Gabrielle Dickson

Kingston

 Quick Guide: Kingston, Ontario

Hi Andrew! Here are a few things of note in Kingston. For me, the perfect Kingston day is just a causal walk along the waterfront from Confederation Park toward Queen’s, but there are lots of other fun things to check out as well. I hope that you have fun exploring the city this summer :)

The following items are separated into sections:

  • Restaurants

  • Parks and places to check out in Kingston

  • Things to do in Kingston

  • Exercise

  • Popular festivals

  • Close to Kingston

Restaurants

All of these restaurants are located downtown, mostly within a quick walk of city hall.

Jack Astor’s The downtown location has a fantastic rooftop patio. link

The Toucan A old fashioned pub downtown. link

Chez Piggy The description from their website is perfect: “Globally inspired dishes served in a funky former limestone stable with outdoor dining space.” They have an amazingly cute patio accessible by a very neat old little alley. link

Olivea Italian restaurant right next to market square. link

The Keg Chain steakhouse and bar, great location downtown. link

Morrison’s A retro diner serving greasy breakfasts. A classic spot in Kingston. link

Lone Star Texas Grill & Margaritaville The Lone Star Texas Grill is a fairly normal pub housed in an old firehall. Quoloqually, it is referred to as the Firehall Pub. In the summer they have a large patio in the back near the water called Margaritaville. Access the patio directly by going down the little alley to the left of the building. link

Grizzly Grill Local restaurant with neat ambiance. link

Woodenheads Pizza Local woodfired pizza place. link

Cocoa 70 Chain dessert restaurant, a cute spot for an evening downtown. link

Pilot House of Kingston Staple pub in Kingston. link

Sipps Popular local coffee shop. link

Reids Dairy Great spot for ice cream and $1 milkshakes. This is the only place on the list that is outside of downtown. It is near Bath Road & Gardiner’s Road. link

Toast & Jam A brunch place that my cousin is obsessed with. It is out on Bath Road near Collins Bay Institution. link

Parks and places to check out in Kingston

Portsmouth Village This is a cute little area outside of downtown with a harbour and some nice paths for walking along the lake. I have never been, but my grandfather always goes to the Portsmouth Tavern with his friends. It’s kind of a neat spot in an old house. The neighbourhood is situated between the Kingston Penitentiary and an abandoned asylum. I enjoy going to this area to walk along the lake and explore the grounds of the asylum (my Grama and I like to look in the windows for ghosts hehe, the asylum itself is popular with urban explorers). It’s just kind of an unusual spot to spend an afternoon.

Queens Campus & Agnes Etherington Art Centre It appears to be closed right now, but when it is open the Agnes Etherington Art Center is worth a visit if you are looking for a small art museum to peruse. I am sure you know from your fiancé’s work, but the Queen’s campus is gorgeous in general and a nice area to walk around.

Breakwater Park This is a newly renovated area of the waterfront with a fair amount of park space and a swimming pier.

City Park This large urban park hosts a variety of festivals throughout the year.

Lemoine Point Conservation Area A large park with many walking trails. It is in Kingston, but outside of downtown. Like everywhere in Kingston, it has lots of nice paths along the water. Rotary Park is a popular area in Lemoine Point.

Things to do

Market Square This is the square behind city hall that hosts a variety of markets and events throughout the year. In the winter, they usually turn it into a really nice skating rink. This website has all the info about what is going on there.

Trolley Tour This is totally touristy but is still a fun way to learn about the city from local guides who are passionate about its history. We actually did this tour with my grandparents a few years ago and we all learned something new (even though my grandparents have lived in Kingston for over 60 years.) Tour website.

Haunted Walk Again, a touristy activity but something to do to get familiar with the city! We have only done the downtown one, but the Fort Henry one looks interesting too. This is really popular with my family. Tour website.

Sailing, kayaking, etc. on Lake Ontario One of the best ways to spend an afternoon in Kingston is on the water. We rent kayaks, etc. from this little shop right on the water.

Fort Henry This is the old fort on the hill to the east of downtown. It is interesting to walk around and see. When I was a kid, they did demonstrations on Wednesday evenings that ended with fireworks. I can’t find anything about it on their website now but I wonder if they will resume ‘post-COVID’. Fort Henry website.

Murney Tower Museum Along the waterfront, there are a few grey stone towers with red roofs called Martello towers. Built in the mid 1800s as part of a defense strategy, they have become a symbol of Kingston. One of them, called Murney Tower, has been converted into a museum so that you can actually see what they are like inside.

Kingston Pen Tour Kingston’s connection to the correctional system is inescapable with prisons located all over the city. Several years ago, Kingston Pen was shut down due to age and has more recently re-opened as a museum of sorts with tours. I have never done this tour, but I know a lot of people who have and have found it very interesting. I think part of the allure is that for locals, there is a lot of mystery around what is actually inside the walls of these buildings that we drive by every day. The Kingston Pen is located at the edge of Portsmouth Village right next to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour. Link to the tour website.

