The Beauty Around Us

1000 Islands Vacation Day 3: Clayton, NY

By Linda G. on July 28, 2016

On Day 3 (Tuesday, June 21) of our 1000 Island Vacation we visited places south of our home port of Alexandria Bay, NY.  So far I have shared blog posts about Rock Island Lighthouse and our visit to Wellesley Island State Park.  Today’s blog post is about our visit to Clayton, NY.

From Wellesley Island we drove back over the Thousand Islands Bridge to the quintessential river town of Clayton, NY.  The blue waters of the St. Lawrence River provide a beautiful, soothing backdrop for this picturesque little town.

We ate lunch at Bella’s.

Bella’s Bistro

We seated ourselves on the deck,
at a window table that overlooked the St. Lawrence River.

I ordered a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with a green salad. Bob ordered a Greek Wrap with a green salad. The view was outstanding; our meals were delicious; service was excellent; and the price was OK.

After lunch we enjoyed a leisurely stroll along the river.  We walked down Riverside Drive.

James St. & Riverside Dr. intersection
Bella’s Bistro is located on Riverside Dr., to camera left but outside this photograph.

Riverside Drive – Historic District
late 19th century commercial buildings

Riverside Drive
Simon Johnston House, c. 1880
built for local shipbuilder

Looking across Simon Johnston House grounds
to Riverside Drive

This is such a pretty view of Riverside Drive!

Monument Park on Riverside Drive

Riverside Drive
Village Docks and Park

All along the river is comfortable seating that invites one to sit, watch and relax. We walked alongside the boat docks and saw two men, with binoculars, who we believe were keeping an eye on boat traffic originating in Canada.

A short way from the Village Docks is Frink Park.

Frink Park

Frink Park was a former NY Central Railroad Depot and steamer landing.

We continued our walk along the river, past Frink Park.

Riverwalk

As I mentioned earlier, all along the river is comfortable seating that invites one to sit, watch and relax.

Bob is looking at a map, hoping to identify the island across the river.
He was successful in his search and identified the island as Calumet Island.

Calumet Island formerly featured one of the earliest examples of the large castles built in the Thousand Islands region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, of which Boldt Castle in nearby Alexandria Bay is a surviving example.  In 1956 a fire destroyed much of the castle.  Today, all that remains is the water tower (which has been converted to a light house), ice house, power house, skiff house, servant’s house, boat house, and the staircase that led up to the castle.

Water Tower on Calumet Island

In addition to the river views and the lovely architecture of this picturesque town, several murals drew my attention.  The large exterior murals were painted by Kelly Curry.  Each mural is a work of art!

Mural by Kelly Curry

Mural by Kelly Curry

Mural by Kelly Curry

From Clayton we made a return trip to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse, located in Cape Vincent.  This second visit to Tibbetts Point Lighthouse will be featured in the next blog post in my 1000 Islands Vacation series.