TripMems Global Stops Test

dfghjkl; ouyp 8ph [h[8h 8hh

Millionaires Row is known for its grand island homes and historic estates along the St. Lawrence River.

Joel Stone Park is where Gananoque opens itself to the river. Today it feels like a relaxed waterfront park, with grass, beach, boats, concerts, families, and views toward the islands. But the name points back to the town’s beginnings. Joel Stone was one of the figures who helped turn this riverfront place from a strategic landing and mill site into the settlement that became Gananoque.

From here, the story is both local and wide open: the Gananoque River behind you, the St. Lawrence ahead, the marina beside you, and the Thousand Islands just offshore. It is a good place to introduce Gananoque as more than a departure point for boat tours — it is a town shaped by river traffic, Loyalist settlement, milling, ferries, tourism, and the constant pull of the islands.

La Vignette Island is part of the Canadian Thousand Islands, within Ontario’s Leeds and Thousand Islands area.

This small island feature sits among the channels and island clusters that make this section of the Saint Lawrence River so distinctive. Like many places in the Thousand Islands, La Vignette is known not only by its official name, but also by local informal names. It has been referred to as “The Sisters” and “Wee Rocks,” names that suggest a small grouping of rocky island features rather than one large island.

That kind of naming is common in island communities. Official maps may record one name, while boaters, cottagers, and local residents often use more familiar names based on appearance, size, family memory, or long-standing local habit.

La Vignette Island reflects the smaller-scale beauty of the Thousand Islands: exposed rock, low vegetation, nearby channels, and the feeling that even the smallest islands have their own identity. These modest islands help give the region its character. They break up the water, shape the boating routes, create sheltered passages, and add to the sense of discovery that defines travelling through the Thousand Islands.

Although La Vignette may not be one of the larger or better-known islands, it is part of the intricate island landscape that makes this area memorable. In the Thousand Islands, even the “wee rocks” matter.

Napoleon’s Hat is one of the best-known cottage landmarks on Hay Island, in the Admiralty Group of the Thousand Islands.

The name comes from the shape of its roof. Seen from the water, the roofline gives the cottage a distinctive profile that reminded people of the famous sideways hat associated with Napoleon Bonaparte.

Napoleon was a French military and political leader who rose to power after the French Revolution and became Emperor of France in the early 1800s. He is remembered as one of history’s most famous commanders, and his image is often linked with the distinctive bicorne hat he wore sideways.

That recognizable hat shape gave this Hay Island cottage its memorable nickname. It is the kind of visual name that often becomes part of local geography: easy to remember, easy to point out, and passed along by boaters over time.

Napoleon’s Hat also reflects the long cottage tradition of the Thousand Islands, where island buildings often became landmarks in their own right. In this region, a cottage is not always just a private retreat. Sometimes its shape, location, colour, owner, or story gives it a place in local memory.

The property also carries a notable Gananoque connection. Local history links the cottage known as Napoleon’s Hat with the early production location of Staebler and Baker Ltd., a company founded in 1909 by two Queen’s University professors. That company later became part of the Graphic Controls story, one of Gananoque’s important manufacturing histories.

For a tour, Napoleon’s Hat is a good example of how the Thousand Islands turn scenery into story. A roofline, a nickname, and a cottage on the rock can become part of the river’s shared memory.

Polaris Island is a small island in the Thousand Islands with a history tied to summer cottages, changing names, and early island ownership.

The island is less than an acre in size, but like many small islands in this region, it carries a larger story than its size might suggest. It was originally known as Island 27B and was also once called Dixieland.

In 1898, Polaris Island was purchased by Charles H. Hubbell for $75. Hubbell had been Secretary Treasurer of the Canada Carriage Company, an important manufacturing business before its move to Brockville.

The exact age of the cottage on Polaris Island is not known, but it was clearly in use by the early 1900s. By 1912, the Palmer family of New York owned the island and hosted their daughter’s wedding there. That detail gives a glimpse of how these islands were used not only as summer retreats, but also as places for important family gatherings.

By 1953, Polaris Island was listed for sale for $8,900. At that time, the island included a four-bedroom cottage, a boathouse, and the amenities expected of a comfortable island property of the period.

