This post includes affiliate links. When you purchase through these links, we may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. For full details, please see our affiliate disclosure page.
Where is Boldt Castle? This hauntingly beautiful castle is located in the archipelago of the Thousand Islands and straddling the Canada-US boarders in the St. Lawrence River as it exits Lake Ontario, Heart Island is home to Boldt Cast. One of 1,864 islands (both inhabited and deserted), the tragic story of how this American castle came to exist is one which has sadly been repeated before.
Where is Boldt Castle?
Situate on the St. Lawrence River (at the mouth of Lake Ontario) you can see the stunning natural beauty of the surrounding islands when you take a boat tour of The Thousand Islands. On the international boarder, these 1,864 islands are shared with Canada and the United States and provide a stunning backdrop for massive summer homes and an American castle.
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🚙 Hit the Road: Car Rental Deals
🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials
George C. Boldt, a hotel baron and owner of New York’s Waldorf Astoria. began building in 1900 with no expense spared. Unfortunately, in 1904, the sudden death of his beloved wife Louise, left him broken-hearted and unable to continue. Upon her death, he ordered all work to stop and he never returned to the island.
Boldt set out to build a full size Rhineland inspired castle. The 120 room castle is centered on the island while the Powerhouse, Alster Tower, Arch and Dove Coté are located throughout the perimeter. The best vantage point to see all the buildings is on a cruise which weaves between small and large islands some inhabited but many are not.
The Castle
In 1977 the Thousand Island Bridge Authority (TIBA) began the painstakingly restoring the estate. Boldt Castle has primarily been funded through admissions sales and the other Boldt facilities. This labor of love remains a work in progress with
You will be able to visit the three floors of the Boldt Castle. Even though the Castle was never inhabited, there were detailed floor plans still available for the TIBA to follow. On the first floor there is a kitchen, butler’s pantry, a lavish dining room (with furniture donated from the Boldt family), what would have been a billiards room where America’s ruling class would have played.
Insider’s Tip: Be sure and look in the library where the American Chestnut mantelpiece appears to tell the story of Hansel and Gretel. Look for the faces of the young boy and girl on either side and a haggard women with a witch-like nose centered over the hearth.
There would have been dozens of servants and a whole wing was built for the service people. The kitchen was well stocked by produce from nearby Wellesley Island (that supplied his club and hotel restaurants in NYC).
On the next two floors you will visit George, Louise and Clover’s private rooms. The guestrooms, which would have also been located on the second floor have not yet been restored.
Yacht House
Don’t miss visiting the Boldt Yacht House. George C. Boldt was and avid boater and loved racing boats on Lake Ontario. Inside you will see a few of his boats along with other period vessels. All part of the Guilded Age of American wealth in the turn of the 20th century.
Clover Boldt, George and Louise’s daughter, was an avid boat racer. You’ll be able to see one of her winning boats, the PDQ (pretty damn quick) on display in the Yacht House.
Powerhouse and Clock Tower
George C. Bolt was a man of innovation. The Powerhouse supplied both electricity with the help of two steam engines. It also pumped water to the Boldt Castle. Boldt brought in one of his engineers from the Waldorf Astoria to help develop the utilities for this brand new 20th Century island.
At the top of the tower you can see the Clock and Chime tower which once held a set of Wannamaker chimes. They chime no more as a fire in 1939 destroyed both the chimes and the clock.
When restoration of the Powerhouse took place in 1990 the TIBA built a new stone bridge to access the edifice.
Where is Boldt Castle?
Peristyle Archway
Following a path to the riverfront, you’ll see a stately granite arch called Peristyle Archway. A hoist bridge inside the arch would lift welcoming visitors as they sailed through into a swan pond and mooring the vessel at a stone-covered dock. The peristyles (or columns) were never built.
The archway rests on a sewall that protect this aedge of the island from the strong currents of the St. Lawrence River.
Alster Tower
The first building completed was Alster Tower. The design suggests a defense tower similar to those on the Alster River in Germany. Intended as a playhouse for the children as well as a guest house, George and Louise stayed in the tower with their two children (George Jr. and Clover) as work progressed on the main building between 1900 – 1904.
Built to entertain guests, the “Shell Room” was to be used for dancing and was so named because of the shape of the roof. The basement housed a bowling alley and plans for the upper floors contained a billiard room, library, bedrooms, cafe, grill and kitchen.
Dove Cote & Courtyard
Many tourists do return to see Boldt Yacht House and Boldt Castle and some even get married there. Boldt Castle is available for weddings but the reception will be elsewhere in the Thousand Islands. This would be an extraordinary location for a summer wedding.
Ceremonies are located at the Dove-Cote, allowing couples to make a grand entrance out of Boldt Castle. This section of the grounds, commonly called the courtyard, also overlooks the St. Lawrence River from three directions.
Where is Boldt Castle?
What you need to know before going:
Located on Heart Island, Boldt Castle is only accessible from the water. You must take a boat tour or have a private water craft to visit the Island. Boldt Castle is owned and operated by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority (TIBA). You should buy tickets in advance. There are three options: Boldt Castle, Boldt Yacht House or a combo. I would suggest the combo as the wood racing boats are pretty amazing.
Passengers arriving from Canada must provide proper identification. For further information please refer to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection web-site www.cbp.gov.
Boldt Castle will be open 7 days a week through Labor Day Weekend from 10:30 am – 6:30 pm. Facial masks are required to tour the castle.
Use of unmanned aerial vehicles or drones while on Boldt Castle/TIBA property is strictly prohibited.
Insider’s Tip: You can use the Boldt Castle app (available on iOS & Android) to take a tour of all the buildings. It is well worth it to download the app before you arrive at the castle. We also found that it was less expensive to take a tour boat leaving the US than one from Canada. However, that being said, at this date (August 17, 2020) you cannot visit Boldt Castle on a Canadian cruise, nor can you enter the US at this time.
More posts on New York
- Watkins Glen State Park–19 Waterfalls you need to see in the Finger Lakes, NY #myFLXtbex
- What Amazing things to see and do in the Corning Museum of Glass – 15 Reasons to go!
- The Queensbury Hotel – Glen Falls, New York
- 10 Great Hotels in the Adirondacks, Finger Lakes & Upper New York State #myflxTBEX
- Great Art Pieces & Museums NOT in New York City #myflxTBEX
- Iconic Hotels–Drinks at The Plaza in New York City– #Travel #USA
Where is Boldt Castle?
🥾 Explore: Tours & Experiences
🏡 Where to Stay: Top Accommodations
🚙 Hit the Road: Car Rental Deals
🛫 Get Away: Find Flight Deals
🎒 Shop: Travel Essentials
This castle looks so cool! So many incredible details! Good tip about getting the app first, I’d love to visit!
I love when you can get an audio tour for free. I’m one of those museum geeks that get an audio guide every time.
Um… wow?!!? If you hadn’t told me this was NY State, I would’ve thought this whole post was about somewhere in Europe! I’m baffled that this place exists in the states, but I absolutely love that it does! I’m definitely interested in going, thank you!