Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Dorval Island

I guess it's not surprising that when you live on an island, there are bound to be ferries.

And yet, I'm willing to bet that most Montrealers don't know much about our local ferries.

I'm kind of curious about these things, and while I certainly knew about the tiny community of Dorval Island and I knew there was a ferry, I had never taken the time to get down to the ferry landing and have a real look. For an aerial view of Dorval Island, click here.
So it seemed to me high time to look into Dorval Island (or at least what can be seen of it from the Montreal side). This morning I interrupted my morning commute for a few minutes to do just that.

There is a private parking lot where residents can leave their cars and bikes on the Montreal side and I parked there to take these pictures.The Dorval Island ferry landing is tucked away in a small cove at the base of Dorval avenue.I believe that the residents of Dorval Island are summer cottagers so I doubt there are any year-round residents. In any event, the ferry service is seasonal, so from the close of the ferry service in the fall to the time when the ice is thick enough to cross on foot, there would likely be weeks of isolation. Which might appeal to some folks, right?

It only takes a few minutes for the ferry to cross the river channel to the island.
I wonder if there are phone and electricity lines on the Island?

Unless I get an invitation from an Island resident, I guess Dorval Island's secrets are safe from me.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

There was a phone line when I went to visit in 2009.

David Masse said...

Thanks Olivia, much appreciated!

Anonymous said...

what kind of secrets do you think Dorval Island maybe hiding?

David Masse said...

Certainly nothing newsworthy.

I think the Gazette did a profile on life on the island. It sounded quiet and comforting if I recall correctly.

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