Polaris Island is a good example of the quieter cottage history of the Thousand Islands. Not every island became famous, and not every story involves a castle or grand hotel. Some islands are remembered through ownership records, family events, cottage buildings, and the changing names used over time.

Together, these smaller stories help explain the character of the Thousand Islands: a place where even a small island could become a family landmark, a summer retreat, and a lasting part of the river’s memory.

Forty Acre Shoal, often called 40 Acre Shoal, is an underwater feature in the Canadian Thousand Islands near Gananoque, Ontario.

A shoal is a shallow area beneath the surface of the water. It may not look dramatic from above, especially compared with the islands and cottages nearby, but features like this are an important part of the river landscape. They affect how boats move, where currents shift, where fish gather, and how experienced boaters read the water.

Forty Acre Shoal is officially recorded as a shoal in Leeds, Ontario. Its name suggests a broad shallow area, although the most important thing for visitors to understand is not the exact size, but the role it plays in the river. In the Thousand Islands, the scenery is not only what rises above the water. Much of the character of the river is also shaped by what lies just below it: granite, ledges, channels, drop-offs, and shoals.

The area is also known in fishing circles, especially for muskellunge, or muskie. Muskies are large predatory fish native to the region and are often called the “fish of ten thousand casts” because they are difficult to catch. Forty Acre Shoal has appeared in muskie stories and reports, including accounts of very large fish caught and released in the Thousand Islands.

For a tour, Forty Acre Shoal is a good reminder that the Thousand Islands are not simply a collection of islands. They are a complex river system. Above the water are cottages, trees, and rocky points. Beneath the water are channels, shoals, and ancient rock formations that have shaped navigation, fishing, and local knowledge for generations.

This is also why charts, markers, and local boating knowledge matter so much in the Thousand Islands. The beauty of the river is easy to see, but some of its most important features are hidden just below the surface.

The Thousand Islands Playhouse is one of Gananoque’s best-known waterfront landmarks.

Its main venue, the Springer Theatre, began life as the Gananoque Canoe Club, built around 1909. The building’s location on the Saint Lawrence River was ideal for a community connected to boating, paddling, summer recreation, and island life.

In 1982, community members transformed the old canoe club into a riverfront theatre. Rather than losing the character of the original building, the conversion preserved much of its vintage charm. The long waterfront decks, wood detailing, and relaxed cottage-like feel still connect the Playhouse to its earlier life on the river.

That canoeing history is an important part of Gananoque’s story. The Gananoque Canoe Club sent three paddlers to the 1936 Berlin Olympics, the first year paddling became an Olympic sport. Today, that history is remembered nearby in the Boatshop Café.

The Playhouse also connects to another local story. Staebler and Baker Ltd., an early Gananoque company connected with electrical recording instruments and later the Graphic Controls story, moved from its original production location at Napoleon’s Hat on Hay Island to the area where the Thousand Islands Playhouse now stands.

Today, the Thousand Islands Playhouse is known as a major summer theatre destination, but it is more than a place to see a show. It is a building that carries several layers of Gananoque history: boating, paddling, theatre, industry, community effort, and the town’s long relationship with the river.

For visitors, the Playhouse is a reminder that Gananoque’s waterfront has never been just scenery. It has been a working place, a gathering place, a sporting place, and now a cultural landmark.

The Admiralty Islands form one of the beautiful island groups on the Canadian side of the Thousand Islands.

This part of the Saint Lawrence River is known for its maze of channels, sheltered bays, granite shorelines, and tree-covered islands. Some islands are large enough to explore, while others are little more than exposed rock, wind-shaped pines, and birdlife.

The Thousand Islands region includes more than 1,800 islands along the Canada–United States border. The Admiralty Islands are part of the Ontario side of this landscape and offer one of the quieter, more natural experiences in the region.

For boaters, paddlers, anglers, and visitors, this cluster captures much of what makes the Thousand Islands memorable: close passages between islands, sudden open views, rocky points, calm bays, and the feeling that each island has its own character.

The Admiralty Islands are especially valued for their peaceful setting and classic Thousand Islands scenery. Whether viewed from the water, explored by kayak, or simply passed through on a tour, they show the natural beauty that has drawn people to this river for generations.

