Niagara Falls State Park is open 365 days a year providing awe-inspiring scenery of Niagara Falls. When visiting, there are many thrilling attractions, interactive exhibits, as well as miles of hiking trails for you and your loved ones to explore. Many appetizing dining options offer family-friendly environments. No passport is needed for you to have an adventure-packed experience.
Remember how we mentioned Niagara Falls is open 365 days a year? Well here, the fun never freezes so it is entirely possible to plan a winter getaway. Allow us to take you to a couple of points of interest!
The Cave of the Winds
This fun experience is not just reserved for the summertime seasons anymore. The thrills and chills of The Cave of the Winds are a stunning place that will allow you to get up close and personal with the roaring Niagara Falls from one of two open observation decks available to the public. Here, you can bundle up and celebrate winter under the falls. Interestingly enough, you can take educational tours where you can learn that this cave was naturally formed behind Bridal Veil Falls at Niagara Falls, standing some 130 feet high, and 100 feet wide, with 30 feet in depth.
Aquarium of Niagara
Meet amazing members of sea life and shake hands with sharks at the newly added M&T Bank Shark & Ray Bay. At the Aquarium of Niagara, you can find family-friendly interactive habitat with sharks and sting rays. The aquarium is dedicated to educating about the conservation of aquatic life. Here, you get a behind-the-scenes look inside the Aquarium, which is a deep look into seeing how a public aquarium is run. There is a seal encounter where you get to see how marine mammals are cared for and trained. A fun addition to the aquarium is a beak-to-nose encounter with Humboldt penguins, an enclosure where you can watch them waddle around.
Maid of the Mist
If you are looking for a fun way to explore the roar of the Falls, then look no further than the Maid of the Mist boat tour. For more than 150 years this boat tour has been the highlight of tourism in Niagara Falls. The journey starts at the Observation Tower where guests can expect to be given a raincoat/poncho before boarding the double-deck tour boat. The boat will ferry past the American Falls base and onto the Horseshoe Falls basin. Here, you can view massive rock formations up close while passing under roiling whitewater waterfalls.
Niagara Falls Illumination
There are over 100 LED lights that are housed in three different locations across Niagara Falls with breathtaking views you won’t want to miss. Niagara Falls Illumination lights up every night of the year starting at dusk, lit in custom colors for short durations to mark significant dates. A few of these dates include “Inspired by Nature,” and “The New Falls Illumination.”
Niagara Falls Hiking Trails
Hiking trails can take you on the trip of a life beyond the Falls on one of the many Niagara Falls hiking trails we will list below. From hiking the best action-packed trails to touring the ruins of a power station, there are many things you can explore when visiting Niagara Falls.
- Niagara Gorge Trailhead Center
- Great Gorge Scenic Overlook Hike
- Upper Great Gorge Hike
- Devil’s Hole Rapids and Giant Rock
- Whirlpool Rapids Adventure Hike
We won’t only be exploring Niagara Falls and what it has to offer in this blog, but the two islands surrounding the stunning falls that bring additional beauty to the area. The first island was originally known as the “Three Sisters Islands,” though four islands exist, was once referred to as the Moss Islands in 1843 because of the rock surfaces being covered in moss, and lies 500 yards east of the Horseshoe Falls. Goat Island is the second island that separates the Bridal Veil Falls and the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Fun fact, in the year 1778, to protect his herd of goats to protect them from wolves, John Stedman rowed to an island. This island in turn gained its name “Goat Island.”
Three Sisters Islands & Goat Island
Part of a lovely scenic walk, you will find a collection of bridges connecting both Three Sisters Islands and Goat Island. Here, it is possible to get a stunning view of the upper rapids. It is possible on clear days to get a view of mist coming off of Niagara Falls when doing the Three Sisters Islands walk. There are a couple of ways that you can get to the Three Sisters Islands bridges.
- Follow the Trail Around Goat Island. Known to many as the Goat Island Scenic Walk, there is a trail that loops around the entirety of Goat Island. Should you follow this path, it will eventually lead you to Three Sisters Islands. The trail also connects to a famously popular spot on Goat Island in the Niagara Falls State Park called Terrapin Point.
- Niagara Scenic Trolley. The Niagara Scenic Trolley will take you around Niagara Falls State Park and there is a trolley stop right in front of Three Sisters Islands.
- Walking from Terrapin Point. You can take a 10-15 minute walk one way from Terrapin Point to Three Sisters Islands. When you arrive at the first bridge on Three Sisters Islands, there is a 5-minute scenic walk to walk across all the bridges to the “last” bridge. Should you choose to take a more leisurely walk to check out views from the bridges and lookout points, the trip can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes to visit the Three Sisters Islands of Niagara Falls.
For additional information on visiting the Niagara Falls State Park and the surrounding islands of Niagara Falls, check out our website.
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