Niagara Falls
After a week in an Airbnb in Quebec City and we were ready to get our girl Stella back. We had about 16 total hours of driving to do, so we left early Saturday morning, got back into the U.S. around 11:00 AM, picked up Stella around 2PM, and drove 6 hrs through the small mountain backroads of southern New Hampshire and Vermont to the outskirts of Syracuse.
It was here we had our first rest area overnight (spoiler, it won’t be our only one), and then got up early Sunday morning to knock out our last 3 hrs and finally arrive at Niagara Falls!
Maid of the Mist View
Campground
We stayed at the HTR Niagara Campground (formerly Branches of Niagara) and it was wonderful. Very well maintained with multiple pools, lake views, putt-putt, a zip-line, everything we could ask for and then some. We did lay out by the pool a few afternoons now that it was finally warm enough up north and officially kicked off summer.
This campground was conveniently located between Buffalo and Niagara and a quick drive in either direction got us to places we wanted to see.
Buffalo
Our first trip into Buffalo we booked a lake cruise on lake Erie and the Buffalo river. This was our first encounter with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires, as up to this point we’ve been East of the smoke and had excellent AQI.
It was still an excellent evening and we enjoyed being able to get a glimpse of downtown and the waterfront. The history of the Erie canal and Buffalo is amazing and made for a very entertaining cruise.
Later in the week we came back with Olga’s mother Nataliya and explored the Buffalo Naval Park and had lunch on the waterfront, which was one of the highlights of the trip.
The Buffalo Naval Park had 3 ships we were able to tour. One of the most unique features about this place is that they do overnights on the ship, complete with using the mess hall, the bunks, and other facilities to give guests an immersive experience.
In typical fashion we also hit up some wineries and had one of the best Cabernet Sauvignons we’ve ever had, and conveniently had room in our wine cabinet. Emphasis on the word had…
Bella Rose Vineyard & Winery had excellent wine and an even better display for your wine flight. We couldn’t help but #doitforthegram.
Toronto
Littlest McG (Guinness for those unaccustomed to our dog’s nicknames) couldn’t make this trip so we boarded him with Rover for the night and set off on our second trip across our northern border to Toronto.
We decided on this trip we’d do all the touristy things - CN Tower, Harbor Tour, St. Lawrence Market, Casa Loma Escape Room, and for dinner we got to meet up with some of our Brazilian friends for an excellent meal.
Tip: Utilize the CityPASS to get the main attractions at a discount.
CN Tower
We had the benefit of being there on a Friday and it wasn’t crowded at all and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. After three laps of pictures around the needle and countless selfies and candid shots, we finally drug ourselves away to get to our boat tour.
Toronto’s CN Tower
We have to say that at this point we were fairly impressed with Toronto. The city has more modern, all glass, high-rises than any city we’ve visited and was very green. In contrast to Quebec City, Toronto was heaven.
Harbor Tour
After seeing the sights from the sky, we headed out on the harbor to catch a glimpse from distance.
The tour was excellent. They explained the history of the buildings and surrounding area and gave you a great vantage point for seeing the vastness of the city. We love nice waterfronts and cities that integrate them into their walkability and it was great to see Toronto make efforts on this front. We were also a few drinks deep at this point so take our recommendation with a grain of salt.
St. Lawrence Market
One of the items on my tourist bucket list in any city is to see the markets. Having been to many cities in Europe, and one in Africa, with amazing markets, it’s always high on the list for any new city we check out. Fortunately, Toronto has an amazing one that elicited memories of La Boqueria Market in Barcelona, the St. Lawrence Market.
One of the many vendor stalls in the market serving all kinds of delicacies: raw meats and seafood, fresh produce, smoothies and takeout meals, locally made ice cream, and all kinds of Canadian merchandise.
Casa Loma
Who doesn’t love a good escape room, and in a Gothic Revival castle?! Check. We did an awesome escape room, and while we didn’t figure out who was the killer, we had a ton of fun. Casa Loma has a ton of history, but had a wedding going on at the time we were there so unfortunately we couldn’t tour it, but the escape room was a blast and we’d highly recommend it.
Casa Loma Escape Room
After an awesome day exploring we had dinner with Alexandre and Fran at a vibeing foodie establishment. They had been in Canada since our wedding and it was a definite stop to see them.
Niagara Falls
The falls were just spectacular. They’re not the tallest falls in the world, or even the tallest we’ll see on the trip, but the sheer magnitude of them is just remarkable. For starters, Lake Erie is a beautiful hue of blue, which makes its way along the Niagara River before cascading over the falls, adding a beautiful color to them. Then there’s the sheer size of the things. The horseshoe is massive, with three quarters of a million gallons of water going over the falls every second.
Horseshoe Falls
We started our tour of Niagara on the Canadian side since that gave us a better view of all the falls (there are actually three separate falls that make up Niagara); but planned to be back on the U.S. side for our Maid of the Mist tour later that day. It was a full day, so we got up early and crossed the border.
We spent a couple hours walking along the Canadian side in awe of the falls. This was our first time seeing them and they are truly stunning.
Now, not to be a downer, they are absolutely amazing, but the “perfectness” of the falls is due to human intervention, and with a careful eye you can see how they’ve been manipulated to form this perfect even waterfall. Some of this is to preserve the falls and prevent them from moving back, but much of it was done to enhance the beauty.
Caveat aside, we had a ball taking it all in and had worked up quite the appetite by this point.
Lunch in the tower was excellent and we’d highly recommend it to any fellow traveler. The food is above average, but coupled with the views makes it a worthwhile experience. The vantage point from here you can’t get unless you take an arial tour, and even that will be further away.
After lunch we decided to walk around the town and do some of the cheesy stuff that lines the streets. For those that have been to Gatlinburg, Myrtle, or Wisconsin Dells and had fun, add Canadian Niagara to your list.
The streets are lined with shops full of typical commercial gifts (maple syrup, moose t-shirts, shot glasses, etc.) and between them are haunted houses, go-kart tracks, putt-putt, and all kinds of fun.
After playing around town for a couple hours we had to get back to the U.S. side and catch our last angle of the falls…from below. One of the best experiences in Niagara is taking the Maid of the Mist right up to the falls and feeling the power of them, and getting absolutely soaked. From a distance, it’s hard to understand just how much water is flowing over those falls, but getting within feet of them and having that water crashing down all around you really puts things into prospective.
Summary
Niagara Falls is a must visit for anyone traveling the U.S. and Canada, but it’s more of a weekend trip. Adding in Toronto would be our recommendation as there is much to do there and extends your time in the area. Buffalo had a few things to see, but traveling to Toronto and doing a day trip to Niagara would be perfect in our book. Canada has a boat to take you to the base of the falls as well, and since the better views are on that side, you wouldn’t need to cross into the U.S. (tip for our international friends).
For more pictures of Niagara Falls click here.
