Niagara Falls is probably the most famous waterfall in the world! Interestingly, this is not the tallest waterfall in the world. It is not the widest waterfall in the world. However, it beats every other waterfall in the world for its sheer volume of water. Niagara is spanned between New York State, USA, and Ontario, Canada. This ultimate travel guide focuses on things to do in the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
I have been to many wonderful places in the world like the Taj Mahal in India, the great pyramids of Giza, the ancient ruins of Angor Wat, the pagodas in Bagan, Colosseum in Rome, or Chichen Itza of Maya civilizations. I can say that Niagara Falls gave me a similar type of awe when I laid my eyes on it for the first time in my life!
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Observe Niagara Falls behind railing
There is a saying that, the best things in the world are free! This is true for Niagara falls, too! You don’t need to spend a single penny to see Niagara Falls. This is absolutely free as there is no entrance fee to the falls. From the Canadian side, you can enjoy all of the three falls.
To give a little background, Niagara is the collection of three falls namely Horseshoe Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, and the American Falls. These falls form a natural rift between the USA and Canada. Among them, the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side is the absolute monster! This one is tumultuous and picks of the draw among those three.
From the Canadian side, if you look towards the falls to the US side, you will see the Horseshoe to the right. Then, if you look to the left slightly, you will see the American Falls. Further to the left is the isolated Bridal veil crushing waters to mammoth fallen rocks.
The water coming to the Horseshoe falls come and falls to the bottom in such a strong force that, it keeps creating mists in front of the spectators. There is a saying that, more than a million bathtub waters crush down in Niagara every second.
You will get unobtrusive views of the falls behind the railing they put. Apart from the falls, keep an eye on people’s faces, you won’t find a single one without excitement. However, don’t get too much excited and fall down while taking photos, there is no coming back. I am saying this, because, it happened before and people died because of it.
Maid of the Mist – Top things to do in Niagara Falls
Maid of the Mist is a 30 minutes boat ride that will take you to the bottom and around the falls. It’s an enchanting as well as thrilling experience. Unlike most of the other points, you will see the falls from down to top. The roars of the falls will be even thunderous, and the mist of the water will present you with a surreal view. You will be given a poncho by the tour operator so that you don’t get wet.
Ticket price for Maid of the Mist
- Adult: US$25.25
- Child (ages 6-12): US$14.75
- Child (Ages 5 and Under): Free – with accompanying adult
Journey behind the Falls
You get into an elevator from the table rock center, and it will take you down to a tunnel. You wear a poncho, take a walk, and will reach the bottom of the most magnificent waterfall in Niagara – the Horseshoe Falls. You can view the falls from several tunnels.
However, you will get a mind-blowing view from a two-tiered observation deck where most of the people gather. When you will look to the right, you will see a part of the fall closely releasing water touching the rocks. This is the closest you can get to the waterfall.
The front view of the fall is sublime, the cascade and evaporation of water in the form of the mist takes place simultaneously. This is a great place to spot those colorful rainbows. The thunder of the waterfalls will make you understand the might of the falls once again.
If you take a look at the left, you will be rewarded with the Bride Veil falls on the USA side and the iconic rainbow bridge connecting the USA and Canada.
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Ticket price for Journey behind the Falls
- Adult: CA$23.50
- Child (ages 6-12): CA$15.50
- Child (Ages 5 and Under): Free – with accompanying adult
White Water Walk
Do you want to see the maddening water of the Niagara river? Then, you gotta go to the white water walk. You are not only going to see the mightiness of the water but listen to something you never listened to before. The international whitewater rafting organization classifies whitewater from class 1 (easy) to class 6 (nearly impossible). The current here is so strong, they are deemed as Class 6 whitewater rapids.
In order to reach here, you need to drive about 4 Kilometers north of the Falls near the whirlpool bridge. An elevator will take you to the 70 meters bottom. Through a tunnel, you will reach a Boardwalk. Then, take a walk on the board touching the beautiful gorge to the right. The walk is not a long one – only 305 meters long. There are two observatory decks on the way, where you can get a lot closer and get wet as well.
