Niagara Falls - USA
New York
General information about the Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls are located exactly on the border between the USA and Canada. They are formed by the Niagara River, which connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario. The falls on the American side consist of the American Falls and the smaller Bridal Veil Falls. They have an edge length of 853ft. The Horseshoe Fall is on the Canadian side and has an edge length of 2133ft. At night, the falls are throttled down to a quarter of their volume for power generation. In the morning, when the tourists slowly crawl out of their beds again, the falls are turned on again and you can admire them in their full glory.
For the GPS: 5875 Falls Ave, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3K7, Canada (Sheraton on the Falls) – 6700 Fallsview Blvd, Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3W6, Canada (Embassy Suites Niagara Falls-Fallsview)
Hard Rock Café: 333 Prospect St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303
Our visits: So far 3 visits in September 2002, October 2010 and October 2013
Niagara Falls - USA
Description: Niagara Falls is one of THE tourist attractions in the USA that just about everyone knows and probably visits. For this reason, all tourist sites here are very well organized and developed. The visit to Niagara Falls is free of charge, however, all activities are charged and parking in the nearby parking lots is $10.
Our rating: Niagara Falls is definitely a MUST for every USA traveler. Nevertheless, you should be aware that this is not a nature experience. Both sides of the falls are extremely touristy and it is very rowdy, noisy and full of people. Nevertheless, these falls are so impressive that we can highly recommend a visit.
Since we stayed overnight on the Canadian side during our visits, we saved ourselves the stress of finding a parking space. We found it totally relaxing and varied to walk back over the bridge to the USA and explore the falls on foot. The ways are not so far, so that you can comfortably accomplish both sides of the falls in one day.
Cave of the Winds
Description: An extremely popular activity at Niagara Falls is Maid of the Mist. Here you go in boats directly to the waterfalls. Since that's not our cup of tea, we haven't done that yet, also because of the crowds that always line up at the boats. But we have explored the Cave of the Winds on the American side of the falls.
You take the elevator 174ft down, almost to the foot of the American Niagara Falls. You will be given yellow rain ponchos, but these only theoretically keep the water out. You can then get even closer to the thundering water masses via wooden stairs. But: it is very wet and very loud.
Our rating: The experience of standing under these gigantic waterfalls is truly epic. You can't explain it, you just have to experience it for yourself. Absolute recommendation. Because of the amount of water you are exposed to, we would recommend that you reschedule this one for a day when it's not too cold.
