Travel - Visiting Canada's Spectacular Niagara Falls

With almost 7.4 million gallons of water going over Niagara Falls per second, it is one of the world's most amazing natural wonders. It is made up of three distinct waterfalls, Horseshoe Falls, the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls. These aren't the tallest falls in the world, but the speed and volume of water set them apart. My wife and I recently visited Ontario and stopped on the Canadian side to see the Falls.

If you are visiting the Canadian side you will want to park in the large lots past the Welcome center. Parking was $20 USD and slightly more in CAD and there was plenty of it. It was only a short walk from the parking lot to the top of Horseshoe Falls.

As you approach the top of Horseshoe Falls, the roar of the Falls is very loud and it will feel like it is raining because of the mist. The farther you walk down the path, the more spectacular your view becomes.

A short way down the path, you get a view of the American and Bridal Veil Falls across the river on the U.S. side, but you should keep going all the way down to the zip line launch building to get the best view of all three Falls in one picture.

That is correct, I did say zip line. For a fee you can zip line from the top of the cliff down to the river. You can also pay to take an elevator down to the river to walk behind the Falls or visit one of the viewing platforms along the river. From down at the river, you can also take a boat ride to view the Falls from up close, but be prepared to get wet. The boats actually provide matching rain gear for everyone on board.

Make sure before you go that you check to see which attractions are open that day because they are closed some days. Several were closed on the day we were there and I think that actually kept the crowds down. We went on a Monday, but we've heard from others that on weekends, it is so crowded that it is hard to walk around. If you are trying to decide whether to visit on the American or Canadian side, as you can see in the pictures, the Canadian side has better views.