Niagara Falls

24th October, 2010

Driving towards Niagara Falls along the edge of Lake Ontario was amazing. The size of the Great Lakes is hard to appreciate on the map, but from the edge it looks like an ocean. There is no land to be seen on the horizon.
The town of Niagara Falls itself is disappointing. We drove in looking for dinner and wondered if we were somehow missing the main part of town! In the light of day, we realised that we hadn't actually missed the town, that was it. A few large and very tacky souvenir shops, a very large casino, lots of hotels and nothing much else, including restaurants. Amazing really for one of America's biggest tourist destinations.

The Maid of the Mist

The Falls, however, definitely did not disappoint. What an awesome experience. Niagara Falls is made up of three separate falls, the American and Bridal Veil Falls in the USA and Horseshoe Falls in Canada (the border cuts through the middle of them). We did the Maid of the Mist boat ride and got absolutely drenched by the pounding spray, despite wearing the lovely blue ponchos they provide and also the Cave of the Winds (yellow ponchos and plastic sandals this time), where you get to walk along a path at the bottom of the falls. The hurricane deck is where you stand to be completely pounded by the water coming down from 50m above, while almost getting blown away from the force. Great fun and definitely one of the highlights of the trip. We found out that the day we were there (Sunday) was the last day of the season for the Maid and the Cave of the Winds, so very good fortune for us not to have arrived a day or two later and have missed this!

The Cave of the Winds

We crossed the bridge over the river into Canada and the difference was immediately noticeable. So much nicer! Very touristy, but lots of nice restaurants, a skywheel, and observation tower, and a lovely park that stretched for about 2km along the viewing area. They Canadians have definitely done it much better. The view of Horseshoe Falls is also better from this side.

Horseshoe Falls viewed from Canada

We had dinner in Canada before heading back into the USA, with a very smooth border crossing, just all the usual questions.