Cornwall (Ontario)

Cornwall is a city of about 48,000 people (2018) on the St. Lawrence River in Eastern Ontario.

Understand

Cornwall is on the St. Lawrence Seaway, opposite Massena and Rooseveltown, New York. The 1958 seaway eliminated rapids upstream at Long Sault, opening a path for large ocean-going vessels from the Great Lakes at the expense of inundating and destroying several small villages (such as Aultsville and Moulinette). Some historic buildings which were displaced from the Lost Villages are now at Morrisburg (Upper Canada Village) or Long Sault (Ault Park); islands along what is now the Long Sault Parkway were once part of the Canadian mainland. Long Sault and Ingleside are planned communities to house displaced villagers.

Cornwall-Massena is the home of a large hydroelectric generating station (with visitor's centre) and large ships may be viewed transiting the Seaway locks. Much of the city's industrial base is now gone, as is the pollution associated with Cornwall-Massena in the 1970s.

Get in

By car

Cornwall is on Highway 401 (exit 789), about one hour west of Montreal and two hours east of Kingston. As Ontario's easternmost city, Cornwall appears as a control city on highway signage for over a 160 km (100 miles) from Kingston (exit 611) eastward.

From Montréal, Autoroute 20 west becomes Ontario 401.

From Ottawa-Hull, take the Trans-Canada Highway 417 to Casselman, then turn south on Ontario 138.

By train

VIA Rail serves Cornwall from Montreal and Toronto. The railway station is located at 1650 Station Rd.

By bus

Megabus (Coach Canada) serves Cornwall from Montreal and Toronto.

By plane

The closest major airport is Montréal-Trudeau YUL ^IATA, from which direct onward connections are available by rail from the Dorval commuter train station. Ottawa also has a major airport, but Ottawa-Cartier (YOW ^IATA) is no closer than Montréal and lacks Dorval's relatively easy air-to-rail connection.

There is a tiny airport in Massena with a few federally-subsidised US flights daily to Albany.

By seaway

Cruising on small craft is an option on the St. Lawrence Seaway, but there is a minimum length at the locks (about 20 ft, which excludes some small boats which can be carried by auto trailers) and the huge "Seaway Max" ships are given priority - one of these leviathans fills an entire Seaway lock with only inches to spare.

As the Seaway is fresh water and the Cornwall-Massena border is 45°N (halfway to the North Pole), shipping through the locks is inherently seasonal, typically ending in December and re-opening near the end of March.

• Long Sault Marina, Hwy 2, Long Sault (on shore of Rob's Bay), ☎ [phone]. May-November: 8AM-7PM. Marina and boat launch, restaurant and patio with seafood, Montréal smoked meat. 

By horse

• Whispering Meadows, 16061 County Rd 36, Long Sault, ☎ [phone]. Horse riding lessons ($25-40), boarding, horses for sale. 

Get around

• Cornwall Transit (TheBus), 863 Second Street West, ☎ [phone]. Local city bus on a half-dozen routes.  
• Choice Taxi, ☎ [phone]. 
• Tip Top/Veterans Taxi, ☎ [phone], [phone]. 

See

Cornwall Jail. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200

• Historic Cornwall Jail, 11 Water St. W., ☎ [phone]. A working jail from 1833-2002, now a prison museum. 
• Inverarden House, 3332 Montreal Rd.. Former museum (closed since 2000). Parks Canada owns this national historic site, the Regency architecture retirement home of John McDonald of the North West Company, but has not reopened it to the public. 
• Lost Villages Museum, Ault Park, Fran Laflamme Drive, Long Sault. Ten restored and relocated heritage buildings from The Lost Villages and surrounding townships, including former Moulinette rail station. By donation.. 
• TAG: The Art Gallery of Cornwall, 168 Pitt St., ☎ [phone]. W 10AM-5PM. 
• United Counties Museum (Cornwall Community Museum), Wood House, 160 Water St. W., ☎ [phone]. Local history museum in relocated 1840s house, archives, classroom and exhibit space. Free, year-round.. 

Do

• Cornwall & Seaway Valley Recreational Path. A 75-km path mostly follows the St. Lawrence River through Cornwall and nearby communities. There are a number of small museums, historic sites and picnic areas along the trail. 
• Cornwall Motor Speedway, 16981 Cornwall Centre Rd, Long Sault, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Quarter-mile dirt racetrack. 
• McMaze Farm, Cedar Fox Farm, 17049 Willy Allan Road, St. Andrews West, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Horse-drawn wagon ride, rubber duck races, corn mazes, two-storey tube slide, pumpkin patches, John Deere peddle tractors, hay bale stacks, swings and outdoor BBQ. 
• Native North American Travelling College, 1 Ronathahon:ni Lane, Akwesasne Territory, Cornwall, ☎ [phone]. Mohawk and Native American cultural centre. 

