The 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail- A 37.5k (or 75k) Bike Ride

After doing some hiking in Gananoque this spring, we knew we wanted to spend more time in and around 1000 Islands National Park- but where to begin? 1000 Islands is well known for its water sports, but we chose to go back and bike the 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail, thinking that would be a fun way to get a sense of the area.

The 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail runs right alongside the 1000 Islands Parkway. The 1000 Islands Parkway is a road that runs right alongside the shore of the St Lawrence River. So, we were thinking that we’d get some great views. Truthfully, they were only okay.

Views aside, the route was still nice, and perfect for an easy ride. The path runs from just east of Gananoque to Butternut Bay, so it’s perfect for a longer ride, or an even LONGER ride if you bike it out and back. We’re just amateur bikers, so we only took it one way.

The 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail.

Setting up Our Shuttle

Knowing that 40 kilometres is about our max, we chose to do a shuttle so that we could see the whole length of the trail. A shuttle is when you leave a car at each end of a trail, so that you can drive back to where you started without having to double the length of time you’re on the trail.

We wanted to spend the afternoon in Gananoque, so we decided that we were going to bike the trail from east to west. Since we were coming from Ottawa, it made things a bit trickier. Here’s a breakdown of how we set up the shuttle with our two cars (one red, one silver):

  • Strap bikes to red car.
  • Stop at the east end trail head- drop bikes off (lock them up).
  • Drive both cars to the west end trail head- drop off red car (with bike rack on it)
  • Make sure everything needed for the ride is in the silver car (pannier bags, helmets, water, etc.)
  • Drive silver car back to the east end trail head- start bike ride!

Arranging the shuttle in this way took a lot of the mystery out of the trail. We used the Parkway to drive to either end, so that means that before we had even started biking the trail, we had seen it twice in its entirety.

Trailhead(s)

The 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail doesn’t actually seem to have official trailheads. It just kind of ends on both sides of it. The coordinates for the east end of the trail are 44.513431, -75.787770 and the coordinates for where we parked at the west end of the trail are 44.336818, -76.135288.

Where the trail starts in the east, there’s a big, wide shoulder. We parked our silver car there and weren’t worried about leaving it there at all. There were also a few signs near the trailhead that we could have locked our bikes to while we dropped off the red car, but we were a bit more worried about that. We chose to head just a tiny ways down East Townline Road, and locked our bikes to a sign on the side of that road so that they weren’t so out in the open.

Trailhead at the East end of the Waterfront Trail- not too glamorous.

On the west side of the trail, it literally ends at a set of stop lights where the 1000 Islands Parkway ends at County Road 2. There was nowhere to park there, so instead we chose to park on the very wide shoulder beside the bike trail that we saw just as the Parkway veered to the right.

There were better parking options near both ends of the trail, but we didn’t know it at the time. 500 metres west along the trail from the east end was a parking lot, on the side of the road furthest from the water. Near the west end of the trail, there was a parking lot 1 kilometre before (east of) where we ended up parking. This parking lot was on the side of the road closest to the water.

The Trail

The entire 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail runs right beside the Parkway. And it’s on the side of the road further from the shore. Also kind of disappointing- biking right along the shore would have been much cooler. The bike path itself is nice and wide, and really well paved for the whole length of it. It’s also super flat, which made it easier for us to get the whole distance in.

The entire route is fairly green, with lots of stretches where there are tall trees on one side of the road, as well as beside the bike path. There were also quite a few houses alongside the Waterfront Trail. There were some spots where it opened up for some nice views of the St Lawrence River, but these spots were fewer and further between than we might have liked. I will say though, it was really neat to see the little houses built on some of the islands on the St Lawrence. Some of the architecture was really unique, because the houses basically had to be designed to fit and work with the islands, which have a lot of exposed rock on them.

The day that we were out on the trail was overcast, with a little bit of rain. On a sunny day, the trail would be out in the open and you’d be under the sun for the entire length of it.

Check. Out. These… mediocre views.

Our Trip

While there were quite a few interesting places to stop along the trail, we chose to bike it without any major breaks. Because we had parked our second car just a little ways before the Waterfront Trail officially ended, we tracked our route as being 36.74 kilometres long. Official records say it’s 37.5 kilometres long, so we weren’t too far off.

