The small city of Welland Ontario is located almost smack dab in the centre of the Niagara Region in southern Ontario. While not a tourist destination in its own right it is very close to many interesting communities that draw visitors from around the globe.

A little over an hour away from the City of Toronto it is also within easy traveling distance of Hamilton, Niagara Falls, St. Catherines, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Port Colbourne and Buffalo. New York. Centered on the Welland Canal from which it derives its name, its history and development is almost entirely due to this supremely important body of water that ties Lake Erie to Lake Ontario thus bypassing the spectacular cataract at Niagara Falls.

With a population of approximately 51,000 the “Rose City” is also known as the place “where rails and water meet” as its development was in part spurred by where the railway crossed the canal and the Welland River which bisects the city in two.

How to get to Welland Ontario:

By Car:

From Eastern Ontario:
Take Highway 401 West
Take Highway 427 South to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Hamilton
Take the Queen Elizabeth Way West towards Hamilton/Niagara
Just before St. Catherines take Highway 406 towards Welland
Turn right on East Main Street into downtown Welland

From Western Ontario:
Take Highway 401 East towards Toronto
Near Woodstock take Highway 403 towards Hamilton
Continue on Highway 403 past Hamilton to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) towards Niagara Falls
Just before St. Catherines take Highway 406 towards Welland
Turn right on East Main Street into downtown Welland

From Northern Ontario:
Navigate to Highway 400 South
Highway 400 ends at Highway 401
Take Highway 401 West
Take Highway 427 South to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Hamilton
Take the Queen Elizabeth Way West towards Hamilton/Niagara
Just before St. Catherines take Highway 406 towards Welland
Turn right on East Main Street into downtown Welland

By Public Transport
By Bus. Welland Ontario is easily reached by bus services.

Ontario’s commuter bus service Go Transit travels to the City of St. Catherines. From there it is possible to take the city’s local bus service to a connection with Welland’s local bus service.

By Rail:

Passenger rail service is no longer offered to Welland Ontario. It is however possible to take a vial rail passenger train to the City of St. Catherines and then transfer to the local bus service for a connection into Welland.

By Air:

While Welland does have a small airport it does not offer any passenger services. The city is so close to Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (approximately 90 minutes) by car and it is the main entryway into the province for international and far afield domestic visitors alike, a car rental or other public transport option as listed above is the easiest way of reaching the city.

Welland recreational canal United Empire Loyalists first settled the area in 1788 as they embarked on a new life after fleeing from the recently formed United States. The Original inhabitants settled east of the present day city in the small hamlet of Cooks Mills. It was here that one of the final battles of the War of 1812 took place as the American invaders fought an inconclusive skirmish then retreated across the border never to return.

After the war the British realized that they would have to improve communications to the western portions of their colony and began construction of the Welland Canal. The first Welland Canal was completed in 1833 and the shantytown that sprung up to house the workers employed on the project was called Aqueduct after a wooden aqueduct built to carry the canal over the river.

Industry began to spring up in the area and the population continued to grow. The town was renamed Merrittville after one of the founders of the Welland Canal project. In 1858 the community officially changed its name to Welland and in 1917 it became a city. The city continued to grow which initiated the Welland By-Pass project in 1973 that has resulted in creating the Welland Recreational Waterway the city’s main tourist draw today.

Welland Canal Recreational Waterway

With the building of the new canal route no longer do the ships traversing the Welland Canal pass through the center of town causing extreme traffic jams. The resulting abandoned canal has subsequently been turned into a recreational paradise.

Motorboats were banned as they posed a threat to other recreational activities such as: Canoeing, Kayaking, Rowing, Paddleboats, Fishing, Swimming (though not really adviseable).

The Welland Canal Parkway Trail is a paved hiking, biking and recreational trail that follows alongside both banks of the entire length of the old canal from St. Catherines on Lake Ontario to Port Colbourne on Lake Erie and passes right through downtown Welland Ontario.

