Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Niagara Falls, Part Two

Hello!  I'm back with my second post of our trip to Niagara Falls, and the very last post of our New Hampshire/Vermont vacation that we took back in August.  On my first post of Niagara Falls, I told all about our adventures on the Maid of the Mist.  Today's post will focus on our walking tour of the Niagara Falls State Park.

After we finished our boat tour of the falls, we saw this trail that takes you right up the side of the falls.   The steps are cement and there is a hand rail, which you really need because the steps are very wet and can be slippery.  You do get soaking wet on this trail because the mist from the falls hits you very hard. Moss and other vegetation grows very well on the rocks next to the falls due to all the mist.
My soaking wet, dripping husband enjoying every minute of this hike up the falls.
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After our short hike up the side of the falls, we then went to the Niagara Falls Observation Tower.  There is an elevator inside the tower that you take down to board the boats, or up to observe the falls.  There is a long extension from the top of the tower that gives unobstructed views of all the falls and the water below.  You can get some really great pictures of the Falls from this site, like this one:
My and my handsome son standing on the tower ledge.
A view of the top of The Crow's Nest, the trail that I described above where you get very wet!
One of the things that surprised us about our visit to Niagara Falls was that we didn't realize it was a state park filled with beautiful walking trails and many other activities.  For some reason, we just had it in our heads that it was a place that you just walked up to and looked at and left.  We were very awestruck with the beauty of the park and how people of all ages, nationalities, and walks of life seemed to enjoy it.  And did you know it's free?  Yes, it is.  It does cost money to park, but you can avoid that cost by parking on the road and walking in.  And the Maid of the Mist, the Observation Tower, and other tours charge a very small fee, but to just walk the gorgeous trails and view the Falls is completely, and totally free so everyone can enjoy them.

After we descended the tower, we started walking the paths in the park.  The first path took us along the raging white waters that flow into the falls.  The bridge in the picture below is part of the path that you take across the river to view the other two waterfalls.

Once across the bridge your on the other side of the first waterfall and see this view:
The walking paths themselves have beautiful, serene views like the one below:
The trail from the tower leads to Terrapin Point Horseshoe Falls.
This area was very misty and wet because of the sheer power of the falls.  It was so difficult to get a clear photograph, and my camera became very wet and filled with moisture.

When exiting the park, we came across this old brick arch.  It reminded me of one of the many old stone structures I saw in Italy, so I snapped a picture of it.  I believe it was probably one of the original entrances to the park, but I'm really not sure and couldn't find any information on it when I googled it, so feel free to correct me if you know the history of these beautiful stones.
Have a great day!  Amy

1 comment:

  1. Fun photos Amy! We never did go on the trail when we went to the Falls. We didn't see it :-( (we were on the Canadian side maybe it wasn't there). But we did go on the "behind the falls" tour. Would love to go back again sometime! Thanks for sharing your fabulous vacation photos, really loved reading about your trip!

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