We Left the Country! Venturing Across the Border to Niagara Falls, Ontario
Now that the pandemic is over and international borders have reopened, many of our RV buddies have been scooting up to Canada for some summer camping time. Well, we didn't do that. It's a lot of prep work to cart an RV and two pets across the border, particularly cats, who for some reason need a lot of paperwork to cross into Canada. That's not to say we wouldn't RV internationally someday, but this time, we kept things simple. We found ourselves a campground near the border and ventured north for a couple of daytrips.
We specifically planned to cross into Ontario on Labor Day Weekend so we could celebrate our roadtrippiversary on the exact weekend we went 10 years ago. Believe it or not, the holiday weekend wasn't as crowded as you might think, both in 2012 and 2022. We still try to participate in the popular attractions at off-times, but otherwise we just planned our agenda to best fit our schedule. Because we didn't want to leave the pets alone for too long, we only had about two half-days to spend in Ontario, and so we prioritized attractions that we didn't do the last time we were in the area. We did the attractions nearest the Falls on Friday, before the hoards of people came in. Then we saved the Niagara River excursions for the following day.
We found a Niagara Attractions pass that covered most of what we wanted to do. We love inclusive packages such as these because it takes a lot of the work out of planning, while still leaving enough space for us to fill in the gaps with our own choices of activities. Our pass got us into a selection of Ontario-side attractions, plus two consecutive days of access to their WeGo bus, which runs all around the Niagara area, and the Incline Railway, also part of the transit system. We chose the "Falls Pass," which got us Journey Behind the Falls, The Butterfly Conservatory, White Water Walk, Whirlpool Aero Car, and the Floral Showhouse.
Day 1: Journey Behind the Falls, Floral Showhouse, Walking along the Falls, and Clifton Hill
On Friday of Labor Day Weekend, we finished up our work in the morning and took the afternoon off. We were staying about 30 minutes from the Rainbow Bridge, where we chose to cross the border, as it's nearest the Falls. The traffic crossing into Canada wasn't too bad, and we needed to wait about 25 minutes. Once we were across, we drove straight to Table Rock Centre, a hub for attractions, shopping, and dining. We didn't have our Attractions Passes yet; we needed to exchange our ticket confirmations for actual plastic cards. The process is extremely simple; we just picked up our cards at our first attraction, which was Journey Behind the Falls. The lady gave us our cards on lanyards, and the cards had a barcode that would be scanned at each attraction. This allowed us to go straight into the "ticket holder" lines without needing to also go to the box offices.
The ticket line for Journey Behind the Falls was practically empty, and once downstairs, we only had to wait about 20 minutes after getting our ponchos. An elevator brings you to a tunnel that houses a couple of portals behind Horseshoe Falls, where you wait in line to get a view of, well, nothing but water.
Granted, the power of the water is very impressive, so it's worth waiting in line at at least one of the portals. We'd advise to just do one though, because you won't see much beyond this.
The best part of the attraction, however, is the observation deck. It's two levels and gives you the most spectacular view of all the Falls, but especially Horseshoe. Personally I feel this was the best up-close view I've ever gotten, even counting our 2012 Maid of the Mist boat tour. The boat gets you up close and personal, but you're on a crowded boat. Here on the observation deck, there was space to stand and watch the Falls - plus you didn't have to worry about the boat's swaying when trying to capture photos and videos.
Pro tip: When we got off the elevator, we went to a portal first and then backtracked to the observation deck. This allowed us to have less crowds when we went to the deck, because most people went there first and had already left by the time we got there. This also meant we saved the best view for last.
After Journey Behind the Falls, we left Table Rock Centre and walked along the Falls on our way to the Floral Showhouse, which is a short walk south of Table Rock. This is when we stopped to do our photo recreation from 10 years ago. A big thanks to the two strangers who not only helped us recreate our photo, but were so enthused by it that they paid special attention to angles and positioning, and wished us a happy anniversary when we finished. They were without a doubt the best spontaneous photographers we could have asked for. See how big our smiles are in the 2022 pic? That's how much we were laughing during our recreation.
