Home Weekends 11 great reasons to get away to Gananoque and Chaffeys Locks

11 great reasons to get away to Gananoque and Chaffeys Locks

by Laura Byrne Paquet
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If you like messing about in boats, you’ll love Gananoque, Ontario.

Antique skiff and motorboat in Gananoque museum.
A few of the many vintage watercraft in the Thousand Islands Boat Museum in Gananoque

The town of about 5,200 people on the St. Lawrence River, between Kingston and Brockville, has a deep and enduring connection with watercraft. Since the mid-1800s, people have been puttering about the Thousand Islands in variations on a flat-bottomed boat, the St. Lawrence skiff. You can learn about it and other locally made watercraft, such as motorized runabouts and child-sized tin boats, at the fascinating Thousand Islands Boat Museum on the Gananoque waterfront, not far from the Gananoque Boat Line dock.

Passengers on the deck of a Gananoque Boat Line boat.

Speaking of which, the five-hour round trip to Boldt Castle on Gananoque Boat Line is a great excursion. You’ll need your passport for this one, as Boldt Castle is on the American side of the river.

Boldt Castle, exterior. Photo copyright Laura Byrne Paquet.
Boldt Castle

Conceived by Waldorf Astoria hotel proprietor George Boldt as a sort of love letter in stone to his wife Louise, the half-finished mansion was abandoned in 1904 when Louise died unexpectedly. The Thousand Islands Bridge Authority took it over in 1977 and has been pouring money into restoring it ever since. You can take boat tours that just cruise by it without stopping, but it’s well worth a visit, just for the sweeping grand staircase alone.

Staircase at Boldt Castle.
See what I mean about the staircase at Boldt Castle

If you prefer kayaks to tour boats, you can take a guided or self-guided paddling tour of the St. Lawrence River with the 1000 Islands Kayaking Company. On my last visit, my plans to kayak with them were derailed by rain, but company owner Scott Ewart kindly took a group of disappointed paddlers around some of the islands by motorboat instead.

Some of the 1,864 islands in the misnamed Thousand Islands chain are part of Thousand Islands National Park, and we checked out the floored oTENTiks you can rent if you’d like to sleep under canvas without the hassle of pitching your own tent.

Helicopter above Boldt Castle. Photo courtesy of 1000 Islands Helicopter Tours.
Photo courtesy of 1000 Islands Helicopter Tours

Of course, there’s more to Gananoque than boats. For instance 1000 Islands Helicopter Tours offers scenic tours above the river, and the Thousand Islands Playhouse has a packed schedule of performances from May to October in two theatres. (I would put the theatre’s production of a musical called Million Dollar Quartet up against anything I’ve seen in Ottawa or Toronto.)

If you’re feeling peckish, the unprepossessing Maple Leaf Restaurant—which looks like it hasn’t changed much since about 1970—serves up great schnitzels and Czech beer. Oh, and speaking of beer, the Gananoque Brewing Company has thirst-quenching local brews on tap.

Taps at the Gananoque Brewing Company.

To extend your getaway on your way back to Ottawa, take a bit of a detour to the picture-perfect Chaffeys Locks on the Rideau Canal. There, you can rent bikes or kayaks, or book a pontoon-boat tour, through Rideau Tours, or stop by the newly renovated Opinicon resort for lunch or drinks.

Canoe at Chaffeys Locks.
A picture perfect summer day at Chaffeys Locks

If you go: Gananoque is about a 90-minute drive southwest of Ottawa. VIA Rail stops there once a day, each way, on trips between Ottawa and Toronto (but, be forewarned, the station is outside of town in what looks like the middle of a farm field).

Disclosure: I travelled to Gananoque as a guest of 1000 Islands Tourism, which neither reviewed nor approved this post.

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13 comments

Paul Harding May 3, 2018 - 11:41 pm

Nice article, but Chaffeys Lock, please.

Reply
Laura Byrne Paquet May 4, 2018 - 9:08 am

I’m glad you liked the article! And, ah yes, the name. I tied myself in knots about this one a bit. As this article notes, the popular usage and the official name differ. http://www.twprideaulakes.on.ca/heritage/chaffeys.html. I went with the official version to be on the safe side, but I know it sounds grating!

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Laura Byrne Paquet May 4, 2018 - 9:08 am

Here’s the link to the government names database: http://www4.rncan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/FAPSU

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Paul Harding May 4, 2018 - 8:31 pm

Natural Resources Canada may think it’s Chaffeys Locks, but all Parks Canada websites refer correctly to Chaffeys Lock. There is, indeed, only one lock at Chaffeys, lock number 37. I know I’m like a dog with a bone, but just trying to help. I appreciate your thoughtful answers and I STILL think the article is GREAT!

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Laura Byrne Paquet May 4, 2018 - 11:28 pm

No worries! You’re absolutely right–there is only one lock, so it’s kind of maddening that the government has settled on an inaccurate name. I also find it odd that so many places that I think should have an apostrophe (e.g., Dows Lake, Chaffeys Lock) don’t have one. Cartography is a tricky business. 🙂 I think the next time I write about Chaffeys Lock(s), I will explain the issue. Maybe misnamed places would be a good topic for a future post! (And I’m glad you liked the post–thanks!)

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[…] What else can I do in Gananoque? Raise a glass at the Gananoque Brewing Company, housed in a former carriage factory, or try the delicious sandwiches and pizzas at the Purple House Café (open seasonally from spring through fall). If games of chance are your thing, check out the Shorelines Casino Thousand Islands. Cruises of the gorgeous 1000 Islands with Gananoque Boat Line are also popular. (And here’s a post with more ideas for fun in Gananoque and Chaffeys Locks.) […]

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