1000 Islands Camping at Ivy Lea | Castle Cruise, Boldt Castle & Pinecone Ambush!

I'm glad we're not in that campsite. In this episode we're headed for Ivy Lea Campground. This campground is located under the Thousand Islands International Bridge and is the westernmost campground in the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. It also has a squirrel population with an anger issue and we're also going to explore the Thousand Islands. So join us. 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. We departed Woodlands Campground on the Long Sioux Parkway headed west on Highway 2. The road here follows the north shore of the St. Lawrence overlooking New York State Old fortifications from the War of 1812. There's a ship. We passed through some of eastern Ontario's prettiest towns on what turned out to be a very scenic drive. Eventually we made our way to the Thousand Island Parkway which turned out to be another picturesque road. The St. Lawrence Park Commission is an agency of the Ontario government and it operates 10 campgrounds. Ivy Lea Campground has approximately 143 sites and about half are RV friendly with electric and water hookups. Where we're supposed to go to register. And I'll just pull down here and walk back up. Hello there. We arrived after the prescribed check-in time and staff sent us to our site making sure to tell us to turn right at the water tap. Water tap. Okay. What number are we? 46. This is 129. Ways to go. Okay this isn't the right loop so that's all right. We're coming right back out to it here I think. We've got to turn around here. This is why they need to give you a paper map. So Cindy's going to check to see if our site's down there because we're having the toughest time finding it. They told us to turn right at a water tap. We did but it was not the right water tap obviously. Are we down there? There's 145, 138. Assuming there's another water. So there's another road here. Here she comes again. What'd you find? No there's 140, 146. Okay so that little hidden driveway there is where we have to go. So this is our site. The gentleman packed up very quickly and and headed out which was awesome. It is very unbuckled. It's going to be quite a challenge to get this leveled out. We had to go up about four inches on our Carm Tech levelers and we had to go down about four inches on the other side. The gravel bed here we just dug a little bit of a hole for each wheel. We'll fill those in when we leave. That was absolutely worth it. The site has a really really beautiful view and breeze coming in off the water too. Oh you got the stick. Good dog. What's she doing? Go get her. Good boy. But what we didn't know about the site was the forward operating base of a treetop anarchist. We're being bombarded by a squirrel. Oh he's dropping my coats from way up there. He's already hit me. He's hit the trailer four or five times. This is very lovely. The great woodland barrage continued to disrupt the tranquility of our site so we set out to explore the campground. It is truly a unique location right under the Thousand Islands International Bridge, part of the link between Ontario and New York state. This looks like a nice little cozy campsite. Lots of trees and a nice path. Nice and quiet. It does look very peaceful doesn't it? It's just one thing. Sure you want that nice site right there? Maybe not. Near the bridge you'll also find a small beach and a good spot to land a kayak or canoe. You can actually see the bridge up through the trees there quite clearly too. We also discovered Ivy League Campground has some wonderful riverfront sites. The site is 97 and it's got a direct path down to the shoreline right underneath the Ivy League Bridge. A bunch of firewood there. Really nice sites here eh? This is a beautiful site. There's no hydro but it does appear to be seasonal. It's really nice spots. Ivy League also has a picturesque and well-protected boat dock. No scuba diving or swimming off the docks. So this is the little inlet and our campsite's right at the end there yeah. That tree right there, that's where we are. It's a really pretty park. Yep when it's even better for sure. Yes the unserviced sites had most of the forest and water views but there are nearly 70 sites with hydro and water hookups. They do have a spot for you to store boats. Interesting that the dump station's here on your way out of the park but it's on the wrong side. You're actually going to have to loop around and come back in. There's a small picnic shelter, beach volleyball court and playground behind the bushes over there. And the park store was stocked with snacks and drinks and some nice parks for the St. Lawrence merchandise. This would look cute on you. Well that looks like a really nice site if you've got a trailer. You can see down to the water. Those are lucky people. We have some dinner guests. You do, look at that. And two cygnets too. The rest of the first evening was peaceful. It appeared the high altitude rodent activity was done so the pre-dawn pine cone strike was less than welcome. After that very early wake-up call Terry decided to head for the City Cruises Ivy Lee dock. And he boarded one of their tour boats for a two-hour trip of this part of the Thousand Islands. Within minutes of departure we approached the international bridge and our campground. That's our campsite right down there. City Cruises operates numerous tours out of Gananoque and Ivy Lee. The sailing I was on was the two castle tour. The Thousand Islands, actually more like 1800 islands, fill the St. Lawrence between Ontario and New York. On the tour you'll pass large summer estates and tiny one cottage islands. And there's one with a small wooden bridge linking two small islands one of which is in Canada and the other in the U.S. And of course there's castles. Bolt Castle on Heart Island is the best known. Our tour didn't stop but from the upper deck the views of the imposing Rhineland style stone castle with turrets and red roofs and the stunning boathouse were awesome. Now if you want to go ashore and actually tour the castle you'll have to take one of the City Cruises tours that runs out of Gananoque. But important note, Heart Island is in the United States so you'll need a passport in order to clear U.S. Customs and Immigration. From Bolt Castle our tour headed east where the St. Lawrence broadened and we entered the shipping channel. We were headed for the second castle on the tour, Singer Castle. There's a bit of a run through open water here so it seemed like a good time to give you a bit more information on the boat's amenities. There's three decks to enjoy with English and French commentary, though it was nearly impossible to hear on the windy upper deck. The boat also has a snack bar aboard with simpler fares as well as a licensed bar. After about a 15 to 20 minute run Singer Castle rose into view. Unlike the fairy tale appearance of Bolt Castle, Singer Castle's square turrets and battlements give off more of a medieval stone fortress vibe. From Singer Castle the tour headed back to port. After the calm of the boat tour it was back to the campground where another conifer bombardment was immediately launched. It seemed this was all part of a well-planned and orchestrated operation. I hear you. Drop another one. Lee's fallen from where he is. He's directly above me. That's where he's trying to aim them at us. You tell them, Ranger. Yeah, you tell them. These are so sticky. It was clear the best course of action in the short term was tactical retreat so we headed to nearby Gananoque. In the 1800s this small town of around 5,000 was an industrial and shipping center. Today it is a gateway to leisure and sightseeing where you'll find a pretty downtown and shopping area, marinas, a waterfront walk, a well-curated museum, and some great dining. Our last night at the campground was simply peaceful but on departure day another sunrise blitz was launched. It's at it again. I'm a dead center in the hood of the truck. Thank you for leaving all the sap on my truck, Mr. Squirrel. Having bravely endured Operation Furry Fury we left our site and headed for the dump station. We could see firsthand the confusion its odd orientation caused. You've got trailers going out, you've got trailers facing this way, the dump's on the left, so these guys are kind of on the right side of it, but it's confusing. All right, so just some final thoughts. I believe the campground in the heart of the Thousand Islands is hard to beat. Yeah, with its river access, boat tours, the proximity to Gananoque, it's a great base for exploring. And yes, some of the sites are underneath a bridge and you're going to get traffic noise there, but where we were camping it was surprisingly peaceful. It's a campground we will definitely return to. If you enjoyed this video, please don't forget to hit those like and subscribe buttons. It does help YouTube see that you value the content and you would like to see more. Thanks for watching.