In downtown Welland Ontario itself between the recreational waterway and the Welland River is 3-kilometre (1.8 mile) long Merritt Island, which has been turned into a community park. Rentals of equipment for the above-mentioned activities are available and the park has become a favorite amongst locals for picnicking and barbequing in the summer months. There is also a memorial dedicated to the workers that built this important waterway that significantly contributed to the growth of Ontario and Canada as a whole. Each fall the park also hosts the Niagara Food Festival.

The waterway has also become a magnet for festivals and special events. One of the premier events held annually since 2002 that draws participants and spectators from far and wide is the Welland Dragon Boat Festival.

There is also a recently built amphitheatre along the waterways western shore that used to host a summertime outdoor concert series named IlluminAqua where floating stages are used for various performances as the artists perform between firepods. As of this date the concert series has been suspended due to lack of government sponsored funding.

City of Murals

One particularly unique aspect of Welland Ontario is the preponderance of remarkable murals of varying sizes that have sprung up on the exterior walls of buildings throughout the city. The city is quickly becoming known as a large open-air gallery as city fathers encourage artists from across Canada to beautify the urban landscape with colorful murals depicting themes of significant historical importance to the region.

At present 27 of these larger than life murals have been commissioned with one being 3-storeys high and 25 metres (80 feet) long. Most are concentrated in the downtown area and are easily within walking distance of each other.

While not a tourist mecca like some other nearby communities Welland Ontario does provide some places of interest for those in the area. You can probably combine it with activities and visits to nearby attractions to make a complete day of it. Most visitors to downtown will be a little disconcerted by the number of dilapidated and closed up buildings but the city is definitely on the upswing.

It is a historic community and its ties with the Welland Canal make it a significant community in the-annuls of Canadian history. This is depicted in the Welland Museum located in the cities downtown in the historic Carnegie Building.

Depending upon the time of year you visit there are also a couple of significant events hosted by the city.

The Welland Rose Festival, which commemorates Welland’s heritage as the “Rose City”, has traditionally kicked off the summer for over 50 years and occurs every June.

The Niagara Regional Exhibition traditionally marks the end of the summer and is the regions largest fall fair.

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Kingston Ontario is a beautiful medium sized city located in Eastern Ontario on the banks of Lake Ontario. It is of significant historical importance due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Cataraqui River at the meeting point of Lake Ontario and the mighty St. Lawrence River.
Known as the “Limestone City” due to the fact that many of its older buildings were constructed of locally quarried limestone it is located at almost the halfway point between Montreal and Toronto.

Originally founded by the French in 1673 as Fort Cataraqui (an aboriginal name for the area), it was soon called Fort Frontenac after the Governor of New France, Louis de Buade de Frontenac. It served as their main base of operations on Lake Ontario until it was attacked, captured and destroyed by the British in 1758 during the Seven Years War.
Settlement in the area began in earnest after the American Revolutionary War when thousands of United Empire Loyalists began fleeing north to remain under British jurisdiction. A restored Fort Frontenac (aka Cataraqui) became known as “the King’s Town” and in 1788 the name was officially changed to Kingston to honour King George III. Kingston soon became the leading community in this part of Upper Canada.
During the War of 1812 between the British and the expanding United States Kingston became the leading British naval base on Lake Ontario and the militarization of the community and its surrounding areas was rapidly undertaken.
After the war the English constructed the strategically important Rideau Canal with its entrance into Lake Ontario at Kingston. Leading edge military fortifications were constructed to guard to city and canal and these all still exist today and remain part of the lure of this charming city.
Kingston’s strategic location at the entrance of the Rideau Canal, at the end of Lake Ontario, and at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River made it the largest and most important centre in Upper Canada. This was officially recognized when the newly incorporated town was made the first capital of the Province of Canada in 1841.
Kingston held this distinction for only 3 years though as the British government felt it was too vulnerable to an American attack and they began alternating the capital between Toronto and Montreal before finally settling on Ottawa in 1857.
In 1846 Kingston Ontario was incorporated as a city but after the removal of its capital status it began to decline in importance both militarily and politically.

