A couple hours in Niagara Falls

At the beginning of August, my son and I went on a 2 week road trip, mostly through the United States. However, we did take a couple days to travel through Ontario. We visited a lavender farm and spent a day in Toronto. On our way back to the States, we stopped at Niagara Falls. I had never seen it from either side, so I was excited. I had heard that it was a beautiful, magical, and quite crowded place.

So, I did my research. Here’s the #1 thing to know about Niagara Falls. It’s a super touristy area. There are actually quite a few things to do in this area. Some have to do with the falls, and some don’t. There are so many different ways for you to see the falls.

You can park and walk along the road to view them. This is definitely the cheapest way to do it. And we did see them from here. But be forewarned, parking is NOT cheap! I think it cost us around $25-$30. And it costs the same whether you’re spending 30 minutes or the whole day there. At times, there can also be quite the line just to get into the parking lot. However, there is a nice overpass walking area to get to the Table Rock Welcome Centre. There are bathrooms and a gift shop here. Take the escalator downstairs and walk outside. You are right at the top of the falls! And it’s beautiful. It is definitely crowded, but we were able to find multiple places to stop and look at the falls.

The first place we went was actually the Skylon Tower. I figured we only had time to do one thing while we were in town so I chose this. You do have to pay for parking (about $15, I believe) and then admission (which was about $27 for my son and myself). You have to wait in a line to get to the elevator and in this line, they have a spot where they will take your picture in front of a green screen. You can then look at these pictures on your way out of the building when you’re done. When we got there, we were one of the first people in the building when it opened so there wasn’t a very large line for the elevator. However, when we left, it looked pretty long. So just as a warning, you may have to wait for a bit to get on the elevator to the observation deck if you don’t get there right when they open.

The views from the observation deck are amazing. The only downside is the bars that prevent you from getting an amazing picture with people in it. If you put your phone or camera right up against the chain-link wall, you can get amazing photos of the view, though. There is also a souvenir shop up here, inside by the observation deck.

Owen’s Notes: “Oh my gosh. It was the best waterfall I have ever seen. If I could, I would go there a gazillion more times! I thought the falls were beautiful. I loved Niagara Falls!”

The other options we thought about were taking the boat up close to the falls or taking the elevator down to go behind the falls, but in the end, I thought the Skylon would be best for our budget and time constraints. We had a great time at Niagara Falls, and I definitely recommend it as something you need to see in your lifetime.