Here’s our take: Yes, Niagara Falls has a tacky and touristy side. But it’s worth visiting, if for no other reason than to ride the iconic Maid of the Mist into the churning waters beneath the waterfall. (Plus, it truly is beautiful, and we found plenty of non-touristy adventures.)
But First, A Few Days In Amish Country
For the sake of remembering how we got from southeastern Michigan to Niagara Falls, I’m documenting here our stop at Geneva State Park in northeastern Ohio. It’s a lovely park on the shores of Lake Erie with nice biking trails, in the midst of Amish Country.
Biking along the shores of Lake Erie
We spent a day biking the trails in the park, and another day exploring the local covered bridges and stocking up on Amish goodies at the general store in Mesopotamia: dilly beans, pickled beets, curried pickled cauliflower, and pickled asparagus. So delicious, and so addictive.
Amish buggy
Benetka covered bridge
Laundry Day
Geneva State Park is about 10 miles from the town of Ashtabula, which boasts the terrific little Cloven Hoof Brewing. Along with hanging out at the brewery and drinking beer with the friendly locals, the primary entertainment seems to be watching the drawbridge raised every hour to allow boats access from the Ashtabula River into Lake Erie. The enormous coal pile and freighters just across the river are a vivid reminder that this is the heart of industrial America.
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Cloven Hoof Brewing
Moving On To Niagara Falls
Leaving Geneva State Park, we moved on to Four Mile Creek State Park, the perfect location for exploring Niagara Falls. I never realized that Niagara Falls is actually three massive falls: Horseshoe Falls (the largest), American Falls, and Bridal Veil Falls. The Niagara River forms the border between the U.S. and Canada, and we walked across the river on the Rainbow Bridge to experience both sides of the falls.
American Falls with the Rainbow Bridge in the background
The two sides couldn’t be more different. Canada wins the prize for the best views—it looks across at the beautiful falls on the American side. But Canada also wins the prize for over-the-top tacky tourist attractions, including a Ripley’s Believe it or Not, three (three!) wax museums, haunted houses, arcades, zip lines, and casinos. Fortunately, there’s a nice wide walkway along the river, and we just ignored the tourist traps and turned our attention to the falls.
Niagara Falls, view of the Canadian side
Sharing the Canadian path along the river with lots of other tourists
American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, view from the Canadian side
Refreshingly, the American side is protected by lovely Niagara State Park, and the attractions are focused on the waterfalls. Unfortunately, just beyond the state park lies the dumpy town of Niagara Falls, which has seen much better days.
Peaceful Niagara State Park on the American side
But you know what? It’s easy to avoid all of the drawbacks and to focus instead on the immense natural beauty of the falls.
American Falls
The Maid Of The Mist Boat Tour: A Must-Do
We were studiously avoiding the tourist attractions when we inexplicably decided we HAD to do the Maid of the Mist tour, the sturdy little steel boat that offers an up-close experience of the falls. We donned our useless blue plastic ponchos and joined a few dozen other tourists to experience the tremendous power of the falls from the water. We got soaked. And we had a blast. The Canadian side offers a similar boat tour aboard the Hornblower, but it looks like they pack a lot more people onto the boats.
On the Maid of the Mist
Into Horseshoe Falls
The Hornblower, the Canadian boat, was much more crowded
Hiking In Niagara Gorge
For a nature adventure that seemed far away from tourist attractions, we hiked the Devil’s Hole and Whirlpool Trail in the Niagara Gorge. The hike was only 4.7 miles, but with 1500 feet of elevation gain, including 415 rough-hewn steps down to the river and 415 steps back up, we got a good workout.
Our traveling buddies Beth and Perry met up with us for a couple of days in Niagara Falls. As always, we had a great time together. We met by happenstance swimming in a Florida spring several years ago, and have since met up on Lopez Island twice, in Big Bend National Park, in Nashville, in Cedar Key, and now in Niagara Falls. I love the random encounters we have that result in forever friendships.
Hiking along the Niagara River
Old Fort Niagara
Along with Beth and Perry, we biked from our campsites at Four Mile State Park to Old Fort Niagara, an easy 10-mile round trip ride.
Situated at the mouth of the Niagara River, Old Fort Niagara controlled access to the Great Lakes and therefore, the heart of the continent. Established in the late 1600s by the French, the fort changed hands several times (French/British/American) and played an important role in the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. Although I can get enough of military history pretty quickly, this is a really interesting fort with excellent reenactors and a beautiful location.
Niagara Power Vista
For a behind-the-scenes look at how water from the Niagara River is used to generate power (the Niagara Power Project is New York State’s biggest electricity producer), we spent a couple of hours at the Niagara Power Vista Visitor Center.
