After our first trip to Niagara in May of 2021, we knew it wouldn't be long until we were back. This spring we were thinking of what we could do for the summer holidays, and we both thought it would be fun if we were in Canada for July 4th. And the best place for that was to go back to Niagara Falls! Easy decision.
We left on Friday around lunch and broke up the drive to Niagara by staying in Cleveland for the night. Right when we got to Cleveland it started raining, which thwarted our plans to walk the lake that evening. It all worked out in the end because the rain allowed us to watch the Brewers game that night, and they scored 19 runs vs the Pirates, and Corbin Burnes had a no-hitter going into the 6th inning! We were mad at ourselves though because, had we checked the Brewers schedule for this weekend, we probably would've gone to Pittsburgh being that is about half way to Niagara too. That wouldve been a fun one to be at!
We left early for Niagara on Saturday, and rolled into the city right at noon! We had a little problem with our bank thinking our hotel charges were fraud when trying to check in, but we cleared that up quickly, and we could barely wait to get to the water! Our hotel was right next to the Niagara River, just upstream from the Falls. So after dropping our luggage, we went straight to the trails!
When we started walking the trails, we went down every inlet we could to get closer to the water. Right away we couldnt get over how fast the rapids were, that far upstream. Robbie read that personal boats are not allowed closer than 10 miles upstream because of the rapids!
A lot of where we walked felt very familiar, like 3 Sisters Island, which we did the first time! But when we went this time, it was much busier and warmer! At the end of 3 Sisters Island, there were signs placed at the end of the dock to please not climb or go over the fence, but a few people did not heed that advice. I guess they were doing a photo shoot and the subject of the photos was ankle deep IN THE RIVER! No way would I ever put myself at risk like that! Smh.
Further down the trails and closer to the Falls we saw more carelessness. There was a big tree that branched out into the river and some lady was climbing it to get a picture. Below is the same tree that I'm sitting at the base of, and I've indicated where the lady was!
Later in our walk, we crossed the bridge to Goat Island. There was a quaint trail down to the river that we took. It was so peaceful and the view was outstanding! Robbie told me a story he read that at this point in the river, a drunk man tried to canoe across the river, perpendicular to the rapids, lost control, and capsized. He was able to hold onto something in the water, and in a rescue attempt by a boat, ended up losing his grip and eventually died. I mean, what did he think was going to happen?? In a canoe?? Seriously!!
Then we came closer to the Falls, and even though we couldn't see it at times, we could definitely hear it! The intense sound of the millions of gallons of water crashing over the edge is amazing!
Just ahead was the lookout point, called Terapin Point, of Niagara Falls. It felt good to be back, and even after seeing it once before, its still quite a sight to behold! We spent a bit of time just looking on the complete amazement!
After Terapin Point, we headed inland for a bite to eat. We stumbled on a street of food trucks and thought we hit the jackpot, but because it was just prior to the dinner rush, most places were out of food for restocking. Luckily we were able to get one of the last slices of pizza at a great place called Mario's. About 5 minutes after we got our pizza, the place closed for restock. As we were eating, we talked to the owner and he said that this was one of the busiest days he has ever seen. For those that don't know, July 1st is Canada Day, and with that falling on a Friday, and the 4th of July falling on Monday this year, it was the perfect storm of 2 countries coming together in beautiful Niagara Falls. We definitely felt the crowds everywhere we went, but we tried to just go with the flow!
After stopping to eat, we headed back to our hotel along the river because we just couldn't get enough! We rested for a few hours then went to dinner at the same hotel where "The Office" cast stayed at when they filmed Jim and Pam's wedding at Niagara. Obviously those episodes weren't filmed here, they just used this hotel as their establishing shot. We were actually going to stay at this hotel, but the room rate was crazy expensive! The food was really good, with a great view. Our waitress said that they get some Office-crazed fans that want to stay in the exact room that Jim and Pam stayed in, and are disappointed when they tell them that the interior hotel scenes weren't shot there.
We found out that in the summer months, fireworks are shot off over the Falls each night, so we drove down in time to get a spot. It was fun waiting because the mist off the Falls were hitting us, and it was actually refreshing!
The fireworks started at 10pm and the show was kind of a let down. No one was really sure where they'd be shooting off from, so when they started, they were further downstream and that view was obstructed by trees. So everyone scurried to find the best vantage point. We lingered towards the back because once they were over, we didn't want to be in the traffic jam waiting to get off Goat Island. Our thinking was we will have better plans for the actual 4th of July so we didn't NEED to see this display. It was still cool to have fireworks over Niagara Falls though! After our day was done, I looked at my FitBit, and I had taken over 20,000 steps, a record by far! We did a lot of walking this day!
Sunday was our water day, and we planned on being at Maid of the Mist right when it opened to stand in line as little as possible. That strategy worked as we only had to wait about 10 minutes in line. On the way down to the boat, we met a couple who we found out were from Dayton, so we all hung together for the whole boat ride. At one point, they made fun of my rubber boots that i was wearing because i knew that my feet would get soaked. After we told them this, and seeing that the guy was wearing sneakers, he made little booties out of an extra poncho! Being we've already done Maid of the Mist, we had another strategy. The majority of riders want to get a spot along the front of the boat, but because once the boat gets to the Falls, it does a full turn, so no matter where we are on the boat, we get soaked. So as everyone clamored to the front, we went straight for the back of the boat, and it paid off because there was plenty more room in the back than in the front!
As the boat took off, for some reason I could not stop giggling! The boat ride was as fun as it was the first time around for sure! This time though, i just took in the scenery instead of taking pictures and it was perfect! The guy of the couple was glad he had the booties too!
After Maid of the Mist, we went straight to get in line for Cave of the Winds tickets. This was something we did the first time around, but the first time, the Hurricane Deck wasn't open. The Hurricane Deck takes you underneath American Falls and it was something both of us were looking forward to the most. When we got up to the ticket window, the agent told us it was going to be a 3 hour wait, and we decided it wasn't worth it. Both of us were tired and didn't want to wait that long. So we decided to wake up early the next morning and get right in!
After our failed attempt at the Hurricane Deck, we went back to our hotel and soaked in the hot tub for a long while! It felt good to get off our feet for a while.
When dinner came, we thought it would be fun to drive into Canada for the evening, so we got in the car and drove to the Rainbow Bridge, the closest connector of America and Canada in the city. When we got there, we estimated the line of cars was about a mile back from the bridge, waiting to get into Canada. Upon looking for a different route, we found another bridge about 5 miles downstream, so we headed for it. When we approached that bridge, traffic was at a standstill there too. We came to the conclusion that Canada was not in the cards that night. But, on our way to the further-away bridge, we found an area of the Niagara River that forms a whirlpool, called Whirlpool Gorge. There's a state park on the American side, so we parked and walked to the river. The gorge was really far down, so we're were really high above, and the the whirlpool effect was cool to see. The river comes to a rounded area before it turns a corner, and because the rapids are still moving so quickly, the water doesn't really know where to go, so it forms a whirlpool. There are 2 adventures to choose from, we found out. The first one is an aerial tram that goes across the whirlpool area, from the Canada side, to the American side, and back. The 2nd one was a boat ride that actually went into the whirlpool. That looked really scary because the boat looked like an inflatable! And Robbie said that years ago, one of those boats lost control, capsized, and 3 people died! I would do the tram though!
When we got back to the hotel, we just decided to eat there on the patio. It was a beautiful evening and the view of the river was icing on the cake!
After dinner we relaxed in our room and strategized the next morning. Sunday was our last night in America as we had a hotel for Monday night on the Canada side of Niagara! Given the long line of cars trying to get into Canada earlier, we thought getting to Canada early would be best, then just stay in Canada the rest of the day. We knew we were sacrificing the Hurricane Deck, but we were equally excited to explore the Canada side. So, at this point, Hurricane deck was going to be Tuesday morning on our way home!
We left our American hotel on Monday morning around 9:30am, and it took us no time to get across the bridge. We did have to go through border patrol, but that only took a few minutes.
The night prior while brainstorming things to do, we realized that the observation tower (which had always been on the itinerary) had a revolving restaurant, and we were able to get a lunch reservation! So, our first stop was the Skylon Tower, and we went straight up! The restaurant didn't open until 11:15, so we had a solid hour to take in the 365° views! We lucked out because there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and we could see as far as the Toronto skyline to the north, and beyond the Buffalo, NY skyline to the south! But, by far, the view that held my gaze the most was obviously Niagara Falls! It was so beyond gorgeous from the Canada side! Everyone who has gone says this, and now I can see why! The entire Falls are visible from this vantage point, and the crystal clear day made it all the better! I couldn't get enough of it! Even the non-Niagara views were pretty cool too!
We then made our way to the restaurant and we were able to get a window seat! Once the seating area started revolving, I'd say that was the biggest draw of the restaurant. It took an hour to make an entire rotation, and below each window were little placards describing where things were that we were looking at, and also little factoids of Niagara and American Falls. Getting last-minute reservations at that restaurant was the best stroke of luck the whole weekend!
After the observation tower, we headed to our hotel, the Embassy Suites Niagara. We knew our room wouldn't be ready, but we just wanted to park our car, drop our luggage at the bell desk, and head out and explore, which is exactly what we did. Just outside our hotel was the Niagara Incline, which took us from the upper portion of the city to the base, basically right to the lookout point of the Falls.
I don't think I was prepared for what I was about to see. We fought our was to the front, and there it was, the entire Falls right before us! It was 100x better than viewing the Falls from the American side. I did not want to leave, ever!
We started at the rail just upstream from the actual dump of the Falls, so we made our way to the base, at the exact point where the water plummets to the bottom! This was something we couldn't do on the American side, so it was a weird feeling to be right there, and literally on the other side of the railing was the point of plummet!
Then we made our way further to where we could see the whole Falls, plumage and all, and man, what a sight to see! I can't even do it justice describing it! Just go see it for yourself!
After this, we went back into the hotel and our room was ready. We made sure to get a view of the American and Horseshoe Falls, and it did not disappoint! Our room had windows that spanned the whole room from left to right, and floor to ceiling, so the views were second to none! And, we came to find out from the bellman who helped bring our luggage up (and who assisted in designing this hotel, and 3 others) that the Embassy Suites was the closest hotel to the Falls on either side of the river; either way we looked, we had an unobstructed view! Another major plus, our room had a massage chair in it that was positioned towards the Falls. Little did we know then, but we chose our accommodations wisely it turned out!
We had dinner reservations that evening at a restaurant called The Keg. Now, our first brush with The Keg happened 6 years ago when we were in Victoria, B.C.. Their food was so good that we have been dreaming about it ever since! There have been times where we were watching a Blue Jays game and their advertisement is behind home plate. And when we went to Niagara in 2021, we knew that The Keg was just on the other side of the river but the borders were still closed so we couldn't get there. So after we planned our trip this time, we were sure to make reservations as early as we could! And bonus, The Keg was right in our hotel! Perfect!
The one thing we had been waiting for the most was the garlic bread. When we had it in B.C., it was presented as 2 halves of a loaf with this scrumptious garlic butter and a medly of melted shredded cheeses on top. They had changed the recipe a little in the 6 years, but it still tasted the same. Then, for my entree I remember having had a filet topped with the biggest shrimp on a skewer I'd ever seen. This time around I had a sirloin topped with baby shrimp and scallops, hollandaise, and asparagus. It was just as good! And to end the meal, the most delicious creme brulee! I'd absolutely go back! And, to boot, we had a gorgeous view of the Falls throughout our dining experience!
When we got back to our room, dusk was settling in and we got to watch the Falls come alive with a color display! We had seen this from the American side but it was 10x better from Canada! We had a day pass to the Skylon Tower from earlier in the day, but being we had one of the best views in the city, we passed on going to the Tower for fireworks.
Then, being it was the 4th of July, we were treated first with fireworks as far as the eye could see all across the horizon. Then, nearing 10pm, the fireworks display started on the Falls, and it was beautiful! This is what we were waiting for, and it did not disappoint! We had the best vantage point for it. As the fireworks were being shot off, both the American and Horseshoe Falls were lit red, white, and Blue for the occasion! The show lasted about 20 minutes and it was one of the best 4th of July experiences I've ever had!
After the fireworks, we got to see the madness of cars leaving the parking lots, so glad that we weren't in that kerfuffle. That night, we slept with the curtains wide open, which we never usually do.
I woke up the next morning in awe just as the day before. This, Tuesday, was our day to go back home. We were going to go to Hurricane Deck before we left town, but it was raining (ironically), and we wanted as much time with our view as possible. Plus, Hurricane Deck will give us a reason to go back!
Even though we had been to Niagara Falls once before, I think we both had a better experience this time around. The Canada border was open offering a better look at the Falls than we ever could've imagined. The food was great the whole weekend, and the accommodations were top notch!
From Canada, with love!
"If you want to get lost in beauty, chase Niagara Falls!" - Anonymous
