Day 276 – 7/6/24

Starting location: Moored in slip at Kingston Marina, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Weather: 66 am, 80pm, mostly cloudy to sunny

Ending location: Anchored in the center of Admiralty Islands in the Thousand Islands area on the St. Lawrence River, Ontario, Canada

Statute miles: Approximately 20

General summary: Where to go next? We had heard great things about the Thousand Islands area and wanted to check it out. These are rock outcroppings (1864 of them, to be exact) of various sizes throughout 50 miles of this river. Some of this rock is part of the Canadian Shield, the oldest on the planet (carbon dated to over a billion years). This path required backtracking a bit East and down the St. Lawrence River. Many of the islands are managed by Parks Canada and our mooring pass would cover staying on one of the park docks or mooring balls.

We decided to go to the Admiralty Islands first. Checked out several docks and they were all full, which is apparently common for a July weekend, so we found an anchorage right in the center that was well protected from wind (though winds were predicted to be light). There were about 7 other boats, but plenty of room for more. Took the dinghy down and explored three of the islands. All had trails and we could smell pine trees as we hiked around each. Some had camp sites, fire rings (with bins of firewood for sale), picnic tables (some with shelters), and pit toilets. A theme we have seen in many park areas is two red Adirondack chairs placed in a scenic spot. They really do pick the most beautiful viewing areas to place them and we enjoyed spending some time resting on them. We were surprised at how many other islands were privately owned and had houses on them. Some were just big enough to support one house with not much room for anything else. It was hot and humid, but we had a nice breeze at anchorage so slept well.