Question on Niagara Falls

Giving your thread a bump, Slappy. It's been years since I was last in the falls. What are your main interests? The casino? Clifton Hill and its wax museums? Winery tours? Theatre?

and isn't there some river or something up there?

Joe(anything North of the Bronx is Terra Incognita)Nation

I'd forgotten that people still go to the falls to, you know, see the falls.

(Best seen from the Canadian side.)

I heard there is. That's pretty much the main interest.

What is it, about four hundred miles from Boston? We thought about going up there from the City (the puke from New York now thinks New York is the City.) but it was turning out to be at least a three if not four day affair so we headed for the Jersey Shore.


Have fun.
Joe(different kind of water)Nation

I think Mapquest had it as a 6.5 hour drive to the NY side, and 7.5 to the ON side? So 400 miles sounds about right. I don't mind driving that long, as I'm doing about 3500-4,000 miles every month for work(that's a lot of gas, tree huggers!).

I was in Niagara Falls about 10 days ago. We did an evening stroll on the US side which gives you a spectacular view of the lights on the Cdn side. There is a parking lot right by the falls and metered parking on the street.

We stayed at the Brock Plaza some years ago. Location is great and the
casino is right there. (Won $200.00 on the slot machines but my winning streak seems to have ended!) Book ahead because it is difficult to find last minute accomodation, especially on a summer weekend.

The Maid of the Mist tour on boats going right up to the falls is spectacular. Cdn side has fabulous walks right along the falls with places to stop for refreshments. Cdn side is more built up than the US and has Clifton Hill, restaurants and many more places to stay. American side has some beautiful nature walks by the water and through the parks. Outlet
shopping on both sides!!

Wineries also worth a visit, as is Niagara-on-the Lake.

I hope that you have some companion so that your "dunking" may not just include the falls.


I did a lot of work up there, its kind of a grimy town with chemical plants all over. "I remebre "Beef on Weck"-its a food group.

Got a place in Niagara, Ontario pretty cheap from hotwire.

Thanks for the input so far...more is welcome as we don't really have a gameplan.

Is it planned as a guys' weekend or more of a date weekend?

There is simply so much to do in the region (admittedly much more on the Canadian side) - but a guys adventure would likely feature a few different interests.

casinos v wineries

that sorta thing

Going with the woman. Only staying 2 nights, so not going to do a ton. Driving up Friday morning and most likely coming back Sunday.

Fireworks and Illuminations and Friday Night free concerts at the Falls

The illuminations really are great.

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Maid of the Mist - some women at work just did a long weekend at the Falls - said the Maid trip is still one of the best things happening - more fun than they'd remembered/expected.

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Since it's a big long weekend, there should be a lot of good public stuff in Niagara Falls, but if you run out of things to do, head down the road to Niagara on the Lake (too bad you don't have time to hit the wineries - they put on pretty good tours/shows and a few have world-class 5* restos).

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ooh - don't forget to go Behind the Falls

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If the lady likes speed ... Wet Jet Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours

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If she's a nature buff, the Butterfly Observatory is very cool - and this is a good time of the year to visit - as the Monarchs have huge roosts around the province this year, and they're starting to gather.

You can see the actual barrels which daredevils took over the Falls at the Imax Gallery on the Cdn side.Pretty fascinating history, though the movie seemed rather dated to me.

Don't forget to check for bedbugs.

Thanks for the links.

My girlfriend asked me if people really did take barrells over...I thought she was crazy for believing that.

I don't know if they allow the barrels anymore... and also some guy tightroped across it years ago, perhaps on a cycle. Nutjob, IMO. I believe he did it several times, or maybe it was several nutjobs?

Be prepared for tacky, tacky, tacky ... I thought I was in the States (as in Vegas, no offense to the Americans)... all the tacky took away from the Falls, for me.

But if you like the carnival atmosphere, you'll love it.

Have fun!

That's the difference between the 'casino' aspect of the Falls area, and the 'wineries' aspect. It's kinda like two small cities stuck together down there.

You can go to the casinos and clubs, check out the strippers and that sorta thing - or you can go the Niagara Parks department route and have an entirely different experience.

I never got to the good part; next time I'll make sure to check it out. Thanks for the info.

Next time?

Next time you need to let the southern Ontario A2K'rs know you're on the way