Niagara Falls

My other scenic visit was to Niagara Falls. I had no idea when I got to Barrie that they were anywhere nearby, but when I saw them on a map, I knew I would be kicking myself if didn’t manage to visit them while here.

Like many I just knew Niagara Falls were pretty big, and stupid people go over them in barrels. I didn’t know there are in fact three sets of falls, and that the falls are on the US – Canada boundary. Each side has a city called Niagara Falls – one in Ontario and one in New York.

These are the American Falls, viewed from Goat Island. In summer one can get down even closer to the top, but I think they worry in winter people may slip in!

These falls carry around 10% of the almost 2.5 million litres of water a second that flows over the falls.

You can take an elevator down to the Cave of the Winds near the base of the American and Bridal Veil Falls. It’s pretty easy to work out these are not the falls you try and ride a barrel down. In fact no-one has ever survived going down these falls.

This is just me in line to cross into the USA. Only took a few minutes.

I really must come back in summer at some stage but I do like the snow cover on everything. It also made the falls look spectacular with the ice.

One does feel sorry for this poor guy though.

Me at the base of the American Falls. It was biting cold and fairly wet.

These are the larger Horseshoe Falls, take again from Goat Island. It was too dark to get a good photo from the Canadian side by the time I got back there.

One can also on the Canadian side go down to near the base of the Horseshoe Falls. The photo is crap, but does give an idea of the lights behind the falls in the evening. They do make for a stunning view in person and I recommend anyone else going there to stay on for the evening.