RV Camping the St. Lawrence: Woodlands Campground & Upper Canada Village | Parks of the St. Lawrence

We thought we were going there to camp but instead we stepped straight back into 1866 and it all started with a flat tire. We are Terry and Cindy O'Keefe and we've been camping together for more than 45 years and we invite you to join us as we share our latest RVing experiences and adventures. So the plan for this trip was a visit to two of the campgrounds in the Saint Lawrence Park Commission. Now we do try to follow our advice before we head out on a trip and check our tire pressures and in this instance we were really glad we did. That tire closest looks a little bit low. Try to do this one hand here. Oh gosh yeah. Okay I think we've found the culprit. There's a nail stuck right in it. Getting that tire repaired may have set us behind a couple of hours but peace of mind was restored as we set out for Woodlands Campground and a historically unexpected highlight of the trip, Upper Canada Village. Are you ready? Did you bring anything? Did you bring anything? You're thirsty already? Exit the roundabout onto Perth Street. You would think that during a side trip to get a tire repaired you'd also remember to get gas but you'd be wrong. Rookie mistake. In three kilometers take exit one toward Ontario 401 Est, Ontario 16 Sud. It's like a clear blue sky up there. Take exit 770. This guy on the motorcycle could not have picked a worse spot to try and get out of the rain. Woodlands Campground was located on the Long Sioux Parkway just west of Cornwall right on the banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Turn right on the Long Sioux Parkway. As we turned onto the Long Sioux Parkway we entered a part of the province that dramatically changed in the late 1950s. The parkway links 11 small islands formed when the area was flooded to build the Saint Lawrence Seaway. That project tamed rapids, deepened the shipping channel and reduced the number of locks from 21 to 7 allowing large freighters to travel the river. It also included a massive hydroelectric dam that actually connects Ontario and New York. But there was a cost. Ten Ontario towns here were flooded and lost. More than 6,500 people were relocated. You're in my way silly dog. So there is a partial burn ban in effect. We can have a fire from 8 to 10 in the morning and 5 to 8 in the evening. Okay. And we get two free tickets for Upper Canada Village. Cool. Woodlands Campground has 184 sites, most with hydro and a few that are waterfront. Our site had electrical and water hookups. A very nice view of the river and was right next to one of the two beaches located directly in the campground. And while I took Ranger out for a walk, Terry worked to try and get the stairs leveled and stable on the very sloped site. The next day we explored the campground further. Getting hot buddy? Oh yeah. The camp store and office was stocked with snacks, firewood, ice cream and some parks of the St. Lawrence swag. And right across the road from the campground entrance is Woodlands Beach. Campers have free access to the beach that overlooks New York State across the St. Lawrence River. Hey how you doing? Good sir you? Good. Are you camping? Yeah. Okay awesome. Just make sure to put it up on your dash whenever you park just so we know that well the park rangers know you're supposed to be in there but you're all good to go. Fair enough thank you. Of course. Just across from Woodlands Campground is Woodlands Beach. Huge day use picnic area here. A lot to play some beach volleyball and just make out under the trees here. There's lots of geese in there and that also means you gotta watch where you're stepping. There's lots of geese. There's also a lot of goose poop about. Okay enough goose poop. Let's get to the best part of the trip. Well I wanted people to be forewarned if they go there. It actually, the highlight of the trip turned out to be those free tickets we got for admission to Upper Canada Village. Founded in 1961, Upper Canada Village is one of the largest living history sites in Canada. Depicting life in rural English Canadian setting during the year 1866, it features more than 40 historic buildings, many of which were moved here prior to the flooding of the lost villages during the St. Lawrence Seaway development. I'd been here 60 years ago as a kid but remembered nothing. And I had never visited so we were both in for a surprise. How much did that save us? I think it was $25. Each? Yeah, good deal. Thank you. We arrived just before the opening and because we already had our tickets there was no waiting. We're the first. We are the first. I'm going to follow you. Okay, I don't know where I'm going but I'll follow the map. Many taverns offered livery services and had an adjoining barn to stable horses and store hay. Thank you sir. Beautiful doors on the end. So these are headstones that were actually moved from a cemetery that was flooded when they built the dam and the St. Lawrence Seaway project. The pastor's house. This was built in 1848 for the Lutheran pastor of Williamsburg after the former pastor had converted to the Anglican church and he took the house the Lutherans had given him to live in and he also used their church for his Anglican services in keeping the Lutherans out. This is a pin chop the way it would have been run in 1866. We make all the shiny bits you see here. A few of them are actually pieces, museum pieces that are 150-160 years old. They've been sat here so that we could recreate them. So you go into all these really cool buildings but you never know if there's actually somebody in there that startles you. Thank you. This is the Robertson house. It's the home of George Robertson