St. Lawrence Seaway

Cruise the famous 1000 Islands, scattered like jewels upon shimmering waters so beautiful that Aboriginals named it the "Garden of the Great Spirit." In this area abundant with history you can experience military colour and pageantry with precision regimental drills at an authentic 19th-century fort or slip into the routine of 1860s daily life in a faithfully recreated village. Visit charming towns and cities that date back to the days of the fur traders and United Empire Loyalists. Enjoy exceptional summer theatre in a rustic, turn-of-the-20th-century playhouse appealingly set on the waterfront. Plan a St. Lawrence Seaway vacation for adventure and enjoyment on land or water. Join a Rockport Boat Line tour and visit some of 1000 Islands out of the ordinary attractions, including romantic castles and the world's smallest international bridge on Zavikon Island. www.rockportcruises.com

From the West (Toronto/Kingston):
Follow Highway 401 east to Interchange 661
(which is Highway 137/Bridge to USA).
Take Interchange then turn right off Highway 137 to 1000 Islands Parkway.
Turn left on Parkway and proceed 3.2 km/2 miles to Rockport.

1000 ISLANDS - The nobility and natural beauty of the St. Lawrence River and the Islands are the lasting by-products of the Great Ice Age. Here you'll be astounded at the clean, clear, deep, fresh water, which flows among the infinite variety of islands. Indian tribes known as the “Confederacy of the Iroquois” which was comprised of the Mohawk, Oneidas, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca Tribes originally inhabited the 1000 Islands region. The tribes lived in longhouses and grew crops of corn, beans and squash and hunted in the forests and fished in the lakes and river. It was the French explorers who named the 1000 Islands but the Indians more perceptively called this area the Garden of the Great Spirit or "Manitonna". The famous French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, first explored the 1000 Islands in the early 1600's. A Jesuit missionary, Father Le Moyne, in 1654 set up missions to lure Indian tribes from the British and Dutch fur traders to the French. The St. Lawrence River was the principal route for the "couriers de bois", colorful French fur traders who, by canoe, explored westward in search of furs. Soon, Indian warfare ensued between the powerful Iroquois and the Ottawa and Huron Tribes. The British, in order to increase their fur trade and also to get a greater hold on the North American continent, encouraged the Iroquois.

Long ago, Manitou, the Great Spirit, sat alone in his shining sky-lodge. He was sad and puzzled. The people fought continuously. He decided to help them. Parting the sky-curtain Manitou came down to earth. On his back was a large, mysterious bundle wrapped in his blanket. On the bank of the mighty St. Lawrence he laid down his bundle. He called all the people together. He gave them a beautiful garden to be their home

forever and he told them they must not fight, or they would risk losing the gift. For a time all went well. However, the old quarrels were not dead, by and by the beautiful garden rang with the cries of war. Manitou came again and said, "You have not kept peace so I will have to take the garden away". Wrapping the garden in his blanket, he started back to the sky. Just as he was about to part the sky-curtain, his blanket broke. Down tumbled the garden into the St. Lawrence. As it struck it broke into hundreds upon hundreds of pieces, big and little and these pieces became the 1000 Islands.