It took us two and a half hours to cycle the length of the Waterfront Trail. There were a few official looking bikers out who would have covered that distance in MUCH LESS time. We also stopped for pictures long the way, and one little snack break.

A cool view of the bridge to the USA.

Hazards on the Trail

On the day that we were out, there was some construction happening along the Parkway. Being so close together, that obviously impacted the Waterfront Trail a bit. There were two construction zones, each close to an end of the trail. Neither was very big, and both still allowed for the bike path to remain open. Even though there was work happening in both spots, we were able to bike (carefully) through.

The most adrenaline pumping part of the 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail was the squirrels. That’s right, the squirrels. There were a ton of squirrels along the bike path, especially in the more residential area near the beginning. I hate squishing squirrels in my car, and I certainly didn’t want to squish one up close on my bike! There were more than a few times that we had to slam on our brakes to let a squirrel pass. Tip: If there’s a squirrel (or squirrels) between you and the road, they WILL get spooked as you bike closer, and they WILL run away from the road, right onto the bike path. Not one time did a squirrel run towards the road when we were coming- I guess they’ve learned it’s safer near the houses/forest. It certainly adds some excitement to the ride, anyway.

Be prepared to slam on the brakes at any moment!

What’s Along the 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail

Location What’s There From East End of Trail From West End of Trail
Skywood Eco Adventure Treetop adventure courses and ziplines! Reservations suggested. 2.9 km. 34.6 km.
Jones Creek Trails Hiking trails. And toilets. 3.9 km. 33.6 km.
Brown’s Bay Beach and picnic area with washroom. 4.2 km. 33.3 km.
1000 Islands National Park Visitors Centre National Park staff. 8.9 km. 28.6 km.
Lighthouse Convenience Store Beverages and snacks. 16.8 km. 20.7 km.
Front Street (Rockport) Boat cruises (some to castles!) and restaurants. 19.3 km. 18.2 km.
Ivy Lea Campground Campsites and cabins. 23.5 km. 14 km.
1000 Island Cruises (in Ivy Lea) More boat cruises! 25.8 km. 11.7 km.
KOA Campground Tent and RV sites, and cabins. 25.8 km. 11.7 km.
1000 Islands Camping Resort Tent and RV sites. 29.1 km. 8.4 km.
Landon Bay Hiking trails, playgrounds, and washrooms. 30.4 km. 7.1 km.
Misty Isles Lodge Cottages for rent, kayak rentals, or a beach to launch your own kayaks. 32.1 km. 5.4 km.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beach at Brown’s Bay.

Thoughts on This Trail

The 1000 Islands Parkway Waterfront Trail was not as cool as we expected. The views were pretty lackluster from our side of the road. Getting off your bike and crossing the road over to the shoreline was the only way to really guarantee a good view. BUT, it was a nice easy ride over perfect pavement, and there was a lot of cool stuff along the way.

If we were going to bike this trail again, we would do it differently. Instead of doing a shuttle and biking the whole thing one way, I think we would only bring one car, and bike out halfway and then back. Starting from the east end, it would make for a perfect day to bike out to Rockport for lunch, and then spend the afternoon swimming at Brown’s Bay Beach.

Rockport looks like a very quaint little village.

From the West end, lunch in Ivy Lea would be about halfway, and then we might stop on the way back to do some hiking in Landon Bay, or just spend the afternoon in Gananoque again. If you DO decide you want to explore Gananoque a bit, make sure you bring change- the parking meters on the main streets only take change. We couldn’t believe it!

You COULD decide to bike it out and back, for a 75 kilometre ride, but we just weren’t ready for that!

All in all, the 1000 Islands National Park is still a place we want to explore more. The 1000 Islands Parkway Waterfront Trail might not be the coolest part of it, but it’s still worth checking out for an easy day ride.

I hope this trip report has enough info to get you there too. Let me know in the comments, or share and tag a friend to start planning your next adventure!

Map and Elevation Gain

Our map of the 1000 Islands Waterfront Trail.

Whenever I’m hiking somewhere new, I tend to wonder about who was on, and who took care of that land before me. I’ve enjoyed using this website as a place to start learning more about the indigenous people whose land I’m on: Native-land.ca.

Don’t let this chart fool you! The trail felt really flat!

Gear We Brought

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