Enjoy reading about our recent trip to Niagara Falls, Canada. We have included some great travel hints and tips as well!
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First of all, if you have a choice between visiting the American side or the Canadian side, you should most definately choose the Canadian side. Adults must have passports, and if you have children under the age of 18, be sure you Google the requirements ahead of time for acceptable ID used to cross the border. These requirements have changed recently, but you should be okay with just a birth certificate. Also, the Canadian Border Agents can be a bit stern, but just answer their questions honestly, and give them some respect and you should be on your way without any problems (don't worry, if you re-enter America on your way back, our Agents are much more pleasant!
Upon your arrival on the Canadian side of The Falls, go ahead and cruise up and down "the strip" before you do anything else. This will give you some pretty decent views, and familiarize yourself with the area. You may be tempted to park and walk over to The Falls, but if you do, be prepared to pay a hefty parking fee. When we were there last in August of 2023, parking down by the main road was a $35 minimum. If you are staying up on "The Hill", it can be much less, and you may even be able to park for free at your hotel. There is a little known path that you can take down the hill from the area where most of the hotels are that will come out right across from the American Falls and from there it is just a short walk to the Horseshoe Falls.
In the picture above, you can find the trail by walking towards The Skylon Tower, which is visibile for miles, and you can head down the stairs at the end of the culdesac, and you will find a trail that goes down the hill. It is a bit sketchy looking, especially at night, but I have never encountered any dangerous looking people along the trail and I have used it many times since my childhood.
Once you get down to the Falls, you should be looking at the American Falls across the river. There is nothing that can prepare you for the awe and beauty of this Wonder of Nature. The sounds, the feelings, the beautiful mist, it's all so incredible. In certain places you can feel the power of the water hitting the rocks below in your chest. It is almost indescribable.
This is the Horseshoe Falls, you can tell by the shape. They are my favorite. If you follow the rail up river until you get to the visitor center, there is a small spot where you can look straight down the corner of it. There will be a lot of people there to get photos. Depending on the wind direction, it may feel as though it is raining there from the mist. On a hot day, it feels wonderful! We went in late August, and had some cloudy 50-60F days, so I'm glad that we brought sweatshirts.
Make sure you have plenty of storage on your phone or camera, because you will need it! I highly recommend taking a timelapse of the Falls. It looks so cool as you play it back! If you time it right, you will get one of the Maid of the Mist boats in the shot approaching the Falls.
It's tough to find authentic "Canadian food", becuase they really don't have much of their own cuisine in this part of Canada other than poutine. We found this amazing, very authentic Indian restaurant across the street from our hotel, and it was so good, that we had it two days in a row! The name is Moksha Indian Bistro.
After dinner, we went to the Skyline Tower for the best view of the sunset behind us and the Falls in front of us. They do light shows on the falls each night every 15 minutes. The tower stands 520 feet (160m) tall and is 775 feet (236m) above the river. We paid $26 each for a two day pass. I think it was 4 or 5 dollars cheaper for a one day, which we should have done, because we never got the chance to go back after the first day.
If you're into night life, and have any energy left, go out for a few drinks. You will meet interesting people from all over the World. We ran into a Bachelor who was there for a party, and he kept buying rounds of tequila shots, but his buddy's had fallen asleep in the room, so we were his new friends, as the bartender was paying close attention to make sure that he did not drink them all himself!
On day two, we went down to the Maid of the Mist tour boat. This takes you on a trip that is about 20 minutes. They pass the American Falls, and then up to the Horseshoe Falls, and they get as close to the water as their engines will allow them. At one point, you are directly facing the Falls, looking up at them while getting covered in spray (they issue you ponchos), and you will hear and feel the engines throbbing beneath you as they fight against the current. This trip is a must. We did have to wait a little over an hour in line to baord, but it is worth the wait, and as usual, we struck up some interesting conversations with people around us.
Overall, we had a great time and made a lot of memories. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions, or reach out to us at navigatevacations@gmail.com
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