Kingston Waterfront — Attraction in Ontario

I hav grown up in Kingston and scene our waterfront go thru many changes in my 40plus yrs. From being nothing more then just an overgrown dirt pathway to the beautiful and useful asset to this city and our tourist seasons. Now a days there are many different options available to utilize our waterfront. Such as the few beautiful hotels that hav been built along its dwntwn area. Such as Holiday Inn Confederation Hotel& The Delta Hotel. As well as fine eating establishments or Hopping Bars, such as Lonestar Restaurant & its Beautiful Seasonal Patio called Margaritaville, Dianne's Fish&Chips, and The Blue Martini, just to name a couple. Then there are some of the more recent upgrades and beauty filled options, like the KC3 Trail that runs from approximately the bottom end of Catarqui St at the Whig Building all along the waterfront down Ontario St, to King St, all long King St to Lake Ontario Park. Another wonderful asset of Kingston's that has served the area with many uses over the last 50 or so years. While traveling along this pathway you can come across many spots of interests, and options. Places like Confederation Park directly across from city hall. This park hosts different events including music concerts during late spring into early fall. With different genres of music on different days&times, to cultural fairs/events, & the ever popular Buskers Rendezvous. This is also the docking/loading area for 1000 Island Cruises outta Kingston. As well as historic stops like the historical train station that is now a tourist information stop& souvenir shop. Then travel on dwn Ontario St& up around the bend onto King St which will lead you to our Hospital, and Kingstons probly newest asset the revised and updated swimming area& Gord Downy Pier. Used to be along here the only real/ actual designated swimming area was What was called Richardson Beach when I was a kid. Located directly across from Kingston's City Park. There is a beautiful historic building which these days houses public bathrooms&changing rooms. I'm not sure what it was originally though. Infront of said historic limestone building is the original in city Beach. It has some grassy knowledge, as well as a rock beachfront, and cement steps into it. The original stairs into the water are just to the right of the building but unfortunately time has not been kind to them and they are no longer usable. Personally I hold out hope that they will update this area as they continue to beautiful our waterfront over the next few yrs. Also on this site or property if you prefer is a large sized Gazebo, that many wedding parties use for the ceremonies and wedding pictures, as well as grad pics. Then there is the historic Murney tower which is designated a Museum and one to the public for touring. I do believe a small fee applies. Then travel a little further & you come along our newest swimming area i mentioned above, with has 4 I do believe walk in inlet openings to access water for swimming type activities and comes to a final end at the Gord Downy Pier which was formerly the PUC Docks. There is a sand play area for kids or beach activities like volleyball, as well as the pier to allow access to the water. However currently there are no washrooms or changing rooms at this end of the section of waterfront along King St. But I do understand there is plans of building such facilities at an undetermined future date. If you continue traveling along King St which runs parallel to Kingston waterfront, you will come across many other attractions etc. Like but not Limited to the Historic Kingston Penitentiary, the Portsmouth Harbour which in past history has hosted the Olympic Summer games, & The Domino/ Threatre 5 Playhouse. As many other intriguing and very interesting places to entice a bit of everyone's preferences. So if your planning to visit our beautiful and VERY historic city of Kingston, Ontario, be sure to make time to visit a couple of these options. You won't be sorry. There is always smthg to make you smile in Kingston....

The waterfront, although nice. It's just that nice, okay, nothing spectacular. I know they finally painted the mural on the walls, but the floor (concrete slab of sorts) is cracked, cigarette ends thrown all over, stains and part of it looks like it is caving in. The other issue is the ceiling, it is always gross! There are cobwebs everywhere. The few ceiling lights they have are always covered in dead bugs and more cobwebs! The section on the back wall of the red brick building (where some benches can be found) have what I think might be "Art Pieces". These look like the skeletal remains of an old dinasor. I can only imagine how costly these were. They are incredibly ugly. Never mind beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This is expensive junk period. Why is it Kingston is not able to help the homeless, can't afford to increase the number of law enforcement officers and refuses to help those wanting employment here, (Kingston hired a company from Windsor, Ontario to develop a campaign to attract people to come work in Eastern. Ontario. Kingston of course included in this --can you imagine the cost of this!) but can't afford the cost of paint (or some way to help fix a well used walkway that tourists use all year round) to make this walkway at least look clean! This walkway is dingy and dirty! Kingston will not help you unless you know someone! That someone needs to be important enough and that is the only way things get done in this city. If this is not true, then why is it people who are looking for jobs leave here, why is it no one has fixed up the planters in City Park (corner of Ontario and West Streets). Apparently no money, but money for artwork that has absolutely nothing to with the historical value of this city. Here is a thought, spend the money Kingston has on value, doesn't have to be expensive, but it needs to be put in areas where it needs so much improvement! Case in point, the much overused dumpsters near where the boats stay during tourist season in Confederation Park (Basin). That is plain disgusting. These boaters throw all their garbage in these dumpsters, no thought of who is going to clean it up and over use them. Also the garbage cans themselves. The garbage cans in this park need to be emptied much more often. They are not and the city of Kingston has a incredible rat/mouse problem. The garbage in this city makes the rat/mouse problem much worse than it should be. The waterfront needs work and lots if it. Do not get me started on the tired looking mess the big fountain is in Confederation Park. The water always looks dirty and gross. Part of the problem is the floor of this fountain. When was the last time this fountain had a proper clean out! When was the last time the floor of this fountain had a paint job. It looks dirty all the time because the city never maintains it on a regular basis. If I'm wrong, then why does it look the way it does. The city needs to put money where it is actually needed and not waste it on things to get Kingston good P.R. This city needs to do an overhaul on what is important, not more photo opportunities and unnecessary and very expensive art work used along the...

While strolling along the Kingston waterfront, I came across a graffiti wall belonging to Kingston. What a surprise! 😭 This graffiti wall is just downstairs of the Delta Hotel (located by the lake). Unexpectedly, the entire wall is covered with various graffiti, and the elements in the graffiti are all from Kingston, such as the city hall, boating🚣🏻, and walking🚶 🏻, skiing⛷️, walking dogs🐶, squirrels🐿️, and a lot of graffiti about eating, drinking and having fun. These are all the outdoor activities and delicious food that can be done in Kingston. I really love this kind of graffiti wall with cultural output, it is They show everyone the charm of Kingston, the city they love, in such a low-key way. This is how they express their love for Kingston! Kingston is truly a city filled...