Northern Lights
Ontario, Canada
July 2, 1999
July 2, 1999
These are the first Canadian lighthouses to hit the US Lighthouses Website. Hopefully there will be more to come. I feel that this time would be much better spent seeing more lighthouses than just the 3 that we missed while traversing the Seaway Trail back on August 12, 1998. This day we visited 8 new lighthouses.
This trip starts at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.
Once you pay the $2.50US toll to go over the bridge, take the first right off the Queen Elizabeth Way. This will put you on the Niagara Parkway; follow this to the quaint little town of Niagara-On-The-Lake. Niagara Parkway turns into Picton Street which then turns into Queen Street. Make a left onto Mississagua Street, then a right onto Mary Street. Mary Street then turns into Lake Shore Road. Follow Lake shore Road until it brings you into Port Dalhousie. Just before you get to the corner of Lake Shore and Lakeport Roads, there will be a street called Lighthouse Road. Make the right onto that and it will take you right into the marina. This is where you will find the Port Dalhousie Front and Rear Range Lights.
When you are finished there, make a left back out onto Lake Shore Road. Follow this into the town of Port Weller. Just before you reach the Wellend Canal Bridge, make a left onto Government Road. Take this a short distance north until it starts to bear left, and pull into the dirt by the water side. Look north at the pier and you will see the Port Weller Outer Light. This is about as close to it as you can get, the light actually sits on Coast Guard property and the road is gated ahead. I used a 500mm telephoto lens to get the shot that I have.
Make a left out onto Lake Shore Road and head back towards Niagara-On-The-Lake. This again will turn into Mary Street, and make a left onto Mississagua Street. Follow that and make a right onto Queen Street. Head up Queen Street a few blocks and make a left onto Gate Street, then a right onto Front Street. Front Street will turn into Ricardo Street. On the left side of the street you will see a marina. In the Marina sits the Niagara River Front Range Light. Just up the road, you will make a left onto Collingwood Street. This is actually a parking lot at 247 Ricardo Street which is where the Niagara River Rear Range Light sits.
Now reverse the directions and get back to Mississagua Street. Follow this straight and it will turn into Niagara Stone Road. Follow Niagara Stone Road and get on the (QEW) Queen Elizabeth Way heading towards Fort Erie. This is about a 24 mile drive.
Get off at Exit 7, Bowen Road. Make a right onto Bowen Road and then a left onto Ridge Road. Follow Ridge Road all the way to the end, then make a right onto Graeber Ave, then a left onto Ridgeway, then a right onto Erie Road. Follow Erie Road until it merges with Point Abino Road. From here out, you will have to walk back to the lighthouse. Take everything you will need as it is a little hike. You will find the Point Abino Lighthouse all the way at the end of this road on the left.
Follow Point Abino Road back out to Route 3. Make a left onto Route 3 and follow it a ways through Port Colborne. Route 3 will make a left hand turn onto Station Road, and then make a right onto Long Beach Road (Route 3). Follow this until you see a cut off for Lighthouse Road. Take Lighthouse Road to the end, then get out and hike up the beach a little ways. Once you round the edge of the beach, you will see Mohawk Island Lighthouse sitting out a ways into the water. Again, I used the 500mm telephoto lens to get the shot.
Take Lighthouse Road back up to Route 3, and make a left. The road will change names a few times, first Lake Shore Road, then Niece Road. Make a right onto Sidall Road, then a left at Canal Feeder Road. Follow this a little ways up, and you will see a pull-off overlooking the canal. Look south and you will see the Port Maitland Front Range Light.
To get back to Buffalo:
Reverse the directions back out to Route 3 and follow Route 3 East all the way back to Fort Erie. From there, the easiest way back to the US is across the Peace Bridge into Buffalo, NY.
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