I have been wanting to travel to Kingston for a long time. I've heard about all the famous tourist must-sees. But what has always piqued my interest is the ghost stories. This is a city that has a long history of holding criminals in the famous Kingston Pen since 1845. Defending our shores at Fort Henry well before the 1812 war. Still doing public hangings up until the last one was performed in 1949. This city was a great two-day escape to show my Kid the history of our Province.
Every summer I take my Mom and Kid away for a couple of nights for some family bonding and good times. When I researched this trip I knew we needed to stay in the heart of the city and attractions to get the most out of it. I booked us into the Delta on the Waterfront Hotel https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/ygkdk-delta-hotels-kingston-waterfront/overview/ We had a great view of the harbor and boardwalk. This hotel also had a swimming pool with a great view, which is a must with the Kid!
When I was planning this trip I tried to book and pay for as much as possible weeks in advance. I wanted to hit the big attractions but still need some relaxation time for my Kid to swim and not feel like I had him running the whole time.
We started with a tour of the Kingston Pen https://www.kingstonpentour.com/ There are a couple of choices of tours, we did the hour-and-a-half standard tour. This seemed to capture everything we would want to see and hear about. This prison has had legendary criminals behind their bars, it is a testament to how the country has changed over the years. Kingston Pen was first built in 1845 and has seen an evolution of how we have treated our fellow citizens.
The facility has changed over the centuries but that old history is still on the walls. Seeing the cells and where inmates were held in solitary was eye-opening. This tour was very informative and hands-on. You get to go into cells, walk down the corridors and see what day-to-day life looked like.
Even in this scene out of a horror movie, there were places of peace.
The property is massive so be prepared to walk a lot.
With the heat kicking our butt we Ubered back to our hotel for a quick swim and a change of clothes for our dinner reservation and a fun night out. We went to dinner at Dianne's Fish Shack and Smokehouse https://www.dianneskingston.com The menu has something for everyone and the fish tacos were fantastic!!
When we checked in the hotel told us we arrived with one day left of Bluesfest. There were musicians all over the streets playing music. While we waited for our next attraction it was the perfect time to get dessert at the many ice cream shops open! The first night we chose White Mountain Homemade Ice Cream https://whitemountainicecream.com/ With our ice cream in hand we sat and listened to a great musician. Peter VanNuis
The Ghost walk was everything I was hoping for https://hauntedwalk.com
We got to see the city in a way we wouldn't have. Down corridors and small paths through the downtown area then lead to the beautiful old homes on the surrounding streets. With a peppering of history and stories to make for a fun time. Even the Kid seemed to have fun with questions and wanted his picture taken. I knew I had a hit on my hands!
Every street in Kingston seems to have a haunted tale. Even if you aren't a ghost fan seeing the city with the tales of its history is a great way to get to know it better!
Walking back to the hotel was enough for our legs to cry mercy. It was time to rest and enjoy the luxury sheets at the hotel!
After an early start and breakfast at the hotel, we made our way to Fort Henry https://www.forthenry.com/ This is a very special place. All staff is dressed in period costumes. Once you buy your admission ticket you get access to demonstrations, lead tours, and cannon drills. A big favorite for the Kid was the passages and creepy cave-like rooms. As someone with claustrophobia, not my favorite thing but was able to get through it without too much trouble.
This is a spot where you could take a couple of hours our do lunch there and check everything out. With all the demonstrations and the Children's parade, this can be fun for all ages.
The demonstrations use real rifles and cannons not something we were prepared for as we walked around a corner and one was being fired off. Never saw the Kid run so fast!
As lunch fast approached and seeing the Kid starting to show signs of Hanger we headed back into town. We had lunch at a great little family diner Morrison's Restaurant. Burgers, clubhouse sandwiches, and Greek salad it was perfect.
The heat was taking its toll on us, back to the hotel for some swimming and getting ready for our boat ride.
I couldn't plan a visit without having a boat cruise through Kingston's part of the 1000 Islands. There are several cruise operators with lots of cruise choices. Since we don't have tons of time I chose the one-hour tour. This was great for the Kid as he doesn't want to sit in on spot for too long and great for my Mom as it got her on the water win-win. I chose to go with https://www.1000islandscruises.ca/ the cruise was well done with the history of the area, information on islands we passed, and plenty of snacks if you wanted them.
We got an afternoon Gelato to cool down after the cruise. This town has so many ice cream options I loved it!!! We went to Mio Gelato and found the selection huge https://www.miogelato.ca/
With a dinner at the Keg which is a must on every trip with the Kid we wrapped up our two days of history, hauntings, and fun. A few things I would have added to our trip if time permitted would be a dinner cruise and the Trolley https://www.kingstontrolley.ca/ The trolley rides happen day and night. The night ones do a similar haunted ride that we did as a walk. Also, there are tons of different seasonal attractions. Fort Henry seems to have lots of fun in Fall events.
This is a city I always wanted to see and I'm glad I did it. The people were great the music was fun and the ice cream shops are abundant it was my type of town!!
Looking for other Kid friendly Ontario Adventures check these links out!
Toronto
Barrie/Haliburton
Grand Bend
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