Niagara Falls lies right on the border between the US and Canada. Despite living in the same state as the American side of the falls, the long drive between New York City and the border with Ontario kept us from checking this one off the bucket list for quite some time. Finally in May of 2015 we decided to make a go of it!
Niagara Falls isn’t located inside a huge National Park and doesn’t require hiking miles into the wilderness. You can literally drive right up to it and can even see it without stepping foot outside the car. Its accessibility makes it one of the most visited sites in the US with nearly 30 million people visiting Niagara Falls every year, so I definitely had some concerns about the over-commercialization of the area. And as is usually the case, hype and disappointment can go hand-in-hand.
The juxtaposition of nature and civilization is strange at first — you’d think this would detract from the spectacle or make it seem somehow less authentic. But there’s something in the air (the mist, perhaps) that makes this place magical. Walking up to the edge of the falls, I was completely in awe at the sheer size and unfathomable power of this natural phenomenon.
Even with all the hype, there is nothing underwhelming or disappointing about Niagara Falls.
The falls sends an astounding six million cubic feet of water over its edge every minute, and you can almost feel the earth shake as water plummets 167 feet to the Niagara River below. I can only imagine what the Iroquois thought when they first discovered the waterfall many hundreds of years ago.
Attractions
The Canadian and American sides both have a range of attractions that give visitors many different ways to get up-close-and-personal with the falls. Researching the various attractions before the trip, I thought surely these are all just the same experience repackaged to make them seem unique. In reality, each one was entirely different and memorable in its own right.
On the Canada side we did the Journey Behind the Falls, and on the US side we did the Cave of the Winds and Maiden of the Mist.
The Journey Behind the Falls sends you through a network of caves that take you, as the name suggests, behind the falls. The highlight of the attraction is a portal at the end of the tunnel that opens up to the backside of Niagara Falls. One by one, visitors get their turn to stand near the opening and watch as massive amounts of water crash just beyond the barricade.
On the second day of our trip, we took the Rainbow Bridge over to the American side. The view from this side isn’t nearly as pretty, but it has some great attractions that make it worthwhile. We headed first to Niagara Falls’ most famous attraction, the Maid of the Mist.
The Maid of the Mist and its Canadian-equivalent the Hornblower take poncho-clad tourists right up to the base of the waterfall, each boat having its turn in the mist. Facing the falls head-on, the boats tread water for a few minutes while its passengers scramble about taking selfies and shrieking as gusts of wind bring sheets of water on board.
Honestly, it was a thrilling experience and a must-do for anyone visiting Niagara Falls. The boat ride is relatively short, but the few minutes at the base of the falls gives you enough time to take your photos and then sit and just take it all in.
After the boat ride, we headed to the second most popular attraction on the American side, the Cave of the Winds.
After putting on our newest ponchos (this time in a subtle yellow!) and waterfall-approved footwear, we took the elevator down to the bottom of the gorge to start our climb back up toward Bridal Veil Falls. The path took us along a series of meandering staircases that followed the rocks at the base of the falls. The higher we went, the mistier it became — eventually reaching the aptly-named Hurricane Deck, which is just 20 feet from Bridal Veil Falls!
American Side vs Canadian Side
Since the falls spans two countries, you have an option for which side to stay on. I’d read online that the Canadian side was much nicer, but I was surprised to see how much nicer it is than its American counterpart.
The Canadians have invested a lot more money into making the area immediately adjacent to the falls beautiful. The manicured and landscaped Queen Victoria Park affronts the falls, giving some distance between the commercial strip behind. In contrast, the US side’s Niagara Falls State Park is little more than a grassy lawn surrounded by tacky souvenir shops.
While both sides have their own attractions, the Canadian side definitely has the better “postcard” view of the falls.
Staying on the Canadian side, we also had easy access to a few other activities that made for a more well-rounded weekend. We visited the Butterfly Conservatory at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and fed Canadian Geese at Dufferin Islands.
We also ventured up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, a charming town about 30 minutes from Niagara Falls that’s definitely worth a visit. Accommodations here are definitely a little pricier, but if you’re looking for a lovely little B&B for your stay, this would be the spot.
The region around Niagara-on-the-Lake is known for its ice wine, a dessert wine made from grapes that are frozen while still on the vine. We went for dinner at one of the area’s wineries, Two Sisters Vineyards, and sat at an outdoor table with a beautiful view of the property.
Getting There
There are a few ways to reach Niagara Falls. The train from NYC would take around 10 hours, and 7 hours driving time wasn’t much better. So we opted for the fastest option and booked roundtrip flights to the nearby city of Buffalo, where we picked up our rental car and drove the rest of the way to our Airbnb in Fort Erie, Canada. This cut down the travel time to just about 2 hours (1.5 hour flight + 15 minutes driving time).
Where we stayed: Black Creek Farmhouse Airbnb
Our trip to Niagara Falls definitely exceeded my expectations, and I’m so glad we got to go before moving away from New York. If you’re in the area and have a spare couple of days, then it’s definitely worth venturing a little further north into Ontario to experience the best this region has to offer.
I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you — just leave a message in the comment section below. Happy travels!
