Fort Henry

I love the twist to Old Fort Henry and never miss visiting Fort Fright. It is put on in the month of October and they do an amazing transformation and bring a creepy Hallowe’en element to a building old with ghost stories.

Take a step back in time…
Informative and hands-​on!
Great time for visitors of all ages and plenty of photo ops. You get to tour an old Fort that has been restored. It’s near the Royal Canadian Military Academy, and students work there as «soldiers» and dress up as people who used to live in the 1800s. They offer a tour of the Fort, don’t miss the military exercises in the main square. The soldiers practice walking in sync and other drills. There is also a rifle shooting demonstration… don’t worry, they fire blanks. The soldier is very knowledgeable in explaining every rifle that was used to fight off the enemy. DON“T MISS the opportunity to fire a rifle or a cannon. There’s an extra fee, but well worth it and SOOOO COOL! I paid about $ 20 to fire off 3 rounds from an old 1800s rifle while dressed in the military jacket from that time period. They tell you what time the rifle and cannon firings take place so keep an eye on the schedule. The parade at 3 o’clock is a must see. Very interesting. As you walk onto the grounds, there’s a table with kid sized jackets so they can dress up as soldiers and a «rifle rack» with pretend rifles cut out of wood.
The Fort’s mascot is a goat, named Davd the Tenth. He is there on a leash with a soldier. Don’t miss him… he can also «shake» your hand. NO JOKE! It’s a great experience. The hike from the ticket office up to the Fort is about 7 minutes so plan accordingly. Definitely worth a trip. Make a day of it so you don’t miss anything. There are brochures with the Fort’s daily schedule so you can time your visit accordingly.

Confession: I used to HATE Fort Henry as a child. How is this possible? Those red jackets.
When school kids take tours of the fort, they have to dress in uniform, which generally means wearing the red jackets on an unusually warm spring day. Torture!
Since growing up, however, I’ve learned to appreciate the fort a lot more. So much history, interesting architecture, and old-​timey charm.
Oh, and I fully intend to take my kid sledding down the giant hill, if we ever visit when there is snow on the ground.
If you didn’t grow up in Kingston (or, heck, even if you did), Fort Henry is a very worthwhile, fun, and educational way to spend a day.
I’ve heard awesome things about the Sunset Ceremony too, although I have not seen this myself.

Fort Henry is an UNESCO heritage site — a really neat site to see.
Walk over the bridge from Kingston waterfront for about 4 miles or drive over and the fort will be standing on top of the hill providing a gorgeous vintage point for Kingston and the St. Lawrence river. The site itself is a museum and its fun because the people who works there role played as those who fought in the war for the Britain side and they ‘try’ very hard to keep Americans out. The tour was awesome, free with admission and happens frequently. In one hour, we got to know the lives of being a soldier in the barracks and got a taste of what the life is like for the superior officers, as well as health of historical information about the fort itself. There are also a lot of reenactment demonstrations like the drum parade, rifle firing and canon firing. For some extra $$, you can fire a vintage rifle (with dummy rounds of course) yourself. The fort itself is smaller than I anticipated but spending a solid two or three hours there is nice, there is a place to have lunch while overlooking the beautiful Kingston skyline. It is also a rare tourist spot that’s not buzzling with tourists. There are very few people even on weekends, a relaxing tourist spot!
Our admission also came with a free day at Upper Canada village, located between Kingston and Montréal, for those who are road tripping, this is a perfect opportunity to hit two historical sights in one go.

I love Forts! Even though Fort Henry was specifically designed to keep Americans out, I still love it. They have barracks and guns and cannons and moats and drawbridges. What’s not to love?