We watched Edison and Tesla argue over AC versus DC power, tried our hand at operating a power grid during a storm (big fail), and experimented with a Van de Graaff generator that made our hair stand on end. Best of all was the high-tech virtual reality ride of a water droplet, where we started life as a raindrop falling into the Niagara River and ended up zipping along high-tension power lines lighting up New York state. This place is totally cool, and it’s free.
Niagara Power Plant
Biking To Niagara-On-The-Lake
Everyone told us we had to visit picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake. When we discovered that we could bike the Niagara River Recreation Trail into town, we loaded up our bikes and crossed into Canada for an all-day adventure. We started at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens (free parking) and then followed the river for 10 miles through rolling vineyards into the cute little town.
The bike trail to Niagara-On-The-Lake
Lunch at Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club overlooking Lake Ontario (established in 1875, it’s North America’s oldest course); a walk through the Heritage District (the 1869 Niagara Apothecary, with retired pharmacists as docents, is fascinating); and a stop at Reif Estate Winery for a bit of wine tasting completed our Niagara-on-the-Lake adventure.
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Before leaving Canada, we enjoyed a tasty light dinner of mussels at quirky little Tide and Vine.
Tide and Vine
Back Across The Border
And then we headed back across the border, where we were subjected to what they called a “random search” by the U.S. guards. They had no reason to search our vehicle and admitted as such. The border guards were very polite, and they laughed when I told them I would much rather have won the lottery. But I do not like leaving our vehicle while they search it unattended. If they want to search, why can’t we be there to watch what they’re doing? And is this even legal?
It took less than 10 minutes, and honestly, I suspect we were chosen because the guards were thoroughly searching a couple of vehicles belonging to Muslim families while we were there. I think they don’t want to be accused of profiling. Just my guess. Crossing the border has become an anxiety-provoking experience for everyone; I can only imagine how terrible it must be for people of certain ethnic and religious groups.
Four Mile Creek State Park
The last time I was through that area I was 11…I remember Amish country and visiting Niagara Falls. Looks like both stops turned out to be very interesting despite the tourist aspect. Thanks for taking me back there decades later!
How fun that we could take you back to Niagara Falls, Lisa! Despite our initial reluctance, we’re really glad we went. The falls truly are spectacular, and we had a great time biking and exploring.
Great to hear from you and that Amish clothesline photo is just stunning❣️
Aww, I’m so happy to hear from you, Leah! We enjoyed our day exploring and photographing in Amish country. I always like those colorful laundry days. OX
So glad you enjoyed Niagara as much as we did, despite its “touristy” aspect! Haven’t been to Ohio yet, Geneva State Park looks lovely. Love any park with bike trails!
Reading blogs & discovering new places to go is helping us get through our temporary stationery endeavor.
Debbie, we had a wonderful time in Niagara (our first time in New York state with our trailer!), and we’ve also thoroughly enjoyed our stops in Ohio. I think you’ll like Geneva State Park, and also Maumee Bay SP and Hocking Hills SP (all in our blog). We send you our best wishes and hope that you guys will soon be back to your travels.
We just went to Niagara Falls, Canadian side, in July! I love it! We rode the Hornblower at 9am and there were very few people.
If you could, go back in January or big snow time. It’s so gorgeous to see those Falls with all the ice and snow.
Last fall we returned to the US from BC, a tiny town border crossing in WA. The Canadian side is always low key, but the US side made us go sit in a room, took our keys and went through our motor home. Unnerving. They left all the bins open and then shouted at us to get out of the way when my husband walked around checking and locking everything up. We’re only 24 feet long, it took so long, and they didn’t even look at our car.
This time I bought 12 Cuban cigars for my son in law and I’m already scared to tell them!!! Wah, I’m going to the principal’s office!!
Haha, Nancy, you are definitely going to the principal’s office, LOL! I’m always anxious when we’re crossing the border even when we don’t have any real reason to be nervous. I would NOT like them strip-searching our vehicle or our trailer. And to have them be rude on top of the experience? Not okay.
I would love to see Niagara Falls in the winter. It must be a fantastic sight with the ice and snow! I’m so glad you had fun even in the height of tourist season. A good reason to get out early in the day, right?
What a great tour of Niagara, Laurel! Did you know that the first suspension bridge across the river was started by flying a kite over it? Heavier and heavier lines were pulled across until they had a suspension footbridge built. That whole area fascinates me.
Thanks, Jim! We had a lot of fun in Niagara and were happily surprised to find so much biking and hiking. And no, I didn’t know about how they built the first suspension bridge—that’s a great story!
The Niagara Falls are stunning to behold if you can ignore the touristy stuff all around. It was our “go to” spot when we were teenagers and not much seems to have changed! Niagara on the lake was reserved for special occasions! Your description of the American city of Niagara Falls was kind. Dumpy it was and dumpy it remains.