In 2012 we went to one of the other botanical gardens in the Niagara area and loved it. The Floral Showhouse was no different. It was fairly small but very beautiful. We wandered the outdoors and marveled at the whimsical architecture that graced the plants. Painted houses, wooden town buildings, and a model train were just a few features we noticed along our walk. Then inside, two greenhouses displayed a variety of warm-weather botanics including cacti, succulents, and Asian florals.
Journey Behind the Falls and the Floral Showhouse were our only two Attractions Pass activities on our agenda for Day 1 because the remaining attractions were further up the river. In our remaining time, we decided to walk down to Clifton Hill, the touristy area of the Falls that's home to all the hotels and a whole bunch of shops, restaurants, and souvenir stands. We didn't spend a lot of time there because this was where we stayed in 2012, but we went on the Niagara Skywheel to get a new vantage point of the Falls and surrounding town. Then we finished off our afternoon quenching our thirst at the Beer Garden across the street, not because they had a bar, but because they had karaoke! After all, we couldn't let Labor Day roll around without checking off a remaining goal on our Summer to Remember checklist.
Day 2: Whirlpool Aero Car, Butterfly Conservatory, and White Water Walk
We crossed the border on the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, nearest our remaining Niagara Attractions Pass activities. We began our day with the Aero Car, something that we saw from afar 10 years ago but never embarked on. The line wasn't too long when we arrived; it was still fairly early in the day. We only had to wait for about 3 aero car trips before it was our turn. The trip is short - about 5 minutes each way - but gives amazing views of the whirlpools below and the layered rocks that make up Niagara Gorge. The car runs along a cable, journeys across the river and back, crossing international borders 4 times in the process. The whirlpools below are up to 125ft deep. The waterflow shifts here at the river's elbow, creating the swirl, as the water makes its way to its destination in Lake Ontario. Each night, the water is diverted to create hydroelectricity, at which time the whirlpool effect disappears. In order to see the effect, there needs to be enough waterflow for the pressure to build up, as the water cuts across itself at the sharp angle of the river. If words like "pressure" and "sharp angle" aren't telling enough, these whirlpools are extremely dangerous, as are the waterfalls and rapids of the river as a whole. Riding above the river is exhilarating for this reason; we get a bird's eye view of Nature at its most powerful. You'll see in the photos that jet boat tours travel right through the area. We might be brave enough to try one of these ourselves. You'll just have to wait and see!
Next, we drove down to the Butterfly Conservatory, the largest of its kind in North America, housing over 2000 species of butterflies. We love a good butterfly conservatory, but to us, the size didn't seem much larger than ones we've been to in the past. What's most impressive about this conservatory is its set-up. It's 100% handicapped accessible, with both ramps and stairs throughout. The facility goes beyond the butterfly viewing, showing educational videos, presentations, and displaying a pupae emergence window, where you can watch the butterflies getting ready to take their first flight. As we were leaving, we caught one of the Monarch Release presentations, as the workers set the vibrant beauties free into the world.
The butterflies were extremely active when we visited, so photos were difficult to capture. Watch the video to see all the colorful fluttering. I set the video to music I wrote for a butterfly Harpscape last year when we were on our RV Maiden Voyage.
Lastly, we went to the White Water Walk, a short boardwalk that follows alongside the rapids of the Niagara River. Of all the attractions, this was our least favorite because we had already seen the rapids from vantage points that were just as good. The boardwalk is only 1000ft and we had reached the end before we knew it. For us, it wasn't worth waiting in line, but since it was included with our Attractions Pass, we completed it anyway. The boardwalk does have some signage along the way that shares information about the river, and there are some nice views of the Whirlpool Bridge, but these aren't things you need to pay to experience. The same information is online and in other parts of the park, and nearby hikes would give you similar views with less crowds.
See a reel I created using a montage of Falls and River footage:
With our whirlwind "international daytrips" complete, we now had plans to experience the American side of the Falls, with a little challenge we set out for ourselves. Stay tuned!
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