Bellevue House This is a historic house in downtown kingston that has been turned into a museum. It was Sir John A Macdonald’s house and from the website it seems like they are trying to re-work the museum to tell a more accurate story about the history of the nation’s first capital. (Interesting fact: Kingston was originally built to be the capital of Canada, but it was moved to Ottawa when they decided that Kingston’s position was too vulnerable to attack.)

Cooke’s Fine Foods and Coffee A neat little fine foods shop in downtown. Worth popping into.

The Jungle A cute, local plant shop.

Dinner cruise on Lake Ontario This is popular with people visiting Kingston. The most ideal time to go is the sunset cruise on a day that they are doing fireworks at Fort Henry so that you can watch the show from the water.

Exercise

Artillery Park Pool This is just a nice public pool near RMC.

Boiler Room Climbing Gym They appear to have closed their original location and are moving. I am not sure what their new spot will be like, but their old location was in an old woolen mill. It was quite neat! Link to their website.

Popular festivals

  • Buskers Week

  • Art in the Park

  • Chilifest (literally a festival of all different chilis, bring your own cup and spoon!)

  • Blues festival

  • The Poker Run - a boat rally through the 1000 Islands. My family never goes (and avoids downtown on that weekend) but other people love it.

Close to Kingston

Things that are near Kingston, but require a bit of travel.

Wolf Island This is the large island with all of the wind mills that you can see from the shore in Kingston. It is quite a special place - a slow pace and ideal scenery. Take the ferry over to the island. The ferry ride offers a gorgeous view of Kinston from the water. I enjoy just taking the ferry to the island and back around sunset time to enjoy the view. It is free and you don’t need a ticket, just be sure to keep an eye on the ferry schedule as it does not run 24/7. Walk onto the ferry if you just want to go to a restaurant near the ferry terminal on the other side (this one has a nice patio directly on the water). Bike onto the ferry and spend a nice day biking all around the island (my dad said this was one of his favourite things to do). Or, drive on to the ferry if you want to go to a beach or something further across the island. Big Sandy Bay Beach is a popular beach on the island. Going to this island is by far one of my favourite things about Kingston.

Kingston Mills Locks This is a section of the Rideau Canal locks located near Kingston. It is a neat area to walk around and see the locks in action. The locks are still fully manual and it is very cool to see the employees open and close the locks to allow the boats to climb or descend. There is also a rockface popular among outdoor climbers near the walking path. (About 15 minutes from Kingston.)

Treasure Island Marina & The Cove Waterfront Grill Exactly what it sounds like, this is a marina with a waterfront restaurant. The drive from the city is beautiful. To get here, you will drive through limestone rock cuts - a hallmark of Kingston. This is very close to where my grandparents lived when I was growing up! (About 15 minutes from Kingston.)

Grass Creek Park A park with a large swimming area. Every year, they host sheepdog trials in August which draw people from across southern Ontario. (About 20 minutes from Kingston.)

Wilton Cheese Factory This is our family favourite - it’s not a trip to Kingston unless we get fresh cheese curds! It’s an old cheese factory in a cute little town. The drive out there is really nice as well. Get the fresh cheese curds off the counter, not out of the fridge, and eat them all within 24 hours. They should be very soft and make a squeaking sound as you chew them. When you refrigerate cheese curds, they get hard and basically turn into regular cheese. There aren’t too many places where you can still get fresh, unrefrigerated cheese curds. (About half an hour from Kingston.)

1000 Island Boat Tour from Gananoque Boat tours through the heart of the 1000 Islands where you will see many beautiful tiny islands and interesting cottages. When the border opens, do the Boldt Castle tour to visit this historic private island and gorgeous mansion. Be sure to remember your passport for the Boldt Castle tour as the island is actually in the United States. (About half an hour from Kingston.)

Gananoque This is a cute, quaint village on the St. Lawrence River. The 1000 Islands Playhouse, a historical playhouse right on the water, is worth a visit. Give yourselves some time before or after the play to wander around the area. (About half an hour from Kingston.)

The Opinicon This is an old resort type hotel on the lake with a nice restaurant, bar/pub, and ice cream shop. When we want to spend a nice evening together, we drive out there, have dinner, walk around the grounds, and walk back. It’s just a very idyllic area. (About one hour from Kinston.)

Sandbanks Provincial Park A gorgeous sandy beach with dunes, very popular for swimming and day visits. People adore this park. There is also a campground here. (About one hour from Kingston.)

Picton A cute little town with antique shops, wineries, and you-pick fruit farms. (About one hour from Kingston.)

Brockville A cute town on the St. Lawrence River with little shops to explore. The railway tunnel is supposed to be very cool. They also have a cute plant shop. (About one hour from Kingston).