Eastern Ontario Road Trip: Scenic Wolfe Island, Cornwall & Manotick

We like to travel to the Ottawa area a few times a year to visit family. Our road trip route usually involves driving the 5 hours from Barrie, staying in Ottawa one or two nights, and then driving home. This time, we decided to check out Wolfe Island near Kingston and Cornwall before arriving at our family meet-up in Manotick. 

This was our 1100 km route.

Wolfe Island and Kingston

Kingston was the halfway point of our first day’s drive. There is a free hourly, 20-minute-long ferry ride from downtown Kingston to Wolfe Island. We arrived 10 minutes before the ferry’s departure and drove straight onto the boat. It was a smooth transfer, and we stayed in our car as it was raining. The ferry holds 55 cars. The last time we were on an Ontario ferry was our trip to southern Ontario, when we travelled to Pelee Island

We docked on Wolfe Island, near Marysville, and toured the small community. There are several pretty countryside vistas. The town of Marysville had a few stores open. We saw osprey, hawks and lots of red-winged blackbirds. The drizzle continued so we returned to Kingston for lunch.

We had a lovely meal at Harper’s Burger Bar on Princess Street. Downtown Kingston was busy with shoppers, and we enjoyed a short stroll along the main street before returning to our car. Parking was cheap-only $2 an hour.

Cornwall, Ontario

Cornwall is a small city on the St. Lawrence River. It was one of the first settlements of the United Empire Loyalists in the 18th century, a strategic location during the War of 1812, and an educational and industrial centre for water power and mills in the mid-1800s. Many of today’s 50,000 residents speak English and French fluently.

Thanks to an Instagram contest, I won a free night’s stay at the Dev Hotel and Conference Centre. This encouraged us to explore this part of eastern Ontario. We met friendly and helpful staff at check-in, check-out, and in the restaurants.

The conference centre was built in 1977 as a Transport Canada and NAV Canada training facility. Federal employees were trained in aviation navigation, emergency planning and safety standards. The airplane-themed decor reflects this historic purpose. It still operates as a training centre during the week, and the community uses the amenities on weekends. When we arrived on a Saturday, the pool was being enjoyed by several kids celebrating birthdays. 

While on course, many people are housed in student-like accommodations. As a hotel guest and prize winner, we were given a large, recently updated King Suite. Our room had a river view and was very comfortable with many amenities. We enjoyed our brisket platter and wings for dinner at the Jet Set Pub. The buffet-style restaurant is called the Propeller. The centre is located on the shores of the St. Lawrence, and the grounds are beautifully kept. The inner courtyard gardens were also well-maintained.  We walked along the shores of the St Lawrence after dinner and enjoyed the waterfront and quiet surroundings. We enjoyed our stay and were treated well by all of the staff.

Manotick 

We enjoyed a tasty breakfast at Creekside Bar and Grill. They had many delicious options for breakfast and bottomless coffee! After our meal, we walked through the village of Manotick. We window-shopped along the main street and admired some homes built around a pond along the main street. After our visit, it was time to head back home. We took the north-west route through Bancroft.

Although it was a long drive each day, we got to see some new places along the way to Ottawa that we had not yet experienced with this stopover in Cornwall. We enjoyed our brief visit to the places we explored in Eastern Ontario. If we were driving to Montreal, the Dev Hotel and Conference Centre would make a perfect mid-point stop.