Getting to Kingston Ontario:

By Car:

The city lies on Highway 401, the main east-west traffic corridor across the province linking Toronto to Montreal and Ottawa. Driving times from major cities are: Toronto – 2.5 hours, Montreal 3 hours, Ottawa – 1.5 hours
From Eastern Ontario:
Navigate to Highway 401 and travel west until reaching the city.
From Western Ontario:
Navigate to Highway 401 and travel east until reaching the city.
From Northern Ontario:
Navigate south on any of Ontario’s secondary highways until you reach Highway 401 then head either east or west depending upon your intersecting point.

By Public Transport:

By Bus:

It is very easy to reach Kingston Ontario by bus as it is a major stopping point on the main east-west transportation corridor.

By rail:

As the city does lie on the main east-west transportation corridor across Southern Ontario it is well serviced by passenger rail and there is regular daily service.

By Plane:

Norman Rogers Municipal Airport located in the western part of the city has regular domestic flights to a number of communities but unfortunately does not cater to any international flights.
If you wish to fly to Kingston you will have to take a connecting flight from one of the larger international destinations such as Toronto or Ottawa. This is however quite an expensive option and since the city is so well serviced by other modes of public transport and travel times are comparative to flying I would recommend that visitors simply choose one of these options instead.

By Ferry:

Kingston is also connected to Wolfe Island by a free of charge ferry that runs all year round. The Kingston Terminal for the Wolfe Islander III is located at the intersection of Barrack and Ontario Street’s. Another Ferry connects Wolfe Island to the United States so it is possible to travel from Kingston Ontario to New York State by car via Wolfe Island and during the busy summer months many visitors do make use of this route.
The 61metre (200 feet) long Wolfe Islander III can carry up to 330 passengers and 55 vehicles and the trip from Kingston to Wolfe Island takes about 20 minutes.

By Boat:

This is usually not an option I list when creating information on how to arrive at a destination but Kingston Ontario’s location at the intersection at some of the country’s greatest waterways make listing this information a necessity.
Whether arriving from the Rideau Canal, St. Lawrence Seaway or from other points along the Great Lakes, Kingston’s strategic position at the eastern end of Lake Ontario has long made it an important stopping point for craft of all sizes.
Today most cargo traffic passes by the city as its harbour is too small for the St. Lawrence Seaway’s huge container ships but the city is still at the epicenter of dense pleasure craft traffic especially from the Rideau Canal. Many visitors arrive by their personal watercraft and the city has numerous marinas to accommodate them including: Kingston Marina, Collins Bay Marina, Music Marina, Confederation Basin, Blue Woods Marina, Kingston Yacht Club, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Treasure Island Marina, Rideau Marina.

Getting Around Kingston Ontario

As with most medium-sized and larger Canadian cities public bus transportation adequately services most areas of interest to visitors. The local bus service is appropriately named Kingston Transport.
Of course taxis are readily available, easily hailed and are relatively inexpensive as traveling throughout the city is fairly easy compared to some larger Ontario cites as traffic is not as congested.
Kingston Ontario Trolley Tours
A majority of the city’s visitors are interested in seeing the historic sites and attractions unique to the area and Kingston Trolley Tours provides a wonderful service for doing so. Many of the attractions are located either in the historic centre or along the waterfront so a perfect service is the Hop On Hop Off tour.

Leaving every half hour during the summer months from its departure point at the Kingston Ontario Visitor Information Centre located at 209 Ontario Street it makes six scheduled stops: Visitor Information Centre, The Royal Military College of Canada Museum, Fort Henry, Canada’s Penitentiary Museum, Queen’s University.

Entertainment and Shopping District

Once you purchase a ticket you can hop off at any of the stops, visit and explore, then hop back on a trolley as many times during the day as you like. An electronic guide is aboard giving informative narration and a trolley comes by each stop every half hour during the day making it a great way of exploring the city.

