This section starts with a pleasant, but unspectacular, 28 km ride from Kingston to Gananoque. However, the Thousand Islands Parkway, which you follow from Gananoque to Mallorytown Landing could well be one of the highlight of the entire trip. You will need to work a little harder from Mallorytown Landing to Athens as you now head north through the Canadian Shield!
 
     
maps distances route description
W-T Kingston3 0 km Leave Kingston on County Road #2. This is quite busy all the way to Gananoque, but it has an excellent paved shoulder for cycling. Unfortunately, you are away from the water as you ride between Kingston and Gananoque - otherwise you would witness the end of Lake Ontario and the start of the St. Lawrence River. 
W-T Kingston4 1 km Royal Military College. RMC is a military university, and it exists to educate and train future leaders for the Canadian Forces. It was established by an act of the Canadian Parliament in 1874.
  1 km Old Fort Henry, built between 1832 to 1837 to replace an existing fortification from the War of 1812. The Fort is open during the summer months from 10 AM until 5 PM, and you can see most of it in two or three hours.
W-T Kingston5 2 km Canadian Forces Base, CFB Kingston.
W-T Kingston6 15 km Grass Creek Park. NA00087A.gif (2177 bytes)
W-T Gananoque1 28 km Gananoque ("Gateway to the Thousand Islands") is an attractive tourist town on the St. Lawrence River.  Either attempt to follow the Waterfront Trail as it heads down to the harbour, or simply ride east on C.R.2 (King Street), Either way you need to leave Gananoque on C.R.2.
W-T Gananoque2 30 km Start of the Thousand Islands Parkway. By the 1870's, the Thousand Islands area was becoming a Mecca for summer vacationers from all over the continent; many built summer homes whilst others stayed in the numerous resorts that sprang up alongside the river. A paved bike path (which sadly is becoming quite rough in places, particularly at the west end) parallels the highway, and you are very close to the river all the way. The Canadian Shield, which has been to the north of you to this point, extends as far south as the St. Lawrence River in this region. The ancient rocky outcrops that form the shield will be hard to miss as you ride along the parkway.
  42 km Village of Ivy Lea.
 
45 km

Bridge to USA (constructed in 1937). 
W-T Mallorytown1 48 km Rockport. It is worthwhile to take the short (500 m) detour required to visit this small village.
Mallorytown2 57 km Hamlet of Mallorytown Landing. Be sure to turn left here onto Leeds-Grenville County Road #5 (Mallorytown Road), and head north for 3 km to the village of Mallorytown.
  60 km Highway #401. Proceed straight ahead!
  61 km Village of Mallorytown. Continue north on County Road #5 (which actually follows County Road #2 east for 800 m after Mallorytown) for a 20 km ride to Athens. You have now left behind the St. Lawrence River, and you will find that the terrain is now a lot more hilly. Do not despair, however, since things start to flatten out again in 40 to 50 km!
  69 km Hamlet of McIntosh Mills (no services).
  81 km Athens - a "quaint" village where they seem to have a passion for painting murals on the sides of their buildings! The Athens murals are actually a series of 12 paintings by professional artists on the exterior walls of local buildings. Each large mural depicts a different aspect of the town's history such as the cheese factory, the train station, a farm and the sawmill.   
 
Distances from Downtown Kingston
Accommodations
5 km:
Motels (x3)
20 km:
Lean Haven Farms B & B.
24 km:
Willowbank Motor Court (613-382-2270)
28 km:
Gananoque (lots, including Best Western, Comfort Inn, Travel Lodge and Ramada)
31 km: Parkway Motel
39 km: Glen House Resort (613-659-2204)
40 km: Ivy Lea Resort
41 km: Peck's Motel (613-659-3185)
42km: Capricorn Motel Royale
48 km: Headlands Inn (613-659-4545)
49 km: Caigner's Country Inn (613-659-2266)
58 km: Bridge Island Motel
81 km: The Apple Grove B & B (613-924-1463)
 
Campsites
21 km: Pinecrest Resort (613-382-2836)
36 km:
Langdon Bay Camping
38 km: 1000 Islands Camping Resort 
41 km: KOA Kampground
44 km:
Ivy Lea Campsite
61 km:  KOA Kampground (1 km detour E)
68 km: Maple Leaf Campground (613-548-3257)

page updated on 08 May 2010

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