Half Moon Bay is a natural rock bay on Bostwick Island, in the Admiralty Group of the Thousand Islands.

Its name comes from its shape. The bay curves into the island like a half moon, creating a sheltered pocket of water enclosed by granite and trees. Formed by the same ancient geological forces that shaped the Thousand Islands, it has the feeling of a small natural amphitheatre carved into the rock.

What makes Half Moon Bay especially memorable is its long tradition as an open-air place of worship. Beginning in 1887, summer residents and visitors gathered here on Sunday evenings for prayer, music, and reflection. Over time, the tradition grew, drawing people from nearby islands and from Gananoque.

Unlike a church on land, Half Moon Bay has no walls, pews, or roof in the usual sense. The bay itself becomes the sanctuary. People gather in small boats, dinghies, canoes, and kayaks, remaining on the water while music, hymns, readings, and guest speakers carry across the bay.

That is why Half Moon Bay is sometimes described as a natural cathedral. The granite shoreline forms the walls, the boats become the seating, and the sky above becomes the roof.

The site also has a lasting connection to David Wallace of Boston, who owned the property in the early 1900s. After his death in 1904, the bay was left to be held in trust as a place of worship, helping preserve its role as a spiritual and community gathering place.

For a Thousand Islands tour, Half Moon Bay is more than a scenic inlet. It represents the way this region blends landscape, tradition, and community memory. A quiet curve in the rock became a meeting place, and that meeting place became one of the most distinctive stories in the islands.

Hay Island is one of the named islands within the Admiralty Group, on the Canadian side of the Thousand Islands.

Located in Ontario’s Leeds and Thousand Islands area, Hay Island forms part of the intricate island landscape that makes this section of the Saint Lawrence River so distinctive. Like many islands in the region, it is known not only by its official name, but also by an informal local name: “Melville.”

Local names are an important part of Thousand Islands history. They often reflect older ownership, family connections, landmarks, memories, or stories passed along by boaters and residents. In some cases, an informal name may remain familiar locally even when the official map uses something else.

Hay Island sits within a setting shaped by granite, trees, narrow channels, and open river views. Its importance is not only in its size or exact location, but in the way it contributes to the larger character of the Admiralty Islands. Each island in this group adds another piece to the experience: a shoreline, a passage, a view, a cottage story, or a name remembered by locals.

For visitors, Hay Island is part of the quieter, more intimate side of the Thousand Islands. It reflects the region’s blend of natural beauty, local lore, and lesser-known stories — the kind of island detail that makes travelling through this area feel personal rather than simply scenic.

Mohawk Camp, also known as the Hay Island Girls Camp, was once an important part of summer life on Hay Island.

The camp was created when the Kingston Kiwanis Club and the Kingston YWCA worked together to purchase land on the island. According to local tour notes, the property had belonged to an American newspaper businessman, and after his death, his widow sold it at a discounted price so it could be used as a girls’ camp.

The first summer of Mohawk Camp was in 1957. At any given time, about 80 girls and young women, including counsellors, lived at the camp. The campers were generally between 10 and 15 years old, while many of the counsellors were around 19 or 20.

For the campers, Hay Island offered a very different setting from the YWCA’s previous camp on Bath Road in Kingston. The island location meant open water, rocky shorelines, boat travel, campfires, and the feeling of being fully surrounded by the Thousand Islands landscape.

The boathouse at the head of Hay Island was reportedly used as a recreation room during the Mohawk Camp years. Campers also enjoyed cookouts and day trips, including outings to nearby Huckleberry Island.

After the camp years, the property became connected with Robert Russell, an American author, wrestler, and professor of literature. Russell, who was blind for most of his life, bought the former camp property in 1968. He later became known for books including To Catch an Angel: Adventures in a World I Cannot See and The Island.

Mohawk Camp adds a human story to Hay Island. Beyond cottages and scenery, it recalls a time when the island was filled with young campers, counsellors, meals, songs, boats, and summer adventure. It is part of the quieter social history of the Thousand Islands — the kind of local memory that gives the islands life beyond the shoreline.