For those that just wish to see the city without getting on or off the city also operates the Confederation Trolley Tour. This one-hour tour is also electronically narrated. It passes by all the important attractions including:
The Royal Military College, Fort Henry, Fort Frontenac, Bellevue House, Penitentiaries, Queen’s University, Portsmouth Olympic Harbour.
For the most part these trolleys run from mid-May until just after Labour Day in early September.
Kingston ontario Kingston today has a population of just over 160,000 inhabitants and its rich history is reflected in the amount of National Historic Sites to be found in the immediate region including Bellevue House, the former home Sir John A. MacDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister.
The city is also arguably the birthplace of ice hockey, Canada’s national passion, as there is concrete evidence that the sport was played here as early as 1843. It is also home to the oldest continuous rivalry in the sport as the annual Queen’s University – Royal Military College of Canada game has been contested since 1866.

For the most part though Kingston Ontario is regarded as the starting point for exploring the nearby Thousand Islands region as the largest of these: Wolfe Island, lies just offshore and marks the ending point of Lake Ontario and the starting point for the St Lawrence River, arguably Canada’s greatest heritage waterway. Many 1000 Island cruises originate from the city and this is definitely one of the greatest draws for visitors to the Kingston area.

Whatever your interest I highly recommend that if you have time on your itinerary you plan to spend at least 1 day in Kingston Ontario, two is preferable as this gives you time to explore the city and surrounding Thousand Islands in more depth. The small nearby communities of Gananoque and Brockville are definitely also worthy of a stop. If you are traveling from Toronto and plan on visiting Ottawa, Algonquin Park and/or Montreal you have to pass right by Kingston so you don’t have to go out of your way to get here and a stop will allow you to see one of the most beautiful and historically significant communities in the province of Ontario.

Kingston Ontario attractions and activities

Thousand Islands

Without a doubt the best attraction in the greater Kingston area. Taking a drive along the nearby 1000 Islands Parkway is a great way to see this remarkable stratch of the St. Lawrence River but for an even better view, hop on a boat cruise in Kingston or nearby Gananoque or Brockville.

The Rideau Canal

A historic military waterway linking the cities of Ottawa and Kingston it is now a pleasure craft nirvana with its opening to Lake Ontario right in the city of Kingston.

Fort Henry

One of the most popular tourist attractions in the city this UNESCO World Heritage Site and National Historic Site of Canada sits high atop Point Henry standing guard over Kingston, Lake Ontario, the Rideau Canal and the St. Lawrence River.

Wolfe Island

The largest island of the famed Thousand Islands group it lies a short “free” ferry ride from downtown Kingston and makes for a great day trip for those wishing to spend a quiet relaxing day. Especially loved by cyclists and beach lovers.

Bellevue House

A lovely historic house located in an old, established upscale Kingston neighbourhood near Queen’s University. Once the home of Canada’s first Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald it is now a National Historic Site of Canada.

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Golden horseshoe vineyards. The Golden Horseshoe area of Southwest Ontario. While hard to believe for most international visitors the region is at the heart of Canada`s wine and fruit growing regions. Endless rows of vineyards and orchards abound amidst the urban sprawl in one of the country`s most heavily populated areas.

While heavily populated and industrialized this large region is still mainly rural. Drive 5 minutes outside the City of Hamilton and your smack dab in the middle of rows upon rows of fruit bearing orchards. In recent years these are being replaced by vineyards as the wines these locally grown grapes produce are now recognized as being amongst the best in the world.

The Golden Horseshoe

The Golden Horseshoe was a term coined in the 1950`s for the area of Southern Ontario stretching from the city of Oshawa in the east to the Town of Fort Erie in the southwest.

For the purposes of these pages I will exclude anything east of Oakville as this is the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and deserves pages in its own right and is included in my Central Ontario section, additionally I have included Fort Erie in the Lake Erie North Shore and Pelee Island section of my Southwestern Ontario pages.

For the purposes of these pages The Golden Horseshoe area stretches from Oakville in the east to Niagara Falls in the southwest and encompasses the area up to the City of Brantford in the west.

