The northern edge of New York State stretches from its most eastern point at Lake Champlain, along the St. Lawrence River into Lake Ontario, and across to the southern coast of Lake Erie. The spectacularly beautiful St. Lawrence separates the United States from Canada, flowing eastward for some 700 miles from the eastern end of Lake Ontario to the sea. This river has historically provided the means for the westward expansion into the interior of the country and has been used as the major shipping route of goods both into and out of the Great Lakes. The St. Lawrence, its tributaries, and the more than 1,700 islands comprise what is known as the Thousand Islands region of New York State. Whether your journey begins in the Lake Champlain Valley and goes west, or begins at the state’s most western point on Lake Erie and goes east matters not—you need only to determine the best point at which to begin and which of the many things to do are of greatest interest to you.