Getting Wet At Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is still the Honeymoon capital of the world. It can be very romantic huddling in rain coats feeling the spray of falling water. My husband and I were among the many couples getting wet at Niagara Falls.

My last post was on the newer trends in wedding wear (read it here)  so keeping with that wedding theme, I’ve decided to report on my own anniversary trip.

Thirty years ago, my newly wedding husband and I drove to Niagara Falls for our week-long honeymoon.

Niagara Falls has always fascinated me, even as a child. I could watch that water go over any one of the three falls for hours. Such power, such force – it’s mesmerizing.

Apparently, many people feel as I do about the lure of the water. Fifteen people have ‘taken the plunge’ over the falls, most have survived but a few have not. The first, and most famous, dare-devil was Annie Taylor; a 63-year old school teacher. She went over the falls in a barrel of her own design. You can learn more about Annie and the others at NiagaraParks.com.

A little over two weeks ago, my husband and I drove back up to Niagara Falls, this time with our camper, for our anniversary trip.  We stayed at Four Mile Creek State Park (on the US side), just 15 minutes north of the falls, right on Lake Ontario.

My husband in Lake Ontario

It’s a really nice campground with spacious sites, camp store, playground and premium lake sites. We stayed for four days and it rained three of them 😦  Luckily only one of the days, the day we arrived, was a total washout.  Good thing we took a couple of movies along.

There are so many things to do in Niagara Falls, New York. Here are some of the things we did:

Hiking & photo opportunities

Devil’s Hole State Park (north of the falls off Robert Moses Parkway) overlooks the Niagara River gorge and rapids. There is hiking trails, scenic overlooks, a stone staircase and picnic facilities.

Stone staircase on hiking trail

Whirlpool State Park (north of the falls off Robert Moses Parkway) overlooks the whirlpool in the Niagara River and has two levels. The upper (street) level has scenic overlooks, picnic facilities, playground and a tour guide. The lower (river) level is reached by the hiking trails and a staircase. At this park you can watch the cable car line above the rapids on the Canadian side of Niagara River.

Look closely and you can see the red cable car.

Aquarium of Niagara

I love the aquarium (701 Whirlpool Street – aquariumofniagara.org). It is home to over 1,500 aquatic animals ranging from our Great Lakes ecosystem all the way to coral reef ecosystems. There were sharks, penguins, sea horses, sturgeons and my personal favorite, lion fishes. They have sea-lion shows several times a day and even a magic show.

Lion Fish

The Falls

Me at Niagara Falls

The observation tower includes the elevator for the Maid of the Mist boat ride. This observation tower has a 230 foot overlook to both the American and Horseshoe Falls.

View from the observation tower of both falls

Looking down to the Maid of the Mist boat ride – you get very wet!

Goat Island is the island between the American and the Horseshoe Falls. It has a trolley system, picnic areas, Cave of the Winds tour, Top of the Falls Restaurant and plenty of viewing of the magnificent falls.

Eating at the Top of the Falls Restaurant

Great food and views from the deck – they even had vegetarian dish items 🙂

Cave of the Winds tour – you get very wet!

Close up to the American Falls

You can see the Observation Deck in the background

This is about 50 feet back from the Falls – rapids & mini waterfalls

Even though one day was only 57 degrees and we had to dodge a lot of rain drops, we had a great time. Can’t get enough of Niagara Falls!

I’d love to hear about your experience at the falls, especially if you got married or honeymooned there. What was your favorite activity?