Saint Lawrence Islands National Park
Saint Lawrence Islands National Park,
1,000 acres (405 hectares), S Ont., Canada, in the Thousand Islands; est. 1904. It includes 17 wooded Canadian islands and some adjacent mainland between Kingston and Brockville. It is popular with summer campers.Saint Lawrence Islands National Park
RR 3
Mallorytown, ON K0E1R0
Phone:613-923-5261
Fax:613-923-1021
Web: www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/lawren
Size: 23.5 sq. km., including 24 islands, 90 inlets and shoals, and a mailand base.
Established: 1904.
Location:In the heart of the Thousand Islands area, an 80-km wide extension of granite hilltops joining the Canadian Shield of northern Ontario with the Adirondack Mountains in New York State. The mainland headquarters (Mallorytown Landing) is located on the Saint Lawrence River between Brockville and Gananoque, Ontario. Travelers on Hwy 401 take exit 675 south; U.S. visitors travel north on I-81 to 1000 Islands Pkwy, then turn east. Access to park islands is by private boat or commercial water taxi (by appointment only).
Facilities:Saint Lawrence Islands is a water-oriented park with facilities at more than 20 island locations. Many park islands include docks, nature trails, primitive campsites (on 11 islands; available on a first-come-first-served basis), group campsites (on Grenadier Island and Mallorytown; reservations only), privies, and shelters. The day-use area at Mallorytown Landing (é) includes a small beach, boat launch, picnic area, and restrooms. Exhibits on natural and cultural history are open to the public during the operating season and by appointment during the rest of the year.
Activities:Camping, hiking, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, boating, boat tours, scuba diving, bicycling, interpretive programs, nature camps for children. Both power and sailboaters use the park islands as stopping off points for a day or overnight enroute down or up the St. Lawrence River. Cedar Island, off Kingston, is a stopover for boaters sailing into Lake Ontario or as a starting off point for cruising up the Rideau Canal.
Special Features:The first Canadian national park east of the Rocky Mountains is the site of the preserved hull of a British gunboat from the War of 1812, raised from the St. Lawrence River near Mallorytown Landing. The presence of the Great Lakes to the west has the effect of a 'heat sink' which moderates the climate in the area immediately surrounding the Thousand Islands. As a result, many plants and animals reach the limits of their range in the Thousand Islands.
See other parks in Ontario.