Buy

• Cornwall Square, 1 Water Street East. Downtown shopping complex near Lamoureux Park waterfront. 
• Long Sault Farmers Market, in front of Long Sault Plaza. June-early Oct: F 2PM-6PM. Local produce in season. 

Eat

• Eight Zero Zero, 800 Cumberland St., ☎ [phone]. Steakhouse, fish, pasta, cocktail bar, fine dining. 
• Harv's Diner, 619 Pitt St, ☎ [phone]. 
• The Loose Caboose, 35 Marlborough St. N, ☎ [phone]. Fast food, hot dogs, burgers. 
• Philos Greek Restaurant, 1613 Pitt St., ☎ [phone]. 
• Schnitzels, 158 Pitt St, ☎ [phone]. M-W 11:30AM-9PM (pub 11PM), Th-Sa 11:30AM-10PM (pub 1AM), Su closed. European restaurant, café and pub. 
• Truffles Burger Bar, 155 Pitt St, ☎ [phone]. Bistro, commonly-owned with Table 21 steak house and oyster bar 

Drink

Ontario's drinking age, at 19, is high by Montréal standards (Québec is 18) but almost looks reasonable next to Massena (USA is 21).

• Bill's Sports Bar and Deli, 441 13th St W, ☎ [phone]. 
• Glengarrian Pub and Restaurant, 841 Sydney St, ☎ [phone]. 
• Lola's Pub and Grub, 616 Pitt St., ☎ [phone]. 

Sleep

Hotels

• Parkway Inn & Conference Centre, 1515 Vincent Massey Dr., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Super 8, HoJo and Ramada are all on Brookdale Ave (Hwy 138) near the 401.

Motels

• Comfort Inn, 1625 Vincent Massey Drive, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. 
• Monte Carlo, 1700 Montreal Rd, ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone], fax: [phone]. Riverside motel with kitchenettes, boat docking, fishing, golf. $55-70, $10 extra for kitchenette. 

Bed and breakfast

• Chesley's Inn, 40 First St. W., ☎ [phone], toll-free: [phone]. Ontario's oldest operating inn (1814), three rooms, B&B. $175. 

Camping

• 🌍 Long Sault Parkway, On Hwy 2, between Morrisburg and Cornwall, 401 exits 770 and 778. Provincial park on 11 islands created by Seaway flooding. Campgrounds on Mille Roches, Woodlands, McLaren; beach and picnic areas on Mille Roches and Woodlands.  

Connect

• Bibliothèque Cornwall Public Library, 45 Second St. E., ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Bilingual (English/French) public library with free Internet access. 

Open Wi-Fi is also available at ONroute (401 westbound rest stop at the provincial border) and McDonald's (hamburger stand with two Cornwall locations).

Nearby

Dunvegan

• Glengarry Pioneer Museum, 1645 County Road 30, RR #1 Dunvegan, ☎ [phone]. 

Martintown

• 🌍 Martintown Grist Mill, Dundas Street (CR 18 & 20), Martintown. Four-storey 1846 stone mill building on the banks of the Raisin River; farmers' market on summer Sundays. 

St. Andrews

• Raisin River Heritage Centre, County Road 18, St. Andrews, ☎ [phone]. Jul-Aug: Su 1PM-3PM. Cornwall Township Historical Society museum in former 1906 convent. 

Williamstown

• Glengarry Celtic Music Hall of Fame, 19687 William St, Williamstown, ☎ [phone]. Jul-Aug: W-Su 10AM – 4PM. 
• Nor'Westers and Loyalist Museum, 19651 John St. Williamstown, ☎ [phone]. Seasonal (Victoria Day-Thanksgiving). 

Go next

• Morrisburg is home to Upper Canada Village, a pioneer village living museum which preserves various historic buildings displaced by Seaway flooding in the 1950s, and a park commemorating the Battle of Cryslers Farm in the War of 1812.

Routes through Cornwall

Kingston ← Brockville ←	W  E	→ Dorval → Montreal
Kingston ← Morrisburg ←	W  E	→ Becomes → Salaberry-de-Valleyfield → Montreal