teachermom2834 Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 (edited) Tips for a day visit to Niagara Falls? Funny to be asking because dh and I grew up in the area and are going to visit my MIL that lives maybe 20 minutes away. But it’s been a very long time since we have been (25 years) and growing up we always went to the Canadian side. We don’t have passports and it is a last minute quick trip so we will be staying on the American side. I do not believe I have ever visited the American side and obviously things change over decades. It will be dh, 13 yo dd, and me. Dh and dd are interested in possibly doing the Maid of the Mist but I would sit that out. Looks stressful to me. Haha. Dh saw a walking tour- Cave of the Winds or something like that. That looked possibly fun but I’d love to hear from someone who has done it. Any other tips for a fun and memorable day? We are happy to do slow paced exploring on our own kind of thing but we are open to the attractions too. Don’t mind lots of walking. In fact, we would actually prefer lots of walking after a twelve hour drive the day before. We are usually highly frugal tourists but this is the one thing we are doing on this trip and it is only three of us and we are willing to pay for memorable or fun experiences. Any tips welcome! Edited October 10, 2021 by teachermom2834 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheryl Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Well, DH and I have been to NF/US side but it's been years. It's nice. I will say DH, DD and I went to NF/Canadian side and it is much prettier! With that said, the 3 of us took the Maid of the Mist Canadian side about 10 years ago. It was fun and all went well. I'm sure the touristy places have changed at NF/US side since DH and I visited there years ago (just the 2 of us). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lulubelle Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 I went this summer with my dd14 and my sister. We did both of the things you mentioned and loved every second of each! That’s really all we did. Mostly just walking around the park is an option. We did go to the tiny aquarium close by, which was okay. After, we stayed near Chautauqua and my sister and I went to the Lucille Ball museum and loved it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 I went to NF, Ontario last November after 30 years seeing it last. I was surprised at how far the American falls had retreated into the rock. That was kind of neat to see. The Maid of the Mist wasn't open due to Covid, but that was lock-down time in Ontario. The falls at night are gorgeous, if you have time to stay until nightfall. It gets dark pretty early now - around 7:30pm. Enjoy your trip! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabercro Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 We were there this summer and really enjoyed it. Maid of the Mist is definitely worth it, and I might not totally rule it out for yourself - there are places on the bottom level where you can stand and stay totally dry and get a very mild experience. Cave of the Winds was also really fun. You can choose how close you get to the falls if you want a less intense experience. But you're going to get sprayed pretty much the entire time, so if that's not your thing you may want to skip that part. There was a cool museum/movie before it though. The visitor center also had a film (which we didn't pay for). Definitely walk out to Terrapin Point. Definitely skip the aquarium. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Do NOT go on the weekend of July 4. It was so hot and so unbelievably crowded. We were utterly miserable. Of course, that whole trip was one comedy of errors. You definitely want to do something like a Maid of the Mist tour. But yeah, not a peak tourist weekend. Shudder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Cave of the Winds is a must-do in my opinion. The water is sooooo intense, and you're not even under the middle of it. Definitely unforgettable! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 We are going next week. So definitely not busy summer holiday. Cave of the Winds sounds great- and I guess we should plan on being wet a lot. Which is fine- but the kind of thing I like to plan for 🙂 I’m embarrassed to be afraid of the Maid of the Mist. Obviously lots of people have survived over the years.Lol. I do find myself getting skittish in my older age. I wouldn’t have had a hesitation ten years ago and now I’m thinking I’d enjoy taking a nice walk while they do it (all the while praying they don’t die on the Maid of the Mist). It’s weird the things I find myself getting nervous about. I’m not so terrified that I absolutely wouldn’t go. I just think it possible I would get uncomfortable enough to kind of put a damper on the experience for dh and dd. I’m leaving the door open on it but have mentioned to the others that I might prefer to get some steps in while they do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Update- Today was our visit. We loved it. Did both the Cave of the Winds and Maid of the Mist and both exceeded expectations. Wonderful day. There were no crowds. We got right on both attractions and easily navigated all the points we wanted to walk to and got great pictures. The Cave and Maid are getting ready to shut down for the winter so we were just in time and we would plan future visits for the same time of year. Thanks for all the encouragement to do both attractions. Extremely memorable and well worth it! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eos Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Late to the thread but I have a funny story about visiting Niagara: when I was driving dd to Ohio for college visits we decided to just zip off the highway to go see it. I was truly shocked as we rolled up. In my mind's eye it was a gorgeous falls in pristine wilderness, Sam Patch lining up his last jump kind of place...I had no idea. It was like we were on a different planet, one with a Hard Rock Cafe where the mountain lions and Sam Patch were supposed to be. I couldn't understand why all the power lines were getting larger as we approached. Oh dear, another bumpkin moment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasProud Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Glad you had a good time. We went there for our 25th anniversary many years ago. We also went on the Canada side. I must say, Canadians, you do a MUCH better job of taking care of your parks. Plus they were staffed with young people. So much living history to enjoy. It was wonderful. I also loved learning the true story of the War of 1812. I know you couldn't because of Covid, but I love the Canadian side much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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