Ticket price for White water walk
- Adult: CA$17.00
- Child (ages 6-12): CA$11.25
- Child (Ages 5 and Under): Free – with accompanying adult
Chasing Rainbows
When the sunlight passes through rainfalls, we see the reflection of colors and calls it rainbows. In Niagara Falls, the mist is created by the falls. On a sunny day, when it passes through those mists, one can see beautiful rainbows. It’s pretty normal to see broken rainbows there, however, you can also enjoy a full and big 360-degree rainbow at times. Just, keep looking for them, you will be rewarded big time!
Appreciate the Rainbow Bridge
The bridge which connects the two cities of Niagara falls – one in New York and the other in Ontario, the rainbow bridge is not to be missed. This iconic arch bridge is built in the place of the honeymoon bridge which collapsed in the winter of 1938. The honeymoon bridge is closer to the bride’s veil fall. We see a lot of tensions between the borders of two countries in many places of the world. Say, for example, the Indian and Pakistan borders are always heavily guarded. This is an exception to that, you will only find peace in the rainbow bridge.
Illuminated Niagara Falls at Night
Now that you have enjoyed the beauty and experienced the mightiness of Niagara Falls, it’s time for you to explore Niagara at night. You can’t simply leave the place without seeing it at night as it will be a lifetime experience for you.
Niagara falls is a 24×7 activity, it is always open. However, there is a word of caution, the water becomes less available during the night. On the flip side, the light illuminates the fall after the sun sets till 2:00 AM. It looks pretty with those lights and gives a different vibe.
The light changes after an undefined interval, this uncertainty makes it even interesting. Maybe, you started chatting with a friend seeing the Niagara red, and after thirty seconds when you look back, you see it as blue.
The fireworks are also impressive even here, however, it has been canceled in 2021 until further notice.
Zipline to the Falls
This one is not for the faint-hearted. Once you are there, there is no point of return! You will glide down to 670 meters to the base of the Horseshoe Falls overlooking the American Falls. See the Niagara as seen by the birds instilling your adrenaline! If you do this during winter, you can see the different parts of the falls – the ice!
Ticket price for Zip-line to the Falls
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Dine at Skylon Tower
Skylon tower is the iconic observation deck in Niagara Falls. You can see both the American Falls and Horseshoe falls from here. This 160 meters tall tower from street level and 236 meters from the fall has two restaurants at the top. To make things even more interesting, the restaurants are revolving. You need a prior reservation to dine there, don’t forget to do it beforehand to enjoy the falls from the top.
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Taking a photo in front of flower gate
Just behind the main observatory deck of Niagara Falls, you will find a beautiful gate made of colorful flowers. Although Niagara Falls is the supreme attraction to take your photos, don’t miss taking one under this gate, it’s a pretty place to grab a couple of pictures. It always seems crowded, just wait patiently to take your turn.
Explore the Town of Niagara
A ten-minute walk from Niagara falls will take you to the vibrant and colorful town of Niagara. It’s a touristic town built based on Niagara falls – as the people come from all over the places, they offer them different amusement options. Many people complain about it, I don’t see any problem though.
There is plenty to do for the kids here as well. You will find theatres showing multi-dimensional movies with ghosts in the center. There is a ferries wheel to show you around which runs till late at night. Don’t miss the inclined building which is being serviced by a statue – I thought it was real when I saw it from far.
Book a guided full day Niagara exploration tour
One particular activity that I loved was Go-karting. These several minutes of fun activity made me feel younger. When I looked around, I was not alone – I saw people older than 60 years participate in this activity as well!
When I was walking past the street of Niagara at night, I got a vibe of Las Vegas – albeit an extremely miniature version of it. It was glittering all around. Like Las Vegas, you can gamble here, too, there are many casinos here to try your luck!
Hike in Niagara Glen
Head towards Niagara Glen Nature Reserve when you have enough of seeing the falls. This will give you an opportunity to hike through the green Carolinian forest. This is a relatively easy hike and will take less than 6 hours to complete. The main draw apart from seeing the flora and fauna is to be near the Niagara gorge.
If you love to do rock climbing, this is the go-to place for you. A prior reservation is required for rock climbing.
Not only the falls!
Well, it’s not surprising to spend all your time seeing Niagara. Everyone goes to see it, right? However, you can stop at places to look around. The place has plenty of greeneries with some fantastic architecture.
The flowers all over the place are admirable. You will find places to sit back and relax. What about reading a book on one of those benches and have a look at those mighty falls whenever you want to? You will find that – “Life is beautiful!”
