Thousand Island Park doesn't close in one day. Over the long weekend from Saturday, October 10, to Tuesday, October 13, four different organizations end their seasons on their own dates. The last is the Park itself. The final Tabernacle Information Sheet of the summer gives the 2026 Water Off date as Tuesday, October 13.
The island's year doesn't end with it. At the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center in Wellesley Island State Park, the trails stay open daily from sunrise to sunset all year. Its fall calendar lists a free program almost every week from mid-October to the day after Christmas. As the cottage porches empty, Wellesley Island's activity moves from the Pavilion and the Four Corners to the woods at the state park.
Four Days, Four Shutoffs
Each closing date below comes from a different organization, and none of them is coordinated with the others.
| Date | What ends | Who sets it |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday, Oct. 10 | The last big shared Saturday: the Autumn Festival on the island and the Small Craft Festival in Clayton | Nature Center and Friends; Antique Boat Museum |
| Sunday, Oct. 11 | Camping, boat dockage and boat rentals at Wellesley Island State Park | New York State Parks |
| Monday, Oct. 12 | Barrington Links golf course; the Antique Boat Museum's last day of regular operation | Concessionaire; museum |
| Tuesday, Oct. 13 | Water service in Thousand Island Park | TIP Corporation |
State Parks lists the 2026 camping season and boat dockage and rentals as running May 1 through October 11. Cabins 1, 2, 3, 4 and 9 at the park stay available until November 21, so there will still be a few overnight guests on the island after the campsites close. At the Antique Boat Museum, the 2026 calendar names October 12 as the last day of regular operation, with weekend-only hours for the rest of October.
The Golf Course That Wasn't Supposed to Open
The Monday closing is the one with a story behind it. In the spring, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation said the nine-hole, par-35 Wellesley Island State Park Golf Course would stay closed for 2026 because no third-party concessionaire had answered its requests to run it. Just before July, the operator of the camp store at Wellesley Island State Park agreed to run the course. NNY360 reported that it would operate as Barrington Links from July 1 to October 12. On July 14, WWNY's sister station reported that the course had reopened under new management and would run through October 12.
That makes this a short season, a little over three months for a course that had been expected to sit idle all year. The Barrington Links rates page lists a nine-hole greens fee of $18, a $3 discount for seniors, juniors, veterans and military, and $12 for a nine-hole cart. The course's site doesn't mention a closing-day event or a fall rate. A round on Columbus Day Monday is simply the last tee time of a season that almost didn't happen.
Saturday, Split Between the Island and Clayton
Saturday, October 10, offers two festivals in two places, and the hours overlap almost exactly.
On the island, the Minna Anthony Common Nature Center holds its 47th annual Autumn Festival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the Friends of the Nature Center. NNY360's preview lists local vendors, craft demonstrations, a pumpkin patch, an apple cider press and a petting farm. Singer-songwriter Doriana Spurell plays, Regi Carpenter tells stories, and the afternoon includes a scarecrow-building contest, prize raffles and an amateur talent show. Admission is free, and organizers ask visitors to bring cash for purchases.
Two parts of the festival fit a cottage that's being closed. There's a harvest swap, and there's a collection point for donations to local food pantries. All summer, the Tabernacle Community Association kept baskets in the TIP Post Office for Gwen's Pantry, the Town of Orleans Food Bank in LaFargeville. The September sheet says the pantry serves more than 100 households in the town. Canned goods left over from August can go to the festival on Saturday.
Across the river channel in Clayton, the Antique Boat Museum holds its Small Craft Festival: Boats, Beer & Buoys from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The program includes sailing, rowing and paddling, races, bronze casting, trivia, children's activities and exhibits. Adult admission is $15, children 6 and under get in free, and seniors and military receive discounts. Since the Nature Center festival ends an hour earlier, you could spend the morning at the cider press and the afternoon on the museum's waterfront.
What the Nature Center Runs After the Water Goes Off
Water-off doesn't change anything at the Nature Center. Its own calendar page lists off-season hours of Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Monday and Tuesday, with the trails open every day from sunrise to sunset. The center's printed Fall Calendar says all programs meet at the Nature Center and are free unless noted otherwise, and some require registration.
