Niagara Falls Part I: Checking out the Falls
Youngstown, NY - Events of Thursday, July 11 to Friday, July 12, 2013
We were up fairly on Thursday morning anxious to get to see Niagara Falls. Margery has never seen the falls in person, and Paul hasn't been to the falls since he was a kid.
Niagara Falls is the name given to a group of three waterfalls on the Niagara River between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Horseshoe Falls is in Canada and is the largest at about 2,600' wide. The other two falls, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, are both in the United States. The American Falls is the second largest with a width of 1,060', and Bridal Veil is the smallest at a width of less than 50'. At an average drop of about 165', the falls aren't that tall; but the combined falls have the highest flow of any falls in the world with an average of about 30 million gallons per minute.
We decided to first check out Niagara Falls from the New York side. When Paul went to Niagara Falls as a kid with his parents, they always went to the Canadian side, so exploring the American side was something that was new to both of us.
Niagara Falls State Park encompasses the area on the American side of the river in the area of the falls from Rainbow Bridge (the main bridge to Canada) to the edge of Horseshoe Falls. There are are four parking areas in the state park - two on the mainland and two on Goat Island. Goat Island is a relatively large island that separates the American Falls from Horseshoe Falls. Parking is $10 at each lot. We were pleased to learn that parking fees are waived for guests who are staying at 4 Mile Creek or any other area state park.
If you aren't staying at a New Your State Park and don't get free parking, an alternative to parking at one lot and walking long distances or moving your car from lot to lot and paying $10 each time is to take the motorized "trolley." The trolley travels all around the state park and only costs $2 per person good for all day and for unlimited off and on privileges.
We decided to park on Goat Island and walk across the pedestrian bridge to the information center over on the mainland. Along the bridge, we caught our first glimpse of the brink of the American Falls with a rainbow glowing in the mist being generated by the falls.
Brink of the American Falls from the pedestrian bridge upstream
Once on the mainland, we took the long way to the visitor center so we could see more of the falls.
American Falls with part of Horseshoe Falls and Canada in the distance
The flow and force of the water are extraordinary, especially from such close proximity.
American Falls
We weren't very impressed by the visitor center. We were expecting some displays about the geology and facts about the falls. Apparantly those displays are at the Niagara Gorge Discovery Center where we didn't go. All they have at the visitor center is an information desk upstairs and a gift shop downstairs. We did, however, like the pleasant garden area adjacent to the visitor center.
Margery in the garden near the visitor center
From the visitor center, we headed back across the pedestrian bridge to Goat Island. The island gets its name from goats that were kept there in the late 1700s by an early pioneer by the name of John Stedman.
As we said, Bridal Veil Falls is a small waterfall that lies off to the side of the American Falls. It is separated from the American Falls by Luna Island, and you can get onto Luna Island from Goat Island by means of a foot bridge. As we approached the bridge, we could see an Amish family on their way to Luna Island.
Amish family on the bridge to Luna Island
View of the brink of Bridal Veil Falls from the bridge to Luna Island
When on Luna Island you're completely surrounded on both sides by waterfalls - the American Falls on one side...
American Falls from Luna Island
...and Bridal Veil Falls on the other.
Bridal Veil Falls from Luna Island
You are behind the safety of a railing, but you are only a few feet from the flow of the water. You can watch the water crash onto the rocks below.
Water crashing onto the rocks below the American Falls
From Luna Island, we continued along the walkway toward Terrapin Point, which is at the U.S. edge of Horseshoe Falls. Along the way, we got more views of the American Falls.
Another view of the American Falls
Most of the flow of the Niagara River goes over Horseshoe Falls. The force of the water flow is evidenced by the large plume of mist.
Terrapin Point and Horseshoe Falls
As with the American Falls, you can stand very close to the water flow. The Canadian border is somewhere out in the falls close to the left edge of the photo below. The exact location is open to debate because the edge of the falls keeps changing due to erosion.
Horseshoe Falls
The islands provide great views of the rapids just upstream of Horseshoe Falls. In recent years, the islands have increased in size because of the amount of water that is being diverted upstream for hydroelectric power.
The channel between Goat Island and the first of the Three Sisters is fairly small and contains only a few small cascades.
Water channel between Goat Island and the first of the Three Sisters
The channel between the first and second of the Three Sisters has much more flow. The cascades and waterfalls in this channel would be considered a relatively major attraction in their own right if they weren't overshadowed by the majesty of Niagara Falls.
Cascades and waterfalls between the second and third island
From the third island, you can get a spectacular view of the rushing rapids just before the river crashes over Horseshoe Falls.
Thundering rapids in the Niagara River upstream of Horseshoe Falls
From the American side of Niagara Falls, you get an up close and personal experience of the falls. From the Canadian side, you get a better frontal view of the falls. Our exploration of Niagara Falls wouldn't be complete without seeing it from the Canadian side, so we headed to Canada on Friday.
Parking in the area of the falls on the Canadian side is $20, but we lucked out and found metered parking along the driveway to the Niagara Parks Police Station right across from the American Falls. It is also expensive at $5 for 30 minutes, but it is very conveniently located, and 30 minutes was enough time because we only wanted to catch a quick look at the falls.
American Falls with Bridal Veil Falls off to the right from the Canadian side
Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side
Panorama of Niagara Falls
We'll have more about our the rest of our excursion into Canada in our next post.
In the meantime, our RVing friends, Janice and Dave, whom we met through our respective blogs, were also staying at 4 Mile Creek State Park. They stopped by our site briefly on Wednesday while we were setting up to say hello. Thursday was their last day in the area, so we texted them shortly after we got back from our sightseeing to see if they wanted to meet for an early dinner when they were done with their sightseeing.
Margery found La Galera Mexican Restaurant that got good reviews online, so we made arrangements to meet there. There was a little confusion because we thought it was downtown, but it was actually to the east of Niagara Falls. Janice and Dave got there a little earlier than they thought they would, and we got there a little later; but we eventually got together.
La Galera
Dinners range in price from about $8 to $14. We had a dinner combo that included a beef burrito, a chili relleno and a cheese quesadilla. Our dinners were great, as was the company. We talked about our respective plans for the remainder of the summer, and got some tips on things to see in the Niagara Falls area.
Margery, Paul, Dave and Janice
After dinner, we stopped at Janice and Dave's new-to-them motor home for a little while, then we said our good byes and headed back to our own rig for an evening of TV. As we said, we went over to Canada to see the falls the following day. We'll tell you what else we did there in our next post.
Oh goodness...your photos are gorgeous!!! Looks like you had a beautiful day.
We haven't been to NF for years. We actually thought we might make it up there this summer but not to be. Hopefully next summer.
We were suppose to meet up with Janice and Dave in Houston but they had BIG truck problems. This is just before they bought the MH. From the blog, they seem like really nice people. Glad you got to spend a few hours catching up.
Posted by: Marsha Weaver | July 15, 2013 at 08:25 PM