and he was a businessman in the area so it's an upper middle class home. Where did this house originally come from? West of Cornwall actually. So this wallpaper is 200 years old? Yes. You've got one of the warmer jobs today. Every day. Yeah. Yeah. So this is Cook's Tavern you're visiting. Hotel and tavern, home to the Cook family as well as their business. So we are on the stagecoach line. Travelers would be stopping here to come in, rent a room, get something to eat. Men on the tavern side drinking. Ladies in the ladies parlor which is the tonguey room of our dining room. We do follow historical recipes. All the recipes we use are published prior to 1866 as that's the year we represent here in the village. Upstairs are the rooms that were available to rent and the front room is a mall room where we actually have music going on right now. Try Goods Groceries, Post Office and Bakery and another hotel. What was I used for? Multiple things. You could use it for, number one would be as a rat poison. The second use you could do for it, if you had really really micro doses of arsenic, you would use that to cure chronic illnesses. Does it work? I don't know. So they make the bread from an original recipe that's got the pork fat or something in it. Oh. Let's see if I got that correct. Located about halfway through the village is the Harvest Barn. In case you've worked up an appetite or thirst. The horses would go around and see where the logs are? Yeah, that's a saw. That's amazing. It's easy to spend the day here. Today it's very hot. It's like 40 with the humid exo. And what are you thinking about in the back of your mind? That Ranger's in the trailer with the AC on. But what if it comes off? Exactly. How long does it take to make the cut here today? One pass takes 20 minutes. 20 minutes. It's actually 15 minutes to cut, five minutes to run it back. Oh, it's a woolen mill. Very cool. We've been to a lot of these types of historical settlements. This is the best one I've ever seen. Yeah, and it's even better because we tend to go off season and you don't get the history from characters who are doing the wearing of costumes. Yes, this is good. Did you want to get a coffee here? Yeah, coffee to go. You don't want to sit outside and enjoy it? Why don't you want to sit outside and enjoy the coffee? I want to get back to my dog. At the exit is another small restaurant and large souvenir shop. This is also where you can buy the bread that was made just hours earlier in the wood-fired stone ovens of the village bakery. On the drive back to the campground, we passed numerous RVs waiting to use the only dump station shared by two campgrounds. Something to keep in mind when departing. I can hear the air conditioning running. Hello there. What are you doing? You have a sleep? You don't look any of the worse for wear? No, you're nice and cozy. Your mother was so worried about you. What are you doing? Come here. Are you my good boy? The next day, Terry headed out to visit the Robert H. Saunders generating station on the Canadian side of the Robert Moses Robert Saunders power dam. A key piece in the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. RH Saunders generating station visitor center. Power dam visitor center. The visitor center has staff and displays to explain how the dam was created and how it works. Doesn't look it. That dam's a kilometer long. Dead center is the international border. On the American side, the power goes to New York. Canadian side, it goes to Ontario. So, like I said, in total, we create about 1,045 megawatts. One megawatt is enough to power about 800,000 average-sized Canadian homes. So, the top part here is called the head pond and the bottom half here is called the tail brace. So, there's about a 30-meter drop in between. Oh, that high? Yes. So, coming through this dam every single second is 7,500 cubic meters of water. Every second? Every second, which is the equivalent of three Olympic swimming pools. Inundation day. To carry out the carefully controlled flooding that created the dramatic man-made change in geography we now call Lake Saint Lawrence. It also has displays related to nuclear power generation. Just before we wrap up this episode, we wanted to give you just a bit more information on the parks of the Saint Lawrence Campgrounds. There are 10 campgrounds in total, spread between Cornwall and Gananoque, with more than 1,500 sites combined. The Saint Lawrence Parks Commission has some good resources online and a reservation system similar to Ontario Parks. We drove through the other two campgrounds on the Long Sioux Parkway as well as two others nearby and thought we'd share a quick tour. All these sites here have power. So, as you drive down the Long Sioux Parkway, it's just each of the little islands has all these beautiful little spots to stop for a picnic. Sites here right by the water don't have electricity, but the next row up does. Hydro and water there. So, just some final thoughts. First, if you're a bit of a history buff or you just want to know what life was like here in Ontario 160 years ago, Upper Canada Village was authentic, immersive. Honestly, it was just awesome. And the Woodlands Campground on the Long Sioux Parkway was relaxing, enjoyable and a great place to unwind. Goose poop and all. If you'd like to see more of the parks of the Saint Lawrence, join us on our next episode as we visit the westernmost campground in the system. Camp under a bridge. Get targeted in a highly coordinated pinecone attack by a vindictive squirrel. We're being bombarded by a squirrel. Oh, he's dropping pinecones from way up there. You tell them, Ranger. Yeah, you tell them. And tour the Thousand Islands. We hope you'll join us.