Thursday, September 25th ~ Niagara Falls, NY and Canada
Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls State Park is the oldest state park in the U.S.A., established in 1885. The park was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted who was the landscape architect for Central Park in New York City.
Here are a few facts about the falls that I found at http://www.niagarafallsstatepark.com:
- 3,160 tons of water flows over Niagara Falls every second. This accounts for 75,750 gallons of water per second over the American and Bridal Veil Falls and 681,750 gallons per second over the Horseshoe Falls.
- Four of the five Great Lakes drain into the Niagara River, (Superior, Michigan, Huron and Erie) before emptying into Lake Ontario. These five Great Lakes make up almost one-fifth of the world’s fresh water supply
- Over 12,000 years ago, Niagara Falls extended seven miles down river to what is now Lewiston, New York and Queenston, Ontario. Over the years, the brink has eroded, sometimes as much as six feet per year, to its present site.
- Niagara Falls State Park stretches over 400 acres, with close to 140 acres of that under water.
Upstate New York
Back in 1991 Tim and I took two months off to drive around the USA. He had just left his job as Director of Service for Budget Rent-a-car and we were planning on starting our own business.
We knew that once we started the business we would be working long, long hours, so this was kind of a last hurrah for us before putting our noses to the grind stone so to speak. On that journey we came to Niagara Falls, so this was a return visit for us.
The weather was perfect today – sunny and in the 70’s.
Map of Niagara Falls State Park
Located in upstate New York, just north of Buffalo, Niagara Falls sits right on the border of the USA and Canada. Parking is not cheap – $10 for the day.
Observation Tower
First stop was the Observation Platform which gives a wonderful view of American Falls. We paid $1 per person to walk out on the platform and to take the elevator down to water level afterwards for a different view.
American Falls from the Observation Tower
Tim and Joanne at Niagara Falls
Walking down below to Prospect Point…
Walkway to Prospect Point
Next we walked out to Goat Island. There was a brilliant rainbow, and beyond that is Rainbow Bridge which connects the US side on the right with Canada on the left. You can either drive or walk across the bridge.
Gus taking a look
And then checked out the view of Horseshoe Falls from Terrapin Point
Terrapin Point
Straw hat with red ribbon
Rainbow and rocks
There are different views from the Canada side, so we grabbed our passports out of the car and walked across the Rainbow Bridge to the Canadian side to take a look.
From the bridge – On the border of USA and Canada
International Boundary Line
The mist is rising and sun reflecting off the water
And here are some shots taken from the Canada side of the river:
You can see both of the falls from the Canada side
Joanne and Tim
American Falls with Maid of the Mist
Fountain with falls in the background
What a great place to stay for views of the falls
We spent about 5 hours here and had an amazing day! But then it was time to get back in the car and continue on. We headed down through Pennsylvania and into Ohio for the night.
Sunset
Gratitude Moment: Today I am grateful for having one of those perfect days where everything just topped the scale. Brilliant blue skies, warm and sunny, breathtaking views in every direction and sharing it with the love of my life. It doesn’t get much better than this!
A Note From Abroad 
I grew up near Niagara Falls. Such a wonderful place – glad you got to see it from both sides. Once in the 1970s while attending Buffalo State Un., we went to the US park at night, and crossed to Goat Island. There were no fences or restrictions, and we went to the edge of the falls, and you could only hear the thunder, but not see the bottom. It was a magical experience.
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Wow, that sounds like a truly memorable opportunity to be that close to the falls at night.
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Niagara is on my bucket list! Thanks for posting!
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Lovely images. We have been meaning to visit Niagara falls, but heard that it was a little over developed/commercialised. By the looks of it, the majestic waterfall holds its own!
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I thoroughly loved my day at Niagara Falls. I do think that the area on the Canada side is much nicer though. The falls themselves are well worth the trip.
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Thank you for recently visiting my blog site. I have looked at your photos too of your trips and they are all beautiful. My husband and I have taken two great trips to the New England states and New Hampshire was a favorite one and very beautiful as was Vermont in the autumn when we went and we got some great pictures too on that trip and also good pictures of Niagara Falls while on that trip. I love all the history there in the New England area with the old homes, churches, and sights.
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Thank you Joyce. I think that is one of the most photogenic parts of our beautiful country. I’m glad that your trip was a big success as well.
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Thank you for resurrecting some wonderful memories. My Canadian wife and I honeymooned on the Canadian side. We found a vacation rental house in a lovely neighbourhood within walking distance of the Falls. Other than a day trip we were on foot our entire visit.
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Thanks for visiting our blog and liking one of our African posts. We lived about 90 miles west of Niagara Falls for many years before moving to Missouri
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I’m starting to do a little research on Africa. We are planning a South Africa trip in January. I think the photo ops will be amazing.
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Nice pictures
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Thank you very much!
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Oh Joanne, your photos are mesmerizing! I’ve gone back several times to really look at each one. They are beautiful and captivating!
I giggled at Gus!!! So darn cute!!!
I really appreciate all the information shared.
I love that you had a beautiful sunny day to take it all in.
Thanks for sharing with us.
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