The program four days after water-off has the closest tie to local history. On Saturday, October 17, at 1 p.m., Minna Remix: Quiet Woods takes walkers onto the trail to repeat the center's namesake's own field notes. This fall's walk is based on Minna Anthony Common's 1932 article "Visit to Quiet Woods Related," reprinted with permission of the Watertown Daily Times. Thousand Island Park keeps its history in cottage registries and archival photographs. The Nature Center keeps its history by walking the same woods every season.
Here is the rest of the calendar by month:
October
- Saturday, Oct. 24, 10:30 a.m.: Primitive Skills: Bow & Arrow Making with bushcrafter Jack Downing
- Sunday, Oct. 25, 5:30 p.m.: Hunter's Moon full moon hike, followed by a campfire; RSVP by Oct. 23
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Bat Fest
November
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m.: Natural Garland Workshop hosted by the Friends, $10 materials fee
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.: Wool Felting: Mittens, a session of about five hours
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m.: Pinecone Wreath Workshop, $10 materials fee
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m.: River Waterfowl Hike
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, 5:10 p.m.: Beaver Moon full moon hike; RSVP by Nov. 23
December
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m.: Bald Eagle Hike
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Holiday Bonanza with the Friends of the Nature Center
- Sunday, Dec. 20, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Winter Solstice Luminary Hike
- Wednesday, Dec. 23, 3:50 p.m.: Cold Moon full moon hike; RSVP by Dec. 21
- Saturday, Dec. 26, 1 p.m.: Guided Snowshoe Hike
The start times of the moon hikes move earlier through the season, from 5:30 p.m. in October to 3:50 p.m. two days before Christmas, as the days get shorter. The center asks hikers to wear sturdy shoes and layers and to bring their own headlamp or flashlight. Space is limited, and RSVPs are due at least two days ahead. To ask about a program, call the center at 315-482-2479.
The Park Ties That Last Through Winter
Some Thousand Island Park institutions keep a connection open after the valves close. Winter borrowing at the TIP Library started September 5, after the Board of Trustees met. The library belongs to the North Country Library System, so books borrowed in the Park can be returned at any member library, and a TIP Library card unlocks the system's digital resources. A paperback picked up in August can go back at a branch near wherever you spend the winter.
The Landmark Society shop entered its off-season after its last open days on September 4 and 5. Its interactive map of the Park's cottages and boathouses and its archival photographs stay online at tiplandmark.org all year. This summer, the Society also hosted Preservation Wednesdays, a Tax Credit Workshop, the 20th Cottage and Garden Tour, Illumination Night and a Cottage Research Workshop. Its off-season contact is [email protected]. Owners who want to research their cottage's history over the winter don't need to wait until June.
For routine questions, the Tabernacle sheet listed the TIP Corporation Office at 315-482-2576 and TIP Security at 315-215-2851.
Where the Kitchens Stay Open
The Park's own kitchens closed down earlier. The Wellesley Hotel Restaurant scheduled weekend dinner service through September, and its End of Summer Soirée was held on Sunday, September 13. In Alexandria Bay, Bonnie Castle's Pointe Bar & Grill has posted that it's closed for the season and will reopen in May 2027.
After the long weekend, the reliable tables are in Clayton. The 1000 Islands Harbor Hotel says it's open year-round, and its Seaway Grille serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Clayton Chamber of Commerce dining directory lists Koffee Kove as serving breakfast, lunch and dinner all year, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends. Because that listing isn't dated, call ahead before driving in on a December morning. Breakfast at Koffee Kove before the 10 a.m. Bald Eagle Hike on December 5 is an easy morning that doesn't depend on the Park having water.
A cottage on the St. Lawrence comes with more than its own deed and lease. It also comes with these overlapping seasons, from the Corporation's water schedule to the state park's trails. If you're thinking about stewarding a place here, Elizabeth Broderick and Tuxedo Hudson Realty can walk you through how a Thousand Island Park cottage is used across the full year, from opening day to the week after the water goes off.
