North country hotels filling up for next year's eclipse

Jun. 29—As many as 10,000 people could be converging on the area for next April's eclipse when the north country and Jefferson become one of the best views for the total eclipse of the sun.

For months, organizers in Watertown, Sackets Harbor and Henderson have been planning events for the April 8, 2024 eclipse.

And the availability of hotel rooms and cottages to stay at during the eclipse are filling up fast with the big day still nine months away.

Corey C. Fram, director of the Thousands Islands International Tourism Council, hopes that every room in the region and community that can handle the thousands of visitors will be booked.

"That's our goal," he said, adding "it's unheard of that lodging will be similar to Fourth of July and it's the first week of April."

With lodging going fast now, Kayla S. Jamieson, president of the Greater Watertown-North Country Chamber of Commerce, wouldn't be surprised that 10,000 tourists show up to visit the north country solely to see it happen here.

There are 1,200 hotel rooms and 600 to 700 short-term rentals in the county. Some hotels started offering booking for the eclipse back in April.

Some hotels will be offering specific packages for the eclipse and increasing the cost per night. Others are keeping their nightly rates the same, Mr. Fram said.

For instance, the Hampton Inn in Watertown has a five-night minimum for that week with a $529 per night rate.

The owner of the Harbor House Inn in Sackets Harbor hasn't started booking rooms for the event.

Alex Morgia, who also serves as the village mayor, just recently purchased the 28-room boutique hotel and plans to renovate the third-floor rooms.

They might not be done in time next April.

At least some rooms will still be available in Sackets for those visitors who haven't found one yet, he said.

He doesn't know yet if the Harbor House Inn will have 18 or 28 rooms available for the eclipse. He and his general manager also have to still decide what kind of package will be offered for the event.

With other hotel rooms filling up fast, Mr. Morgia has heard some Sackets residents will be having friends and family members from out of town to stay on their couches, in guest rooms and their kids' bedrooms.

"If you can't get a hotel room, you can stay on someone's couch," he said.

Visitors can also stay at private campgrounds for the eclipse. However, it will probably be too early in the season for state campgrounds to be an option, Mr. Fram said.

To gauge what to expect, Mr. Fram has been talking to communities in other parts of the country that experienced throngs of visitors for the last total eclipse in North America back in 2017.

He's also been marketing the event for the north country.

In Sackets, the village eclipse committee is planning a viewing event at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, with things going on throughout the village that weekend and on the day of the event.

In Watertown, volunteers planned on holding a viewing site at Thompson Park, but they're adding another site at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds.

City Councilwoman Sarah V. Compo Pierce, who's leading Watertown's efforts, said that group also is reaching out to city businesses to make sure that they know about the plans for the eclipse.

Recently, 10,000 special promotional eclipse glasses were delivered to Mr. Fram's office that will be used to market the event. He's starting to distribute them to communities to give out before the eclipse.