Niagara Falls is one of the top tourist destinations in America, and helped kick start our national park system. We visited and managed to see the falls, the cave of wind and ride the maid of the mists boat tour by lunch:
The western most part of our New York Road trip, Niagara Falls, and one of the top attractions in America. I've been dying to come here for years and years and it lived up to expectations. Because of the environment of the places we visited I did not carry my camera with me and simply used my cell phone and GoPRo, so photos will be limited on the blog. Feel free to check my video out for a complete picture.
We started our day early to avoid the crowds and it was worth every minute of sleep we lost. We stayed in the Holiday Inn just across the street from the park and had a ten minute walk to the cave of winds. Contrary to the name, there is not actual cave, but there was 100 years ago. The name simply stuck! The preshow is almost Disney level which is great, and then they offer you a pair of flip flops...
I had water proof boots on so I didn't take the flip flops, the other people who didn't and didn't have water proof shoes regretted it. After moving to a second building you'll be taken down a 17 story elevator and walk through a tunnel where you come out by the "American Falls". You are given a poncho and let loose on a red board walk practically into the falls!
This was an amazing experience that I encourage everyone to do once. There is even a "Hurricane Zone" located nearest to the falls that puts off some incredible wind and mist. Our early arrival meant we were sharing this area with only 30-40 people. In some photos I've seen it looked to be a few hundred.
For what it's worth, this poncho worked fairly well. After you're done you proceed back up the tunnel and elevator before the staff attempts to sell you a digitized photo of you and your companions going over the falls in a barrel.
We quickly jogged north to Terrapin point next to see the Canadian Falls.
With the borer to Canada being closed, our best views of the falls would come from the boat tour. From land you can view the Canadian falls from Terrapin points, and the American Falls from both Luna island and the section of the park near the maid of the mists boat. While everyone agrees the Canadian side has the better views I was still very happy with what we could see.
We happened to be at the park during a bit of a wind storm so the falls were putting off an extra thick mist. This produced a great rainbow off the Canadian Falls. Even though it was 9am, though, it was already packed with tourists. Like I said, wake up early!!
After leaving Terrapin point we headed towards Luna island. Before we got there though we were able to take a few photographs of the Nikola Tesla Statue. This is a popular object since the scroll he's reading makes for a great seat for kids to take photos in. Also, big kids like the adults I was traveling with...
When we finished we walked down the stairs and cross the bridge to Luna Island which is literally in the middle of the American falls. This area gives you several good views of the area and was even more swamped with people then the rest. When we returned at night it was equally mobbed but there is virtually no lighting to speak of!
One of the best views from Luna Island is looking down on the cave of the wind board walks. In the photo you can see just how few people were there when we went. You can also get a feel for the incredible scale of the place.
The highlight of our trip had to be the maid of the mists boat. It was worth the $25 we paid for sure. I recorded it with the GoPro, which you can see in my video but the mist is so insane taking photos was difficult. I got a good one of the American falls and that's about it. We had an absolute blast and the wind storm had the boat rocking.
After you finish, you can walk up the other side of the American falls but the cave of winds is definitely superior. You also get admission to the observation tower. This was included with our tickets but I'm not sure if it worked this way pre pandemic. The views from the tower is one of the best you'll get from the American side but it closes before dark so you won't get to see the light show from here.
Niagara falls is the State Park that spurred our national park system, and it is a modern and incredible place that you can complete in a single day. The city of Niagara Falls on the other hand is a bombed out ghetto reminiscent of Detroit. I encourage everyone to look up how the urban renewal programs of yester year failed Niagara falls, but don't let the city and crime deter you from experiencing one of the best parks in the entire country. This was one of the best experiences I've had in my entire life, and this is only part 1 of 3 of our day in Niagara. Look out next week for our fun midday hike in the 90 degree weather!
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