Wellesley Island State Park — Attraction in Town of Orleans

This park is really gorgeous and offers a lot to do for both adults and kids, the nature center on site is immaculate. It’s located close to other great places to check out in the thousand islands region and is probably one of the most affordable places to stay in the region. I was really impressed with the beach, water was clear, lots of nice sand, watched well by the lifeguards, etc. I do have a few cons/complaints to share though. Firstly the bathrooms/showers while nice facilities themselves were not very well upkept. More than once during our stay the soap and/or toilet paper dispensers were empty. Once I went in immediately after a cleaning crew had been in there and it looked like the only thing they cleaned was the toilets. The floors were still dirty, the sinks were still dirty, the changing table was still dirty. Most of all the showers were pretty filthy and definitely not cleaned the entire week we were there. In addition to that the raccoons on the campground were out of control. Now I’m not a stranger to camping and I understand the campground can’t really be held responsible for the actions of wild animals. None the less you should know that the raccoon population is enormous and they have no fear of people, lights, fire, etc. they were assaulting our camp every single night. They were fighting each other on our picnic table over apparently nothing because there was no food or even scraps around. Eventually they ended up chewing a huge hole in our tent, yes you read that right. We left a night early because rain and mosquitoes could just come into our tent thanks to the raccoons. We heard other tent campers struggling with the raccoons as well and when I let the admin office know why we were leaving early she told me I was not the first person to have their tent chewed through by the raccoons this season.

Sooo over all I would still probably stay there again because it really is a cool place but I would only stay if there was a cabin available (and there aren’t nearly as many cabins as there are campsites, plus I’m usually a strict tent camper). If you have a pop up camper or an rv or stay in a cabin you’d probably be fine if you don’t mind roughing in it dirty bathrooms. But definitely be prepared for very aggressive raccoons if you are a...

It is a shame to say that me being a New Yorker (born and raised) I have never been to Wellesley Island Start Park before. I am so glad that has been corrected. This is an amazing state park. My family camps in a Class-A RV. We stayed in Loop F. This loop is the only RV camping area with full hookups. All the sites were paved. My motorhome was able to be leveled easily. It appeared to be that way for the other campers in the loop. All the roads in the park are paved and mostly smooth. The F loop has full sun, partial sun, and full shade sites. We had a full-shade site. The roads and sites in my area had very good drainage. I know this because we had a really bad rainstorm roll in for hours.

This park is also fantastic for boaters. It seemed like 1 out of every 5 RV'ers had some type of motorboat. One out of three RV'ers had kayaks. We don't own a boat or anything, but from what I saw, the launches were nice, and no one seemed to have any issues. You can rent a motor boat for a fee. Bonus points if this park rented kayaks.

There is also a nice camp store. They had all the basic things one may need. They also had ice cream. It was great! They had other snacks like nachos and pretzels. The only thing they did not have (at the time of our visit) was firewood. That was quickly resolved by taking a short drive to Woody's Live Bait & Tackle. They had great prices.

The three playgrounds were modern and big enough for many kids to play. Like I said earlier, all the main roads are paved, so it is great for walking, bike ridding, etc.

My T-Mobile cell service went from nothing to roaming to Canada to 5G depending on the location I was in the park. My wife's Verizon hot spot was good most of the time for her to do business.

Wellesley Island State Park will be a return trip for my family. It should be...

One of the best state parks I've been to an keep coming back to. I have stayed here camping at one of their electric sites, stayed in their cabins, and in their cottages for vacation. All the amenities are great. The camping sites are well maintained, they can be a bit crowded but not horrible. Some of the best views of the St. Lawrence River are offered up by some of these sites. Primitive as well as RV. The cabins are almost on the verge of glamping, they are rustic and have bunk beds with thin mattresses, a microwave, refrigerator, dining table/chairs, & heat/electric, but no indoor plumbing. These are actually great little cabins to stay in and we've done a number of vacations in them. The showers/toilets are across the driveway really so your not hiking a half mile to get ready. The cottages are awesome. Everything the cabins offer plus a bathroom with shower, full working kitchen with stove/sink/coffee maker/even pots, pans, and utensils. That's just where to stay. The park offers an awesome marina with 14 and 16 foot boat rental, a beach with a lifeguard for swimming, a number of playgrounds for the kids, a camp store, laundromat, and arcade(small). The park is chock full of nature trails and fishing spots for outdoors people, and even a nature center with a butterfly garden. You can easily park here and not leave the premises and have a wonderful vacation. Alexandria Bay is less than 10 minutes away, and the Boldt Castle Yacht house is on the same island with a ferry to the castle. All in all a...