We’ve had our vehicle searched before and always were uncomfortable leaving it. Maybe we read too many books….planting evidence and all that.
Sue, I had the same thought about how easy it would be for the border guards to plant something while they’re searching. It really seems unconstitutional that we’re not allowed to observe what they’re doing. At least they were polite. I hope they are to everyone.
We enjoyed Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake far more than we expected. It was easy to ignore the touristy stuff and just enjoy the beauty! I can only imagine how much fun you had there as teenagers. :-)
You definitely found some interesting places to visit. We were suprised how nice the falls and parks were. Doing touristy things can be a lot of fun.
Deb, we were very happy to find such terrific biking opportunities. Like you, we were surprised at how beautiful the falls and the parks are. The Maid of the Mist was the only real tourist activity we did, but we loved it!
So funny… I’ve been working on my post about Niagara Falls so it’s interesting to see the similarities and differences in our respective experiences. The amount of tourism is crazy, but we did appreciate the beauty and sheer power of those falls and we agree: the boat tour? So much fun! I love that you took advantage of the hiking opportunities in the area and your excursions to the fort and the power plant sound like nice ways to get away from the chaos of the falls.
Did you see Mona Liza’s post from today? Another story of a border crossing search… Ugh. To answer your question, yes, it’s all legal and yes, it’s terribly unnerving and violative. And you’re probably right – they want to avoid any claims of racial profiling so it may be that you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, or it may be that they have a policy of stopping every 10th car to search it or something like that. Either way, it is very uncomfortable… Luckily, your drug running days are behind you, so nothing to worry about. (insert eye roll here…)
Ha, yeah, believe me, when they see Oregon plates they always assume we’ve got a trunkful of marijuana. Just like for our Texas friends, they always assume they have guns. Such a crazy world we live in. Border crossings are anxiety-provoking even with nothing to hide, but it won’t stop us from crossing into Canada because we’ve loved our Canadian adventures.
I’m looking forward to your Niagara Falls post, Laura. I’m guessing that being there with family you might have done a few more of the tourist attractions—and then I’m going to be sorry we missed them! I’m betting you had a blast!
Sounds like you did an excellent job exploring that whole area. It’s funny we spent very little time exploring the states we lived or have family. Your photos of Niagara Falls are beautiful. We visited with the kids many years ago and more recently did a day trip with Dave and Sue while staying at the lake. We, too, ate lunch at Niagara-on-the- Lake Golf Club! Any hike that starts down and includes steps, doesn’t need to be long. The 400+steps coming back up is workout enough.
Pam, even though we’ve lived in Oregon for more than 20 years Eric and I have never been to Crater Lake together, LOL! So I know exactly what you mean about neglecting some of your home state’s attractions.
We were happily surprised by all there is to do in Niagara Falls (apart from the tourist attractions). How fun that you guys also had lunch at the golf club! Isn’t the view there spectacular? And our food was tasty, too. So glad you enjoyed our photos of the falls. We had a good time exploring both the American and Canadian sides.
Enjoy the Amazing Beauty of Letchworth. Give the rafting a try if you have time as it is an excellent way to see more of this Amazing place!!!
Thanks, Jim! We had a great time hiking all of the trails at Letchworth SP. There was so much water in the falls in June! Now I’m wishing we had rafted on the river. I guess that means we need to return. :-)
We had so much fun with you guys as we always do. You always find great places to explore and eat. We appreciate you 2. Thanks for posting the picture of Perry and Eric – it’s one of my favorites.
Love and hugs from beth and perry
Beth, we always have so much fun with you guys and are grateful for all of the wonderful adventures we’ve shared. What a gift that we met that afternoon swimming in the Florida springs a few years ago. We’re already looking forward to our next time together, wherever that may be!
I’ll send you a copy of that photo of Perry and Eric on the trail. Hugs to you both!
We had a wonderful time at Niagara Falls at daytime and nighttime. We rode our bikes to the falls since KOA Park was just close by. And we did the boat ride too, so much fun. We also hiked the gorge, had a great time at Niagara by the lake and walked to the Canadian side.
It always brings back fond memories when friends revisited those beautiful places and spectacular falls.
Ha ha ha so you were searched too! Well, at least it was not your rig that was stripped search, you and Eric would have been aggravated as we did. I don’t even want to think about our crossing in a few weeks for its the coming back to our country that is tougher.
MonaLiza, it sounds as though we did many of the same things when we were at Niagara (doesn’t surprise me, since we enjoy so many of the same activities!).
