Although my parents were still recovering from their
Thanksgiving holiday, we had no time to waste while they were visiting. Call me Clark Griswold, but I like to stick
to an itinerary. I let them have a day
to rest and relax and then we were off again on our Northern adventures! This time it was to Canada!
We loaded up the front wheel drive sleigh and headed to
Niagara Falls, a short five hours from Clifton Park. (I am still amazed at how much you can get to from such a short drive up here!)
Our band of merry misfits made a run for the border and didn’t even
bother to stop on the American side to check out the Falls. Oh, heck no…we were ready for
the main attraction!
With the mist in our sights, we flashed our passports and
crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It was
literally just seconds before we had a perfect view of Niagara Falls! I had visited the Falls once while in college
on spring break (no wild beach parties for me) and it was better than I
remembered! I was so glad that I got to
take Brett & my parents there for the first time.
Basically, Niagara Falls breaks down into two
sections. The larger Horseshoe Falls (pictured above) is
on the Canadian side and American Falls (pictured left) sits in the USA. Just to the right of the American Falls is
the smaller Bridal Falls. The view is
amazing! So much water coming through the
area, it’s no wonder that Niagara carries about 20% of the world’s fresh water,
all coming from the Great Lakes.
The Niagara Parks Commission was so sweet to provide us
with tickets to visit the Journey Behind the Falls. And, seriously…it ranks in the Top 10 coolest
things I have ever seen! If you make the
trip up here, you have to see
this! The view from the top is great,
but this is just unbelievable. There is nothing like being up close and
personal with the Falls.
The self-guided tour begins with a fashion
statement. That’s right, everyone gets
to wear those cute little plastic rain coats over their clothes! In seconds we were suited up and off! An elevator took us down 150 feet and we were
allowed to explore the 650 feet of tunnels that weave behind the Falls. When we surfaced, we were right at the basin
of Horseshoe Falls!
There is nothing like standing at the edge of North
America’s most powerful waterfall! At 13
stories tall, the water flows over the Falls at some serious speed…moving about
40 miles per hour. It’s hard to believe 7-year-old
Roger Woodward survived the ride over the Falls when the boat he was in
capsized in 1960. Wearing only a
lifejacket, he was rescued by the Maid of
the Mist when he surfaced in the basin. Crazy!
Turns out, our yellow rain coats came in pretty handy! We ended up a little damp on our tour. I would not advise spending a lot of time on
your hair before hitting this attraction.
Mine will curl at the slightest hint of rain or humidity…you should have
seen the hot mess it became standing next to a massive waterfall.
The Journey Behind the Falls also offers a chance to
check out the falls from the backside.
There are two spots where you can see the water flowing from carvings in
the rock. Warning-it’s super loud in
those tunnels!
We were also lucky enough to be given tickets by the
Niagara Parks Commission to watch the Niagara’s
Fury: The Creation of the Falls 4-D movie!
The experience is styled a lot like a Universal Studio-type of
attraction.
The ground shakes, you get
rained on, snowed on and you can feel the temperature literally plummet in a
matter of seconds. It was a great way to
experience the Falls from another perspective and the little kids will love it
(well, my parents did too).
By the time we wrapped up our tour and movie, we walked
out of the Table Rock Welcome Center into another breath taking view of Niagara
Falls…night had fallen and the Falls were all lit up! The Falls are illuminated in the colors of the
rainbow and have been shining brightly since 1925. During the Winter Festival of Lights, you can
catch fireworks over the Falls on Friday nights from mid-November until New
Year’s Eve. I mean seriously…just look at the smiles those lights put on our faces!
If it’s your first time to the Falls, there are a couple
of things to know before you go. First
of all, don’t forget your passport…you gotta have it to get to Canada and
that’s where you want to see things from.
Also, don’t worry about coming to visit in winter. There’s plenty of stuff to do up here!
If for some reason you’re not excited about the view, you can
check out the Fallsview Casino. It’s smoke free and also the largest casino in Canada-which my mother loved! It was all we could do to pull her away from the nickel poker slot machines. If you prefer spending your money rather than betting it, there’s tons of cute little shops where you can do a little souvenir shopping. Brett & I decided to start adding patches of our favorite travel places to our backpack and picked up a cute Niagara Falls, Canada one.
The
Skylon Tower probably offers the best view in town and you can even grab a bite
to eat there too. There are great
wineries in the area and even a Butterfly Conservatory to visit.
Tickets to the Journey Behind the Falls can be purchased
year round. It’s $12.75 for adults,
$8.35 for kids 6-12 and admission is free for youngsters under 5. In mid-December prices drop a little when the
lower observation decks are closed because of ice.
Niagara’s
Fury: The Creation of the Falls tickets run $15 for adults and $9.75 for kids
6-12. Shows are every 30 minutes
daily.
But if you’re headed to Niagara this winter, one of the
best deals going right now is the Niagara Falls Winter Magic Pass. You can do Journey Behind the Falls, Niagara’s Fury and snag tickets to the
Butterfly Conservatory for a great price.
The pass runs $24.95 for adults and $16.95 for kids ages 6-12.
For more information about visiting Niagara Falls, check
out niagaraparks(dot)com. You’ll find
great tips on planning your trip and even better deals on attractions in
the area. Brett and I decided that a visit
here was a great weekend getaway from Albany and a perfect opportunity to see something
different. I can promise, y’all won’t be disappointed!
*Special
thanks to the Niagara Parks Commission for providing tickets and admission to
Journey Behind the Falls and Niagara’s Fury: The Creation of the Falls. Thanks y’all…we loved it!
Photography image credits: Ed Flanigan, Heather Flanigan, Brett Garrett. Graphic image credit: Niagara Parks
Niagara Falls is so much fun. It sounds like and looks like from your pictures that you had a really good time.