While it has been 20 years since I last sailed the gargantuan Lakes in my threadbare whites, It’s been 30 years since I last journeyed to the great Falls.
It was mid-week – I was surprised to find coach-size parking spaces for my truck along the street. The parking machine read “$5 an hour, maximum of 4 hours” I decided to blow off the fee and just take the ticket.
One glaring observation: While the US side with its pristine state park and Mom & Pop shops on Main Street has grown at the pace of a trickle, the Canadian side continues to explode as fast as the raging rapids.
Over four decades ago, Ontario realized the importance of tourism and began to make huge investments to bring infrastructure and retail. The US, on the other hand, was too focused on its hydropower and manufacturing to focus on tourism.
Here Nikola Tesla harnessed the power of Niagara Falls and started the electrification of the world.
Though the Falls reside mostly in the US, it is Canada that provides a commanding view of Horseshoe Falls that is arguably more accomplished and stunning. It is safe to say that the Canadian side are profiting more from the grandeur of the Falls than their American counterparts.
Once you stroll over the Rainbow Bridge into Canada, one must continue a mile along the shoreline to the Horseshoe Falls offering a great vantage point of both the U.S. and Canada.
When visiting the U.S. side, make sure you visit Terrapin Point. It’s a further walk on Luna Island but the panoramic view of Horseshoe Fall and Ontario is just breathtaking.
The best time to go during the day is just before noon when the sun’s rays beam down on the mist drops at the perfect angle to form a waterfall rainbow. In fact running to all three falls on the American side showed almost complete rainbows over the windswept boats.
There are few things in North America that tops the grandeur of the Falls. You can stand there for hours in absolute amazement and never get bored. The falls are so powerful and never-ending. And each time, there’s something magically different.
Meanwhile you get a kick out of seeing tourists on the all-electric Maid of the Mist getting tossed around soaked by the potent falls like a battered boat been slammed by a Nor’easter.
And even at 200 feet up, you feel the strength of 75,000 gallons per second smashing on the rocks below creating a plume of mist that rises like a hot-air balloon, magical and refreshing.
Many Canadians and Americans alike prefer to view the Falls from Canada and there is a better selection of restaurants and amenities there. Many pass by shuttered storefronts and struggling stores on their way to Canada where a spinning ferris wheel, glowing arcade lights, festive carnival rides and yes, even a tribal casino beckons. There are clearly two chasms between the two and it’s not just one that is formed by rushing water.
Some say you have to visit Niagara in the winter when the icy cascade creates a winter spectacular. The best views by far are at night, when the falls and drifting mist are lit up in a rainbow of colors.
Hyatt recently announced it will build three hotels in downtown Niagara Falls. Meanwhile many business along with a mall has closed on the US side but things will be changing soon. Politics have finally lined up and the US has finally realized that its time to invest in tourism.
The US industries are long gone and the state now has to figure out how to keep tourists this side of the Niagara.
There are many taller falls than Niagara. The Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world’s highest and is over 20 times taller. But what makes Niagara Falls so impressive is the amount of water – over 3,000 tons flowing per second.
And it’s the attraction of the rushing water that lures dozens to jump over every year, either to die early or to live in infamy. I can definitely see why – on a hot day, the water seems so cool and inviting. If I dived in, I really would feel so refreshed if only for a second.
Although I didn’t succumb to this mystical trance, the massive cloud of mist floating up in the air felt refreshing as it evaporated gently on my skin. I longed for the refreshing feeling of jumping into the lake – not for the thrill, but for the feel.
And as the roaring waters crashed onto the rocks below, tons of negative ions were produced resulting in a dose of serotonin and quantum lows of positive energy.
“Exercise helps to increase the amount of oxygen in your blood and the release of ‘happy’ hormones like dopamine and serotonin, which help regulate cortisol—the stress hormone. You add nature into that— the negative ions of streams and waterfalls—and it helps improve your immune function, normalize breathing rates, decrease blood pressure and lower stress levels.”
The New Yorker
