Brockville

Brockville is a city of about 32,000 people (2021) on the St. Lawrence River in Eastern Ontario.

Understand
Southeastern Ontario is United Empire Loyalist country, colonised primarily by loyal British subjects fleeing the newly established United States of America at the end of the American Revolution (1776-1783). Because of the region's proximity to the US border (Morristown, New York, directly across the St. Lawrence River, is easily visible from Brockville's waterfront) this area was one of the front lines in the War of 1812. The town's name refers to General Isaac Brock, leader of British-Canadian soldiers in the Niagara region during that war.

Brockville bills itself as the "City of the Thousand Islands", in reference to a group of islands directly upriver on the Ontario-New York border.

Get in
Brockville is part of major transportation corridors between Toronto and Montréal, Canada's two largest cities. Transportation infrastructure includes the St. Lawrence Seaway, the CN Rail mainline (Toronto-Ottawa and Toronto-Montréal VIA passenger services follow the same path east to Brockville, then diverge) and roads such as Ontario Highways 2 and 401. The scenic Thousand Islands Parkway ends just west of the city.

The closest major airport is Ottawa-Uplands, some 100 km distant. Montréal-Dorval, while more distant, may also be a viable option as it offers relatively easy air-to-rail connections.

There is no scheduled bus or rail service to southeastern Ontario from Watertown or Syracuse.

By car
Brockville is located on Highway 401 about 50 minutes east of Kingston and two hours west of Montreal.

There is no active international crossing within Brockville, despite its close proximity to Morristown NY. A ferry once joined the two towns, but was abandoned after an international bridge opened at Prescott-Ogdensburg (1960); there's another bridge upriver in the Thousand Islands (1938).

From Ottawa, access to the region is normally by Highway 416 to Prescott, the next major town downriver. Travel time from Bayshore (in Ottawa's west end) to Brockville is nominally an hour (100 km, 60 miles). From Smiths Falls, the Brockville Road (old Highway 29) is a half-hour of driving on two-lane road.

By train

 * Operates the following routes to Brockville:
 * Between Montreal and Toronto including stops in Dorval, Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, Belleville, Cobourg, and Oshawa. Operates multiple times daily.
 * Between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates multiple times daily.
 * Between Ottawa and Toronto including stops in Smiths Falls, Brockville, Gananoque, Kingston, Napanee, Bellevile, Trenton, Cobourg, Port Hope, and Oshawa. Operates multiple times daily.

Get around
Local buses operate hourly within city limits between 7AM and 9PM Monday through Friday, and 9AM and 6PM on Saturday.

There are three local taxi companies, Executive, Yellow Cab and City Taxi.

As Brockville is a small city, much (at least within the downtown) is within walking distance, including the rail station. In rural areas, a car may be necessary.

Heritage buildings
Brockville has some attractive cultural heritage buildings, some of which may not be open to the public but can all be viewed from a public sidewalk.

Buy
There are two principal commercial districts. The town's main street, King Street (old Ontario Highway 2) is one block from the waterfront and the home of most of the city's established independent merchants. There is also some newer commercial development along the freeway (Parkedale Avenue parallels Highway 401 between exits 696 and 698; the Stewart and Parkedale area includes grocers, big-box/department stores, fast food and chain hotels as well as the 1000 Islands Mall).

Eat

 * Various national fast-food franchises (McDo, Harvey's, Burger King, KFC, Swiss Chalet) are located near Highway 401 exit 696 (Stewart and Parkedale). There is a food court in the 1000 Islands Mall.

Sleep
There are several hotels off Highway 401 at the Stewart Blvd interchange.

Connect

 * A Highway 401 rest area west of the city (ONroute Mallorytown, both directions) provides 60 minutes free wi-fi to travellers.

Go next

 * Mallorytown and the Thousand Islands National Park
 * Smiths Falls
 * Westport
 * Gananoque and Alexandria Bay