Thousand Islands
 

What is the nicest city to base in to see the Thousand Islands? Canada v. US? Are there are hikes people recommend? What are the nice places to stay? Any tips would be most appreciated.

Either Brockvillehttp://www.brockvilletourism.com/ or Gananoquehttp://www.gananoque.ca/ will give you good access to the area and each town has many hotels and places to eat. I am not familiar with the American side but have been to the 1000 islands area many times, on the Canadian side. The 1000 island parkway is the scenic route along the St Lawrence. between these two towns. You can drive it or bike along a separate paved path.

Kingston is the biggest nearby city so has the most choice of accommodations. It's a little west of Gananoque on Lake Ontario. As a centre of colonial settlement, situated on a large and picturesque harbor and home to both Fort Henry and the Royal Military College plus Queen's University (not to mention a major contemporary prison), it has lots to offer tourists.
As to hikes on the islands, most of the "thousand" are barely large enough for a tree or two, but tourism offices will be able to tell you about those that can be visited. Scenic tour boats, and a ferry out of Kingston to Wolfe Island (rather larger), are other possibilities, as is the Rideau Canal which heads towards Ottawa through rugged landscape.

As Southam mentions, Kingston makes the best base, with its historic attractions and wide choice of accommodation and dining. For the actual cruise, although one can start from Kingston, Gananoque is the best starting point. It's a 30 minute drive from Kingston.

I agree that in Canada my preference is to stay in Kingston with a good selection of restaurants, cafes and a few shops, but take the scenic boat tours out of Gananoque or Ivy Lea which depart closer to the actual islands. I've only visited the American side once, for lunch only.

As mentioned, the islands are more conducive to touring by boat than hiking. However Frontenac Provincial Park about 45 minute drive from Kingston is several thousand acres of forest and lakes with many hiking trails. http://www.ontarioparks.com/park/frontenac