, an outside and indoor pool, outside Tiki Bar, Restaurants, etc. Walking distance to all the little shops that the wife will want to stroll through. You say you have never been there, so the 3 hour boat tour of the US and Canadian millionaires row is a must. Then, If you want to do some of your own boating, poke around the Summerland Group of islands, it's one of our favorite day anchorages. For your night on the hook, Lake of the Isles, or one of the moorings at one of the Canadian National Park islands. like Camelot, it's close to Gananoque Ontario, where you can take the wife to see a play at the 1000 Island Playhouse, (guarantees she will want to go back next year).

On the way home, Try the new town Marina in Clayton. It is supposed to be operational by this summer, and is located right next to the Newest resort hotel on the U.S. side, The 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel, Outdoor patio bar, etc. Again, walking distance to everything in village of Clayton, including the Antique boat museum.
Have fun. That is our most favorite area to be on a boat.

 

[Strecker25]

Thank you! It looks incredible up there, I'm going to start looking at getting dates locked down now. Judging by the reservation sites it books up quick, I was thinking maybe even doing a night at one of the hotels (riversedge looks great) but many of the weekends are already full.

Just looking at google maps and seeing the waterfront has me excited.

 

[Timeflys]

Probably the time to avoid would be from the middle of July to the first of Aug [June evenings can be fierce for mosquitoes,as well]..after that, the islands slow down a bit till Labour Day. The Canadian Park Islands are first come, first served, no reservations.. not sure about dockage on the NYS parks. For overnight stays at municipal/hotels, phone ahead for reservations just to be sure.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s44X4PVUH5A

Hope you enjoy the trip!!

 

[BigBoysToys]

Absolutely beautify boating destination but you must study your charts. The water there goes from 200' to 2' in an instant. And its rock so there's no forgiveness. The others have mentioned some great places to visit. Clayton, Alexandria Bay, Gananoque, are all nice. I really enjoyed a stay over in Kingston Ontario last time I was up there. Good night life there, nice marinas. Also, be very careful of the lake crossing. Weather can whip up some serious conditions out there in an instant.

 

[Bresco]

Great suggestions already. Check for the big Quebec Holiday held in July. The Quebecers literally take over the area for the two weeks, which I think is the last two weeks in July, but check to be sure. It's called the Construction Holiday. The French do the 1000 Islands, the Rideau Canal and book up just about every available spot. The entire Province is off and the boaters are on the water. We happened to go throug the Rideau Canal durng the holiday one year. Literally ruined our experience.

 

[Bresco]

Just checked and its the last two weeks in July. July 19- Aug 2, 2015

 

[onthejob]

Couple years ago we did a week+ in the islands during the July 4th week from Rochester. On the way up we stopped at Sackets Harbor and spent a night there at a dock. Ate dinner at an awesome restaurant in walking distance of the marina, Tin Pan Galley. Next day we went up into the islands and tuck our selves behind the east side of Picton Island for a couple of nights on the hook. Then we went into Clayton for a night at the dock. Then we crossed over into Canada and checked in at Gananoque and had lunch. From there, the Canadian Thousand Island Park has a series of small island campsites you can only get to by boat so we tried that out and stayed at a small island called Beaurivage. We liked it so much we stayed two nights. You can either anchor off the island or find an available dock for a small fee. It was time to head home so we then headed west and went to a marina called Waupoos and relaxed at the dock for a night. From there we crossed back to Rochester, which was about 60 nm. Make sure it's going to be a calm day because it's not worth it to try and cross if there is wind and 2 foot plus waves because they will only get bigger. Just wait it out. That end of the lake can be treacherous.