Wellesley Island State Park

     Wellesley Island State Park, located way up north by the US/Canadian border in the Thousand Islands region, has been on my local "bucket list" of places to hike for several years now.  So I was enthralled when I had the chance to visit this unique park tucked away on beautiful Wellesley Island on a weekend with family and friends visiting the area.  The mighty St. Lawrence River cuts through this whole area, not only separating the United States from its neighbor, Canada, but also acts as an important seaway and vital link between the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean hundreds of miles away.  Whenever I visit the river, it feels to me as though I am on a coast, which is far from reality in other places I've hiked a bit further south in Central New York.  Yet you are not on the coast and still can immerse yourself in an entirely different environment of cliffs, waterways, marinas, private islands of unique "pioneer" plants, bays, and river culture.  

     The park, of course manged by New York State, makes up the more northwestern corner of Wellesley Island and is surrounded by the St. Lawrence River: Eel Bay to the north and South Bay to the . . . you guessed it - the south.  The park boats a full service marina and three boat launches which, from what I saw, are well used.  Fishing is abundant here where you may find pike, small mouth bass, and muskie (keep in mind this is freshwater fishing).  Detailed trail maps can be easily found online through the NYS Parks website - I would suggest downloading one before embarking on a walk here as there are many interconnecting trails (a total of 17 of all different lengths!).

     The late morning/early afternoon I hiked here on a weekend visit took me an hour and a half to complete, and as far as elevation is concerned, there are some rocky ascents but nothing I came across was very steep or taxing.  Most of the other paths seemed relatively flat. 

 

     My hike began at the trailhead by the nature center (also worth checking out) where I followed the wide and double-track Middle Trail (marked by clear red discs on trees with a hiker symbol).  Descending deeper into this mostly sugar maple forest, I turned left onto a more interesting-looking trail with, this time, purple discs on trees - again with the hiker symbol.  This somewhat grassier path passed by these old rock outcroppings almost acting as natural "shoulders" on the trail.  I believe this was the Sand Cove Trail, which would eventually take me to the outstanding, green-disc marked Eel Bay Trail. 

     The Eel Bay Trail, 1.1 miles long and hugging the island coast its entire route, was a superb highlight of the hike for me.  I hope these pictures show why:  

     It helps to understand the geology of the region: these small river islands are essentially giant rocks where "pioneer" plants such as lichen grew first, and then, over long periods of time, forests sprouted.  Hence the presence of these rocky slopes down to the water.  

     Hey, look!  Wild blueberries:  

     The trail required a little climbing to reach the overlook of the river and the land on the other side.  What a view! 

  

     I continued along where the path changed names to the Narrows Trail since it now followed a channel named "The Narrows", connecting Eel Bay to South Bay (still all part of the St. Lawrence!).

Soon, the trail banked left and headed primarily east, now following the shores of South Bay.  By this point, it was getting time to return, so I "shortcutted" back via the pretty Pond Loop, circling a pond that appears, with every passing year, to becoming more a marsh.  I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of flies near this wet area; it was breezy so I perhaps I just picked the right day to come.  

     Of course, photos of different wildflowers are always a must:  

     My return on the well-established, double-track Middle Trail traveling through a healthy hardwood forest:  

     I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to this park and would love to visit again, calculating the walk's length to be slightly over 2.6 miles.  There are many trails and sections of the park I did not get to see, and that in itself warrants another visit, in my book.  There seem to be walks here for people of all abilities, which I also appreciate.  I have to thank the folks long ago who had the foresight to preserve this great piece of Wellesley Island for generations after them.