Niagara Falls and Travel Tips

I took this picture from the American border overlooking the Canadian side. The boat is called Maid of the Mist where it takes you for a misty cruise around the Falls and you will get wet.







This picture is taken on the American side showing the American Falls if I am not mistaken. There are actually 3 falls; the Horseshoe Fall (original Niagara Falls), the Bridal Veil Fall (Baby Fall), and American Fall.

The average flow of the American Fall is between 8,000 to 10,000 cubic feet per second (735 - 918 cubic meters per second). The crest length of the American Fall is about 900 feet (274m) The original - Horseshoe Fall has a crest length of about 2,500 ft (763 m) whereas the Bridal Veil Fall has a crest length of 40 feet.

My drive to the Niagara Falls:
I drove to Buffalo for work on Monday. After I checked into the hotel I proceeded to the Falls (30 minutes drive away). I stopped at an information center for more information as the area of the fall is enormous and I did not want to end up in Canada. It was a tour agency and the guy in charge tried to convince me that the cars were back to back all the way to the falls. I told him it was a Monday which did not make much sense to me. He suggested the best way was to go on their bus which would take me there and I would be able to ride on the Maid of the Mist (a boat to take me to cruise around the Falls) and watch fireworks at night for USD79.

It sounds fun and nice to be on the Maid of the Mists. My husband, my parents, my brother and I had been on it a few years ago and we got splashed all over with our raincoats on. We could not even get any pictures.

I approached an old couple who directed me to get to the Fall. In about 15 minutes I was there. There was no traffic congestion. Wow! $10 for parking! I drove around and was lucky to find a space with a meter parking. I paid $1.80 for nearly 2 hours and took my sweet stroll around the Fall.

2 Tips for travel to the Falls:
1) You will get a better exchange rate somewhere else versus the rate you get at the Falls.
2) You will see more beautiful falls from the Canadian ground.