A Bit Of America's Fourth Coast

We'd recently endured big snowstorms and bone chilling cold, but one day our temperatures went above freezing and into the 40s (F). I drove north to Massena and then west to Wilson Hill Island, which sits in the St. Lawrence River, just south of the Canada/U.S. border:

The north shore of the island is populated with houses, but the rest of the island is the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management Area:

The St. Lawrence River/Seaway is often billed as America's Fourth Coast and I could see why as I drove the causeway across the water to Wilson Hill Island:

Most of the water was still covered with a thick layer of ice, but with our rapidly warming temperatures, I worried about the lone remaining ice fishing shed. I also used the zoom lens to take a picture of the sign on the door to see if it was a notification by rangers to get this shed off the ice, but instead it was the name and address of the owner. I hope the ice solidified safely before the shed fell through:


The houses on the north shore of Wilson Hill Island are mostly upscale, year round residences:

There are still cottages on the shore, but they are gradually being replaced by permanent residences:

It is indeed a beautiful place to live, and I kept thinking how it reminded me of Cape Cod towns:

There were docks and picnic areas still showing above the snow:

And of course many homes had boats:

I was traveling westward, so the left side of the road was mostly forested land, part of the Wilson Hill Wildlife Management area:

Two homes on the shore. I am sure the elevated deck on the left gets a lot of use during the summer:

This elaborately carved archway and fence led only to woodlands of the Wildlife Management Area, but it sure was pretty, and I liked the idea that someone built it just as art:

The shoreline and most of the houses were on my right, but there were a few homes on the left side of the road. This large home was built on the left, away from the shore, but got their St. Lawrence views by adding a large elevated deck on the front of the house:

What a lovely place to live:

Speaking of getting views, this house was built with an entire wall of giant windows and an elevated deck in the style of a pier:

A smaller, simpler home, right on the water:

I came to the end of the island and the offices of the Wildlife Management Area. I couldn't go any farther as that causeway was closed. I turned around at this water tower, which answered my question as to what town the island was in. It is part of the town of Louisville. That was the end of my tour, so I returned to Massena to do some shopping: