Niagara Falls

** Note, if you read this in the email you won't get the full experience of the videos as easily. Click on the title "Niagara Falls" to read it on the blog. Trust us it is way better! ** 

July 20, 2023

We are off on another summer adventure. This time we decided to try to break up the jet lag by stopping somewhere on the East coast of Canada first.

This led us to the Toronto area. For a few days we are staying with our good friends Pat and Henry. They live in Guelph and have been kind enough to house us, feed us and shuttle us around.

Our big adventure here was going to Niagara Falls. This one has been on our bucket list for a long time and did not disappoint!

You really can't grasp the enormity of the falls until you see them in person. There are the American falls which are beautiful, and then the Canadian falls which are, of course, more beautiful! The Canadian falls are called the "Horseshoe Falls" because of their shape.

Here are some fun facts about Niagara Falls (I'm a teacher, I can't stop myself!):

• Niagara Falls is eroding back about 1 foot per year.
• The Horseshoe Falls are approximately 54 meters tall. That is approximately the same height as an 18 storey building!
• During peak tourist daytime hours about 168 000 cubic meters of water come over the falls every minute! This is like filling about a million bathtubs with water every minute!

You pick up your tickets for the cruise to the falls at the top. There is a long line to buy them or you can just walk right up to a kiosk... I recommend that :) You can easily buy your tickets. Only about $35 a person after tax. This really surprised me. I thought it would be much more and was pleasantly surprised with that price!

Once you have your ticket you walk down a ramp to an elevator that takes you down to the bottom. I hadn't really thought about it before... but if the falls are 54 metres high, you'll need to go down to get in a boat at the water level... 😀

When you get down to the bottom they give you your poncho and you stand in a giant crowded line to get on the boat. (Photographic evidence below 😀)

Side note: The Canadian and American side each have their own boat companies to do the tour. The famous "Maid of the Mist" is actually the tour from the U.S. side. In Canada you will go on the Hornblower! 

I'm including some photos and videos from the experience. Some may be hard to see... the camera often had water spots on it. It was a beautiful calm day in Niagara Falls, but as your boat approaches the Horseshoe Falls it feels like it is creating it's own weather. Suddenly it becomes wet, wild and windy and it was impossible to keep the water off the camera!

Here we are just at the beginning of the boat ride. You can see where the Hornblower embarks from, the Rainbow Bridge that connects Canada and the U.S.A. and the falls on the American side.

Here are a couple of videos that show you what it is like as you sail into the Horseshoe Canyon and are inside. Three words: wet, windy and wavy!

Here is a video as you sail away from the Horseshoe Falls.

It doesn't really matter what side of the boat you are on, the boat turns around so you get a good view of everything. Here is the final video as we sailed back past the American falls.

It's really hard to grasp how big the falls are unless you are really here, but here is a picture to try and give you perspective:

And here is a final picture of the four of us back at the top above the falls:

They have a lot of choices for ways to spend your money here at Niagara Falls: a funnicular, a tour behind the falls, ziplining to name a few. I can't think of a better way to experience the falls then to get on a boat and sail right into them!

Thanks Pat and Henry for a wonderful day. Next we're off to Niagara on the Lake!