Niagara Falls - American and Canadian sides

Niagara Falls

Panorama of Niagara Falls

WOW... Niagara Falls was more than we expected it to be.  We have visited many waterfalls that claim to be 'higher' than Niagara but none have ever tried to claim they were bigger.  The Canadian Horseshoe Falls, drops about 173 feet, while the height of the American Falls varies between 70–100 feet because of the presence of giant boulders at its base. The larger Horseshoe Falls are about 2,600 feet  wide, while the American Falls are 1,060 feet wide. During peak flow season, the amount of water flowing over the falls may be as much as 750,000 gallons per second.

Niagara Falls is claimed by both the USA and Canada.  The US side has more 'interactive' falls related things to do, but Canada has the view, the shopping, the beauty and the hotels.  That being said, while we were here, we heard through the news, NY state is offering $40million to someone who can come up with an idea to improve and increase the tourism on the US side.

Within the US side, Niagara Falls is the oldest State Park in the United States.  We were really glad it was not a  National Park, because we would  not have been able to visit due to the shut down of the government. 

Parking is $10 for the day, compared to $20 on the Canadian side for 3 hours.  Best way to see everything on the US side is to buy a Discovery Pass for $33, that gives you access to all of the venues to view the falls.  With the Pass, you by-pass the lines to purchase tickets and get access to the Maid of the Mist boat ride,  the Observation Tower, Cave of the Winds, Discovery Center, Aquarium plus access to the on/off trolley that runs the entire park.

Being here in October, we found some things were only open on weekends like the Discovery Center and Top of the Falls Restaurant on Goat Island.  We managed to see everything we could in one day, including the Aquarium.  We started out in the Visitor Center watching a 30 minute movie about the falls and the Dare Devils that have attempted to go over the falls in one form or another.

American Falls from Boat

Maid of the Mist

Maid of the Mist boat ride was incredible.  Because of the major amount of mist generated by the falls, everyone is given a blue, full length rain poncho when boarding the boat.  When you see the boat from above, it is funny to see all of the blue parka people on board.  The ride takes you passed the American Falls, and then up close to the Canadian Falls, or Horseshoe Falls as it is called.

Observation Tower

After the Maid of the Mist, we headed for the Observation Tower.  14 stories high and with a 230 foot overlook, you get an incredible view of both falls.

Hurricane Deck

From there, we headed to Cave of the Winds on Goat Island.  

Goat Island got its name from a farmer named John Stedman, who decided to put his animals including a herd of goats on the island for the winter of 1870 to keep them safe from wolves and coyotes.  When he returned in the spring, he found all of his animals  dead from the weather except one goat.

Bridal Veils Falls

The journey to the Cave begins with an elevator ride 175 feet down through the rock, into the Niagara Gorge after you are given a poncho and sandals.  With your  own shoes stored in a bag and the poncho on, we followed a wooden walkway along the Niagara River to the Hurricane Deck, just a few breathtaking feet from the torrents of Niagara Falls.   Here, rushing Bridal Veil Falls creates tropical storm-like conditions.  Talk about a rush!

While there is no actual cave anymore, the original cave was a natural cave behind Bridal Veil Falls 130 feet high, 100 feet wide and 30 feet in depth. It was discovered in 1834, and originally dubbed Aeolus' Cave, after the Greek god of winds. Guided tours began officially in 1841, and continued until a rock fall in 1920 made it clear the passage was no longer safe. The cave was obliterated in a massive 1954 rock fall and subsequent dynamiting of a dangerous overhang.

Additionally, we learned that each November the wooden walk ways to the Cave are torn down and reassembled each spring to protect them from the extreme winter weather conditions that prevail in the Niagara Gorge.

Niagara River as it goes
over the falls

Once we were dried off, our own shoes back on, we walked to the Three Sisters Islands.  The Islands are named for daughters of General Parkhurst Whitney who are believed to be the first settlers to have trekked to the three small islands.  The islands are named after Celinda, Angelina, and Asenath Whitney.  Each island supports a variety of microhabitats and has its own floristic character. The Three Sisters Islands are connected by bridges, allowing pedestrians to walk to all three for grand views of the raging rapids in the Niagara River right before the its descent over the Horseshoe Falls.

Rapids of Niagara River

 

 

Niagara Falls Canada, day and night

Falls at night
 

Instead of driving over the border, and going through customs, we opted for a Gray Line tour that included seeing the falls lighted at night.  Well, up to that night we had been lucky, all of our touring had been in perfect weather.  But the clouds and fog came in and though we did not have to deal with rain, we did not have perfect weather to view the falls from the Canadian side.  It was so foggy we did not get up into the Skylon Tower to see the falls.


Floral Clock

Portal behind the falls.

the tour was not a complete disappointment as we did get to take the tour from behind the falls.   The cave and how it was built was more impressive than the actual view, as all you could see from the portals was the water of the falls falling in front of you. After the falls, we were taken out of town to see the floral clock that is run by the electricity generated from the falls.  Lastly, we headed back into town as it was getting dark to see if the fog had lifted any.  Sadly, the tower was still shrouded in the fog, but the driver did get us to a vista point where we could see the illumination of the falls.



Horseshoe Falls - Canadian

We did return to Canada a couple of days later and walked across the Rainbow Bridge to some beautiful weather.  This time we were able to get up into the Skylon Tower where the views from there were spectacular.
 





View of Niagara Falls
Canada

American Falls from Skylon

 

Erie Canal at Locksport, NY and NY wineries

Old and new lock

Going thru the locks

Our last day in the area, we headed to Locksport NY where we took a tour of  Erie Canal Locks 67-71, constructed in 1838.   These original locks consisted of 5 steps, each dropping 10 feet to complete the 50' difference in the river which was the greatest change in elevation on the Erie Canal.  The newer locks built in the 1920's was only two steps, each dropping or raising the water level 25' each time.

Old locks

Second part of the tour was a walk through a 1600 foot water power tunnel  blasted out of solid rock in 1850 that provided water power to three industries. The tunnel was the invention of Birdsill Holly, whose inventions included the fire hydrant, central steam heat and the rotary pump. Ironically, two of the three industries this water tunnel served, including Holly's burned to the ground.

Last part of the tour we boarded a boat, and floated down the small river still part of the tunnel, getting to see the minerals in the stone and some of the artifacts left behind by those who created the tunnel.


We ended the day trying three wineries.  The first was Five Steps right in Locksport.  A New winery, only a year or so old, but they had some nice wines.  We especially like their tasting presentation.  Instead of a server trying to remember where you are in your flight, and having each wine poured in the same glass, they set you up with all 5 wines in a tall spiral glass holder. You then drink at your leisure.  After purchasing wine, we headed out to find a couple more wineries on their wine trail.  Unlike Oregon, California and Washington, the NY wine trail is not well marked.  If we had not had the addresses and our GPS, we would never have found them.  But we did and we both agreed that of the wineries we tasted, we feel west coast wines are superior. 

Onward west again tomorrow......