Too bad we also share the experience of getting searched at the border. :-( Your experience getting the complete strip-search of your rig sounds absolutely awful. I hope you’re having many wonderful spirit-soothing adventures on Vancouver Island, and that your re-entry into the U.S. in a few weeks will be easier.
Not sure where you are in your travels, but Doug’s Fish Fry in Skaneateles is legendary. And Skaneateles is a beautiful little village by the lake. So glad you went to the power plant in Niagara Falls. We found it fascinating!
Janie, we’re currently in the Maritimes (on Prince Edward Island). Our Finger Lakes adventures were in June. We loved it! We will definitely check out Skaneateles next time we’re in the area.
And yes, the Niagara Power Vista Visitor Center was terrific!
Great post! I love the Laundry Day image.
Thanks, Susan! Laundry day can be so picturesque. I hope you’re doing well. Sending hugs!
I so loved the colorful clotheslines on the Amish farms – your pic is lovely.
We too stopped at Niagara Falls because it was on the way – and were equally impressed with the natural beauty. Couldn’t squeeze into that sardine can boat to ride under the falls though. Can’t understand how a city with so much tourist money is such a blighted community. Four Mile Creek makes a great stop to enjoy the prettier area.
Ha, I know you don’t like anything claustrophobic, Jodee. But the ride on the Maid of the Mist wasn’t crowded at all when we went. I would not have enjoyed the Hornblower, though.
Eric and I were also wondering why the city of Niagara Falls is such a dump when there is obviously so much tourist money coming into the area. We loved our stay at pretty Four Mile Creek State Park. It was a great home base for exploring the area.
It looks like all of our friends have done the boat tour at Niagara, which is good because now we don’t have to — ha! I visited the falls on a family vacation as a kid, but TBG never has. The picture of the overloaded Canadian boat — yikes!!
I don’t ever plan to live in Ohio again, but your pictures remind me that it isn’t such a bad place to visit at all. Having so many friends in the eastern US right now is making me really look forward to our travels next year.
Sorry for your random search. I think it was just that (which accounts for them affirming they had no outward reason to search you in particular.) Still a hassle, though :(
Joodie, I think you would have a blast on the Maid of the Mist (as long as it wasn’t a crowded tour). We tend to be allergic to “tourist attractions” but this was so much fun, and didn’t feel touristy at all. It was an adventure that we couldn’t experience any other way, since we weren’t interested in launching our kayak into the falls, LOL.
As far as Ohio, we’ve been happily surprised at how much the state has to offer. Pretty countryside, waterfalls and hiking (at Hocking Hills), biking, extraordinary birding, and even great little breweries! And beautiful state parks. But you already know all of this. :-)
What a wonderful tour of Niagra Falls, so glad you did the boat tour in the falls. It was interesting seeing the laundry day hangout…quite a lot of clothes.
Niagara gorge looked like an awesome place to hike and enjoy as well as very peaceful. Thank for sharing some really neat places you experienced.
Glad you enjoyed our Niagara adventures, Geri. We found much more than we expected, and our five days flew by! Hiking in the gorge isn’t something that many people seem to do, but it’s a fun hike.
Hope you two are doing well. I’m imagining you’ll soon be traveling again!
Just making sure that you reviewed Canadian biking-under-the-influence rules before spending an entire day eating, drinking, and biking….. I am sure the Mounties would live up to their reputation for niceness if you overindulged. :-)
Between the cool science at the power center, the historic fort, and the justifiably world-famous falls, this area really has a lot going for it. So glad you didn’t let the fear of tourist traps keep you away!
Shannon, I didn’t even THINK about biking-under-the-influence laws, LOL! I lose all motivation after a glass of wine or a beer, so I naturally limit my alcohol intake. It was a lot of fun to bike through the Niagara wine country and do a ‘little’ tasting.
The Niagara area really does have a lot going for it, as you said. We enjoyed everything we did, and nothing we did felt ‘touristy,’ even the Maid of the Mist tour. That seemed more historic (and it was just plain fun). I think you guys would enjoy Niagara if you haven’t been.
First…beautiful photos and another reminder that the East Coast is still on our bucket list. So much to see and do! Darn our western states…they are like a magnet and keep on “materializing” new sights and adventures. But now that we are traveling full time once again, east of the Rockies is definitely on the radar. Your Arctic Fox is a fond reminder of our own AF 25P that we owned 3 years ago. We loved the rig…but we were new to towing and went back to motorized motorhomes.
Imkelina, I understand exactly what you mean about the allure of the western states. Eric and I still have a long list of things we want to do out west, but we’re so happy we are finally exploring the eastern part of the country. There is so much beauty everywhere! And it’s so different from the west.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos. We hope to meet up with you two somewhere on the road! It’s so interesting that you used to have the same Arctic Fox that we have. It’s a sweet little rig. :-)