John Cletheroe's
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The North Shore Of Lake Ontario and Quinte's Isle (Prince Edward Peninsula/Prince Edward County), Ontario
East of Toronto
Driving east from Whitby to Coburg you pass through a series of heavily built up areas, suburbs of Toronto, with virtually no views of the lake from the main road. Beyond Coburg the road gradually becomes more rural in nature and there are more views of the lake.
Quinte's Isle (Prince Edward Peninsula/Prince Edward County)
At Trenton you can choose to head east directly to Kingston staying on the mainland, or to divert south onto an area of land which is almost separated from the mainland, only being connected by a very thin strip of land in the west. This peninsula, almost an island, is known as Quinte's Isle, the Prince Edward Peninsula or Prince Edward County. Quinte's Isle is apparently not an official name but one used locally for promoting tourism to the area. Encarta's World Atlas labels the area as being the Prince Edward Peninsula. The official Ontario highway map labels it as being Prince Edward County, a name which is also used locally. This area should not be confused with the Canadian maritime province of Prince Edward Island, of course. For simplicity I will just use the name Quinte's Isle for the rest of this page. The stretch of water which almost separates Quinte's Isle from the mainland is called the Bay of Quinte.
The road across Quinte's Isle is known as the Loyalist Parkway, a reference to the fact that the area was settled by a group of American colonists who remained loyal to Britain during and after the American War of Independence. I'm informed that the Loyalist Parkway is the oldest public road in Ontario, the section from Kingston to Carrying Place (at the isthmus which connects Quinte's Isle to the mainland) having been built in 1798 and the road to Toronto having been completed in 1801. The United Empire Loyalists arrived in the area in June 1784, landing at Adolphustown; a 72-acre park in the town maintained by the Bay of Quinte Branch of the United Empire Loyalists Association of Canada commemorates the event. Their web site has information on the park, the history and background of the Loyalists and also links to information about Quinte's Isle. External link checked Apr-99.
Quinte's Isle is a pleasant rural backwater. An unusual feature of Quinte's Isle is the large number of "chip vans" seen along the road. More importantly, the Lake On The Mountain Provincial Park near the town of Picton on Quinte's Isle is well worth a quick visit.
Picton is a pleasant little town with a small number of motels and restaurants.
Glenora Car Ferry
The tiny Glenora car ferry which makes the short crossing between Quinte's Isle and the mainland located to the east of Picton is free of charge. During most of the day service is every fifteen minutes with the journey taking only ten minutes or so. Just east of the ferry the road runs through the aforementioned Adolphustown.
East of Quinte's Isle
East of the ferry from Quinte's Isle there are excellent views of Amherst Island and then looking south from Kingston of Wolfe Island (both islands having been named after British generals). East of Kingston there are excellent views of some of the Thousand Islands and the St Lawrence River.
Acknowledgement
My grateful thanks to Bill Daverne who kindly contributed some of the information which appears on this page.
Ontario
Canals, Islands, Lakes, Rivers and Waterfalls
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Most recently modified 18-Sep-99