Three Days in Niagara Falls
There’s too much to say about our time in Niagara Falls for Caleb’s 25th birthday, and it did not disappoint. We did so many things and saw so many things. The majesty of Horseshoe and American Falls were remarkable.
We had three full days in the area, and we crammed it with activities! We hiked, explored, and ate so much food! I am delighted to say that my pets are now international travelers (it just sounds so cool to say). Crossing the border was pretty easy-going to put it simply. We got lucky at customs, and breezed right through with the camper. My anxiety just kept playing scenes from ‘Meet the Millers' in my head the entire time even though we had nothing to hide, I just really didn’t want to haul my animals out of the truck and have everything searched for whatever reason. Caleb handled it all like a pro; he made a folder with all the important documents for both us and the pets in it and was so calm when questioned. We got really good at crossing after going through customs about 7 times during our trip!
We learned so much history at the falls, things we didn’t even know about! From the beginnings of state/national parks starting here, to the importance of environmentalism and preserving the falls/surrounding gorge. We learned all about Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse’s work in hydroelectric power with the falls, and Frederick Law Olmsted’s importance in restoring the gorge to its natural beauty after the industrial boom. We witnessed the fruits of his labors with our own eyes while hiking a couple of the trails in the area, including the Whirlpool Beach trail (where we went down an incline, [yes coming back up hurt me and my inhaler was used more than once on those 205 steps] to a rocky beach access along the shore of the Whirlpool) and we also went on one of the Gorge Hiking trails starting just below the Schoellkopf Power Station (we took the elevator down and walked a quite rugged path for about a mile until the turn around came into view, then it became a paved path at an easy incline back to the top of the gorge. There were also plenty of lookouts to view the beautiful river. We saw a lot more wildlife than we were expecting on this trail that was closer to the city, though they were separated by the cliffs, including a blind raccoon, a timid woodchuck, and my least favorite: the garter snake, yes I screamed loud enough for the whole city to hear me).
We found out a lot of the local history on our “wet day”, as we called it. We planned ahead to do all of the water activities on one day, and it just so happened to be raining that day too! So it was just a constant dampness all morning/early afternoon. We tried going to Cave of the Winds first thing that day, but they were closed for maintenance. However, they did allow us in the museum and to watch their presentation of the different ways Niagara Falls has changed the world, how certain things “started here” which was very interesting!
Caleb and I are big sign readers, the entire time we were in Journey of the Falls later that day, we were reading every single sign they had on the tunnel walls (about one every 20 feet in the 151 foot tunnel) about the folks who actually survived going down the falls, all of the famous visitors, one that really spoke to me was the visual of how the falls have receded over time. (see photo to left; click link on photo for the owner)
The tunnels in themselves were fascinating, even without the informational plaques. They had two portals (windows) that showed you the falls from behind, which was very cool…the fact that we were under Horseshoe falls was amazing enough. There is also an observation deck right next to and close to the bottom of the waterfall, where you can be super close to the 681,750 gallons of water being tossed over the cliff! Our other wet activity of the day was Maid of the Mist, which was a bit unpleasant! I’m sure if you went on a less rainy/windy day it may be more enjoyable, but for me and my glasses, I could barely see anything! The wind was pelting us with raindrops, getting in everyone’s eyes and then the mist added to that. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed feeling the powerful push of the water against the boat and being that close to the waterfall, but I would’ve at least liked to see it better.
After we got off of their newer *electric* powered boats, we went up to their viewing place called the Crows Nest, which sits directly next to American Falls. So really, we did get to do something similar to Cave of the Winds!
The Crows Nest, it was very slippery!
We had fun in the water and the natural playgrounds, but we also had fun at the tourist attractions, most of which were located on Clifton Hill. The SkyWheel was our first stop and we got there earlier in the day around 10:30, so there was no wait and we had great views of the hill and surrounding areas next to the waterfalls. Fun fact, we also played a game of trying to spot our car everywhere we were up high and won!
I bought the Clifton Hill passes before the trip and that got us into a few other little things that I knew Caleb would enjoy including: 5 tokens each to get us started at the arcade, a few virtual roller coasters which were actually pretty realistic, the wax museum, and Dinosaur mini golf!
We also went on a jet boat tour with a covered boat so we wouldn’t get soaked. It was a pretty fun boat ride, but I didn’t think it lived up to all of the hype surrounding it. The most exciting part is one rapids they go through called Devil’s Hole, and the majority of the ride they’re just going back and forth over it, but it’s really not that crazy of a rapid in my opinion. They do take you out to the Whirlpool and have a neat spin trick they do, but like I said, it’s not that exciting of a trip.
It was nice to stay dry on the boat, since they offer two different experiences. Most of their rides do in fact get you soaked, however, we found out they had the covered boat option.
Another fun thing we got to do was golfing. Caleb loves to golf, so since it was his birthday we made that happen! They have quite a few courses in the area surrounding Niagara, but our availability took us to The Legends on Niagara - Chippawa course. He played 9 holes and did very well I thought. I tagged along as his “cute caddie” handing him golf balls and tracking score. He did something pretty amazing though during the game, there was one hole that curved around a pond, and he hit it across. Unfortunately he hit it a little low and got very close to the water, but it ended up SKIPPING across three or four times before landing right on the edge! Thankfully we were able to find it and he played on, only needing about 2 more hits!
I would say the best part of the trip, however, was Skylon Tower. I made us reservations at the Revolving Dining Room, and it did just that. Making a complete 360 turn once every hour, we got to see the city and the falls from almost 520 feet in the air. It was a bit poetic in my eyes doing this dinner on the last night of our trip here, because we had already done everything we were looking at, so it was a really good finalé I guess you could call it. Seeing the SkyWheel and remembering that view, knowing it stood over Clifton Hill where we had so much fun playing arcade games, shooting zombies, and looking at comically bad wax figures. Then you glance out about 20 minutes later and see the falls where we were literally all over…in front, behind, on the sides!
However, then I look right next to me and see the man I got to share all of those adventures with. He knows all of the interesting facts, funny jokes, and breathtaking views that I do. It’s in these moments that I really feel like soulmates, he is my other half in so many ways.
We had an amazing time in this city, and got so much sightseeing done in the three days we were here. We stayed at the KOA on Grand Island 15 minutes away from the falls. We didn’t spend a lot of time specifically at the KOA exploring their amenities besides the laundry room, and this was our first time staying at one of their campgrounds, but we were pretty impressed by how much they offered.
Check out my instagram for all of our favorite places we ate in the city along with plenty of other looks inside our trip! I hope you all get the chance to experience the grandeur of Niagara Falls if you haven’t already.
Stay Adventurous!
-E
