Kingston, Ontario, Marks the Start of Our Rideau Canal Cruise

After making a loop through the Thousand Islands, on the Saint Lawrence River, we returned to the canal system in Ontario. The first stop was Kingston, the southern starting point of the historic Rideau Canal

The French established Kingston, Ontario in 1673 as a trading post, Fort Cataraqui. In the 1780s the British took possession of the Fort and officially named the city, Kingston. For a short three-year period, in 1841, Kingston was the capital of Canada. In 1844 they moved it to Ottawa, at the northern end of the Rideau River.

As we walked around town, we noticed a more European feel to the architecture, reflecting its days as the nation’s capital and early military presence. Kingston’s nickname is “Limestone City,” because of the local limestone used on the buildings. We enjoyed two days and nights in Kingston, walking a lot and provisioning for the next leg of the trip. Lisa and I had a great Italian dinner and got to stretch our legs out. As luck would have it, we ran into some boating friends from our Looping days who were also staying in the marina.

We may have stayed in Kingston longer, but the Rideau was calling us.

What a surprise it was to bump into our Looper friends, Craig and Barb, on Blue Heron (above and below). They had just finished cruising the Rideau. They shared some helpful information with us about where to go etc. while on our cruise.

We had a fantastic meal at Casa, we were tired and hungry from walking around Kingston all day.