Niagara Falls State Park
While we had both visited the Niagara Falls area as children, Stew and I decided that we wanted to visit again together and see what it had to offer us as adults. We decided to road trip out to Niagara Falls State Park, which is America's oldest state park and to take in what the Falls had to offer from both the American and the Canadian sides.
If you ever go to the Niagara area, be ready to embrace all things touristy. It is best to just succumb to the atmosphere and do all the cliche activities - it makes it so much fun! We enjoyed the restaurants, arcades, photo booths, gift shops, fireworks, and of course, made sure to experience what the Falls themselves had to offer. We opted to view the Falls from all kinds of angles.
For starters, we walked around the State Park that was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and took in the views from the top of Bridal Veil Falls. Next we headed down the wooden walkways, along the Niagara River, down to the Hurricane Deck of the Cave of Winds. It was incredible to be so close to the rushing water and to get sprayed by the icy cold mist and really understand the force of Mother Nature. A few days later we hopped aboard one of the Maid of the Mist ferries from the Canadian side and made our way into Niagara Gorge to experience the Falls from a new angle. (Pro Tip: Wear the poncho they provide!)
How ever you chose to experience Niagara Falls, the incredible landscape that the water has created here is something special to see.
On our road trip to Niagara Falls and back we also stopped at quite a few NPS sites. You can check those recaps out here: