Through the Mist (Niagara Falls)

Member Name: michaelhudson

Product:	Niagara Falls
Date:	21/12/02 (1149 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: One of the wonder's of the world, Close to Toronto

Disadvantages: Tacky, Over developed

Seen by more than eighteen million visitors every year, Niagara Falls crash and tumble their way between two unremarkable, tacky border towns blessed with a pair of the world’s greatest natural wonders.

ORIENTATION

Niagara Parkway runs parallel to the river on the Canadian side, passing Dufferin Islands before it crosses the Welland River and runs past Table Rock and the Falls up to Queenston Heights and Niagara-on-the-Lake. Murray Street branches off at Queen Victoria Park, cutting in front of the Skylon Tower before intersecting Fallsview and Main as it runs north. Closer to Rainbow Bridge, Clifton Hill banks up to Victoria Avenue, which swings right towards Niagara Helicopters and left towards Lundy’s Lane.
People Movers ($5.50 Adults; $2.75 Children for day passes) run along the Parkway from the Rapids’ View terminus beside Dufferin Islands to the Queenston Heights Park 11 kilometres downriver dropping off at all the major sights between.

THE FALLS

Split by the barren stretch of rock and cloudy white trees known as Goat Island, the two Falls combine to produce an exhilarating sense of breathless reverence. The American Falls, 56 metres high and 328 metres wide, crash over the soft shale and limestone rocks, jagged, white jets dropping vertically onto the dark, brooding rows of angular shapes below. Seventy five thousand gallons of water jump down the slope each second, splitting into dozens of little channels between the black rocks and finally hitting the river in a series of racing surges beneath the foam. To the right, the Horseshoe Falls, 52 metres high and 675 metres wide, a curving cascade of descending thunder that magically appears either side of the mist. Gushing torrents of light green and white froth topple from the crest, occasionally spurting and spitting out and up towards the lone birds that float in and out of the billowing curtain of mist as it rises to join the clouds. Water upon water
upon water hits the huge rocks below, mere stationary specks amidst the watery barrage. White snakes zigzag between the two, meandering through the emerald green swell as it flows under Rainbow Bridge, which arches about as gracefully as concrete can between overdeveloped Ontario and boarded up New York.

On the observation platform at Table Rock tourists feed 50 cent coins into viewfinders next to smiling groups that crowd in front of an endless procession of cameras and camcorders. Directly across Niagara Parkway, the cone shaped Minolta Tower pokes above the Marriott. Swinging cranes apply more grey concrete to the clustered skyline, dull and colourless save for a few flashing neon lights. Ahead, the river tumbles its way to the Horseshoe in front; a sudden wind change brings a downpour of rain to an area no more than fifty metres square; wet mist all the way to the dismal dots of frosted foliage on the opposite bank.

JOURNEY BEHIND THE FALLS

Into the Table Rock Complex itself, a huge souvenir shop sells branded bits of piled-up plastic, clothes and stationery, and customers crowd into pizza and ice cream parlours, burger stands and fast food outlets. Queues form to the rear for the walk behind the Falls; full of people struggling their way into the free yellow raincoats as they step out of the lifts that take you 35 metres down into the rock. A two-storey observation platform nine metres above water level looks out over both Falls, although most of the Canadian side is obscured behind the central curls of mist. Steam puffs out in front of a rock face eroded by the force of the white hurricane and falls back on the hooded heads of all those below, sprinkling little circles all over your photographs.

Two hundred metres of tunnels run below the Horseshoe. Two and a half metres high and lit by yellow lights along the walls, the tunnels open to two arched portals. From behind the waist high fence 8-10 metres back from the falling w
ater, up to 154 million litres of which drops every second, a constant white screen crashes into the depths just below. Closer examinations of the water are not recommended.

$7 Adults; $3.50 Children.

CLIFTON HILL

Just over one thousand metres downriver, Clifton Hill (www.cliftonhill.com) makes Blackpool seem as restrained as Bath by comparison to its bank of flashing lights, amusement arcades and multi-coloured signs. A cacophony of jingles and blaring TV screens blasts every inch of pavement in front of Dracula’s Haunted House, House of Nightmares (‘Over 59,000 Chickened Out!’), The Haunted House, House of Frankenstein, Ripley’s 4-D Moving Theatre, Guinness World Records Museum and the garish multitudes of light bulbs fronting the Great Canadian Midway, a mammoth complex of amusement arcades and rides. Frankenstein himself helpfully makes an appearance on the roof of Burger King, Whopper in mouth. Other restaurants on the hill include Kelsey’s, Wendy’s, Boston Pizza and the Golden Griddle. Planet Hollywood and the Rainforest Café are both just off the main drag next to the Hershey’s shop and the WWF superstore. Between the souvenir shops talking mummies advertise Waxworks Museums and poor unfortunates play Crazy Golf on a Dinosaur themed course complete with 10-metre high models and Jurassic sounds.

OTHER ATTRACTIONS

Rising 775-feet above the Falls Skylon Tower (www.skylon.com) markets itself as ‘Niagara’s most famous landmark’. Glass enclosed ‘Yellow Bug’ lifts slide up the outside of the tower to the three-storey circular platform at the top in 52 seconds. Far above the cafes, souvenir shops and amusement arcades back on the ground, an observation platform offers visibility up to 80 miles above two floors of dining options. The Summit Suite is cheaper than the Revolving Dining Suite, though you do get one rotation per hour as well as the bill if y
ou choose the latter option. There is also an observation deck at the top of Minolta Tower.

The Casino Niagara (‘Niagara’s Other Wonder’) is located just off Clifton Hill. Open 24 hours a day 365 days a year, the casino has 150 table games, 2,700 slot machines, four restaurants and eight bars spread across a 100,000 sq. ft. area. The security staff at the entrance are under orders to check the ID of anybody who looks under 30, though you only need to be 19 to play the games, so carry proof of age with you.
www.casinoniagara.com

If you want to experience going over the Falls in a barrel, try the IMAX theatre next to Skylon Tower (www.imaxniagara.com). Another option for those in search of a closer view is the Maid of the Mist (www.maidofthemist.com), a double decker steel boat that sails from a jetty at the bottom of Clifton Hill between April and the end of October. You’ll need the free raincoats again as there is no other way to avoid a drenching.

$12.25 Adults, $7.50 Children aged 6-12.

Four and a half kilometres north of the Falls, the Spanish Aero Car is suspended from six cables as it completes the one kilometre, ten-minute long crossing of the river above the Niagara Whirlpool.

$6 Adults; $3 Children.

Nearby, the Great Gorge Adventure is equally thrilling with a 1000 ft. promenade running above the white rapids below.

$5.75 Adults; $ 2.90 Children.

The Falls themselves are illuminated year round from dusk till around midnight. Bathed in changing colours, it’s well worth a second trip to Table Rock after sunset to see the white water turn yellow, purple, green and pink.

There are Firework displays from May to September and the Winter Festival of Lights, centred on Dufferin Islands, Queen Victoria Park and the Niagara Parkway, runs from November till January.

The best shopping in the area is on Lundy’s Lane where the Canada One O
utlets (www.canadaoneoutlets.com) boast Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, Reebok, Rockport, Levi’s, Body Shop and Nike stores.

Table Rock Information has two discount attraction passes. The one day pass, costing $24 for adults and $12 for children aged 6-12, includes People Mover transportation as well as entrance to the Great Gorge Adventure, Journey Behind the Falls and the Butterfly Conservatory. There is also a $2 discount off the price of the Spanish Aero Car.

Two day summer passes cost $39.95 / $21.15 and include transportation plus entrance to all of the above attractions and others in the vicinity such as Old Fort Erie and the Mosaiculture Garden.

www.niagaraparks.com has a lot of information on attractions such as the Mosaiculture Garden and Niagara Parks Greenhouse, the Butterfly Conservatory and the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens.


THE U.S. AND NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE

Niagara Falls, New York serves as a thoroughfare for US residents in search of better value on the other side of the river and Canadians en route to more interesting American cities. The small Tourist Information centre on the other side of Rainbow Bridge has a selection of leaflets for nearby attractions in Youngstown and Buffalo as well as directions to Niagara’s Prime Outlets mall on Military Road (www.primeoutlets.com). The 150 stores here are even better than the outlets on the Canadian side, though British citizens have to pay $6 at Immigration to get into the US.

Niagara-on-the-Lake’s quaint clapboard houses are far more appealing than the boarded up, litter strewn roads across the border. Wineries throng both sides of the road from Niagara Falls on the outskirts of town, the micro-climate created by Lake Ontario and Niagara Escarpment providing perfect conditions for the likes of Hillebrand Estates, Pillitteri and Jackson-Triggs. Hillebrand have hourly tours and a large shop selling their wonderful Ice Wine.


Horse and traps trot through the tree-lined streets in the town itself. On Queen Street, a pretty clock tower stands in front of the old Provincial Parliament building and the walnut, crystal and butternut interior of the Apothecary. The gorgeous, Greek revival St Andrews Church attests to the town’s former importance as the first capital of Upper Canada a few streets back on the corner of Gage and Simcoe. I ate at the Buttery, a restaurant in old style English pub surroundings next to the clock tower that had marvellous chocolate cake, Cornish pasties and steak and kidney pie, and spent so much time there that I missed Fort George, a reconstructed War of 1812 fortification.

OVERALL

An ideal one or two day trip from Toronto, ‘The Honeymoon Capital of the World’ is horribly over-developed, tacky, consumerist and home to a natural wonder that will invigorate even the most jaded sightseers. Unforgettable.

WEBSITES

www.discoverniagara.com

www.infoniagara.com

www.fallsview.com/Stream/WideLive.shtml (Web cam)

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