2-Hour Two Castle 1000 Islands Cruise from Ivy Lea

The 1000 Islands (French: Mille-Îles) actually consist of 1864 islands located in the Saint Lawrence River stretching out over 50 miles between Canada and the US border. (Northeast corner of Lake Ontario to Kingston Ontario.)

The Canadian islands are in the province of Ontario and the U.S. islands in the state of New York.

To be considered one of the Thousand Islands, one square foot of land must stay above water for an entire year and support a living tree. The islands range in size from over 40 square miles to smaller islands occupied by a single residence, or uninhabited outcroppings of rocks. Many of the islands are also publicly owned offering visitors, parks, campgrounds and rental cottages.

The Thousand Islands International Bridge (French: Pont des Mille-îles) is an American-maintained international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Constructed in 1937, with additions in 1959, the bridges span the Canada–US border in the middle of the Thousand Islands region. All bridges in the system carry two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, with pedestrian sidewalks.

A 5-metre (14') 8 metric tonnes (18,000 lb.) white limestone statue of St. Lawrence is located 1 kilometre east of the Thousand Islands Bridge (Ivy Lea International Bridge) on the Canadian Palisades, a long cliff that runs under the Canadian shoreline. It is visible only to boaters on the river.

The statue's sculptor, Jim Smith, of Campbell Monuments in Belleville, said they wanted to convey the saint's character and story through symbolism in the statue. St. Lawrence holds a gridiron, the device used to execute him, in one hand, and a book in the other, as he was a church librarian. Lawrence stands on bags of coins, representing his role as keeper of the Roman church's money, which he gave to the poor.

Despite the singular name, Zavikon Island is actually a pair of islands. They’re located in the Thousand Islands Archipelago, which straddles the border between Ontario and New York. The islands are connected by a 32-foot-long bridge that’s often referred to as the “shortest international bridge in the world.” With no border guards in sight, your crossing is signified by a Canadian flag at one end of the bridge and an American flag at the other.

This five-acre island located in the Thousand Islands area is home to the Boldt Castle.

Located on Heart Island in the U.S. Thousand Islands, this six-story castle is a testament to love and loss, left uncompleted and deserted in 1904 by its owner, George Boldt, after the death of his wife. Now owned by the Thousand Island Transit Authority, the castle has been restored and improved upon, making it one of the most visited tourist attractions in the Thousand Island Region and in all of Upstate NY. To visit Boldt Castle, check out City Cruises Gananoque's 5-Hour Boldt Castle Stopover Cruise.

Located on Dark Island in the U.S., Singer Castle was constructed in 1905 by Frederick Bourne of the Singer Sewing Machine Company. It is the only remaining/existing castle on the St Lawrence River to be completed, fully furnished and resided in during the heyday of the great builders and industrials in New York.