This region of Ontario is along with Toronto, Canada`s most heavily populated and rapidly growing areas and is the industrial economic heart of the country, it includes major population centres such as: Hamilton, St.Catherines, Oakville, Burlington, Niagara Falls.

Most people visiting Ontario Canada for the first time do actually include a visit to the Golden Horseshoe region on their itinerary as a trip to Niagara Falls is invariably on their must see lists but there is much, much more to see and do in this region in addition to “The Falls”.

Some of the many attractions in the region include:

The area stretching from Niagara Falls to Hamilton is one of Canada`s major wine producing regions whose products can be found on tables around the world.

The Niagara Escarpment, a United Nations World Biosphere – runs through the region stretching all the way north to the Bruce Peninsula and the well-traveled Bruce Trail is a hiking destination of international renown.

The beautiful picturesque town of Niagara-on-the-Lake draws visitors by the busload all summer long.

The Welland Canal which connects Lake Erie to Lake Ontario

Royal Botanical Gardens

Getting to the Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario Canada:

By Car:

As this is part of the most densely populated area of Canada getting around is relatively easy yet congested.

The main transportation corridor to the heart of the region is along the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway. It runs along the shore of Lake Ontario stretching from downtown Toronto to Fort Erie. Please note that this is probably the most traveled and congested highway in the country. During rush hours (especially in the Toronto area, expect LONG travel times.

Overall, the region is very accessible by car and the roads and highways are probably the best in the country. If you are planning on venturing g anywhere in the province beyond Toronto and Niagara Falls than this sis the mode of transportation that I would recommend.

By Air:

Almost all of the larger communities in the region are serviced by airports yet because the region is so close to Canada`s busiest airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, all international flights are serviced there.

The only other airport of any significance is the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport in Hamilton and it is more of a cargo airport and since it is located less than an hour by road from Toronto anyway, really makes no sense to transfer to.

In conclusion, air travel to the region is really not an option once visitors arrive at Toronto`s Pearson Airport. Car or public transportation is the way to go from there.

By Public Transport:

By Rail:

Via Rail offers a direct once per day Toronto to Niagara Falls return route. For those wishing to visit only “The Falls” this makes for a great way explore the city on a day trip.

The local commuter rail line GO Transit has daily service from Toronto to Hamilton with many stops in between. Weekend service extends to Niagara Falls during the summer months with a stop in St. Catharines along the way.

By Bus:

Go Transit also provides bus service into the region year round and covers the entire corridor from Toronto to Niagara Falls. Visit the website above for more information as to schedules and rates.

The other major bus companies that service most larger Golden Horseshoe communities are Greyhound and Coach Canada.

golden horseshoe grapes For most visitors to Ontario Canada the Golden Horseshoe region other than Niagara Falls is not even on their radar. This shouldn’t be the case as in all actuality a visit between Toronto, Niagara Falls and the Golden Horseshoe region`s attractions would be enough to fill most 2-week itineraries.

A very popular activity that has increased dramatically in recent years is the advent of winery tours. There are many tour operators offering group tours to many of the major and micro wine producers that have sprung up all over the Niagara Peninsula in recent years. These tasting tours will usually visit 3 or more wineries in a day and often schedule lunch and dinner stops in very picturesque settings amongst the rows upon rows of vines. It really is a great way to spend a hot summer day!

The Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario really shouldn’t be overlooked as a vacation destination, for a complete list of all major attractions in the region visit my Golden Horseshoe pages below.

Golden Horseshoe Attractions

Hamilton Ontario

The City of Hamilton Ontario and its environs are well worth spending a day or two on your itinerary.

African Lion Safari Ontario

Located just outside Hamilton this unique wildlife park is sure to be a highlight of any visit to Ontario. Located halfway between Toronto and Niagara Falls it is well worth a full day of your itinerary.

Welland Ontario

At the center of the Niagara Peninsula the City of Welland bears the name of the canal from which it developed. Nicknamed the “Rose City” this small city makes for a great stopover.

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