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.

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

 * Train operators:
 * Operates the following route daily to Cornwall:
 * Between Montreal and Toronto including stops in Dorval, Cornwall, Brockville, Kingston, Belleville, Cobourg, and Oshawa. Operates multiple times daily.
 * Travellers from Ottawa can reach Cornwall by connecting through Kingston. It is possible to shorten the trip by transferring at Brockville instead; however Via does not guarantee this connection and both legs have to be booked separately.

By plane
The closest major airport is Montréal-Trudeau, from which direct onward connections are available by rail from the Dorval commuter train station. Ottawa also has a major airport, but Ottawa-Cartier 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&deg;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.



See




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).



Connect


Open Wi-Fi is also available at ONroute Highway 401 rest stops - the closest are at Bainsville (at the provincial border) and at Morrisburg - and McDonald's (hamburger stand with two Cornwall locations).

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.