October 1 and 2, 2026
The trip from Watkins Glen to Niagara Falls took about 3 hours. The leaves were not as pretty as the ones we saw in Pennsylvania but there were some lovely scenes. The crossing into Canada was non eventful – quick passport check and we were there.
We checked into the Hilton Fallsview hotel in a room on the 21st floor but the room wasn’t ready so we went out for a walk along the sidewalk by the falls.
We had a nice walk to stretch our legs. We decided to have ice cream for lunch at a shop in our hotel. It was delicious – and for the first time in history, I was unable to finish it – they gave me so much.
By then our room was ready, so we enjoyed the view of the falls from the room.
After we checked into the room, we each enjoyed a lovely whirlpool bath and then went to our dinner on the 33rd floor of the Hilton – the Watermark Falls View. The food was delicious and so were the views.
They do fireworks every night at 10 PM. They were beautiful from our room!
On Friday we had an exceptional experience booked. First, we met our guide, Alisha, in the Skylon Tower. It is 520 feet tall and 775 feet above the base of the gorge.
We rode the Yellow Bug elevators that are glass enclosed and transport you to the top in 52 seconds. There is a 360 degree viewing platform that offers visibility up to 80 miles and many lovely views of the falls.
Alisha took time to give us some facts about Niagara Falls. They are actually three separate waterfalls. The Horseshoe Falls are the ones on the Canadian side and are about 13 stories high. American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are on the American side. Roughly one fifth of the world’s surface water passes over Niagara Falls.
The other two notable falls we have seen are Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe (the tallest), Iguazu Falls in Argentina (the widest) and Niagara which has the biggest volume water descending.
The falls are slowly moving upstream. The Niagara River cuts through layers of rock and the softer rock erodes. Pieces of the edge break away causing the falls to retreat. That’s why the gorge below the falls is so dramatic.
After exploring the Skylon Tower and observing the views, we headed out to the second part of the experience, Journey Behind the Falls. On our way out of the tower, we stopped at this object and Alisha explained….
On July 15, 1962, William Fitzgerald went over the Horseshoe Falls inside this rubber and steel sphere that he designed himself. He called it the Plunge-O- Sphere. He used the name Nathan Boya for the stunt and both names are on the sphere – not to easy to see as they are worn away. This is remarkable because:
The sphere is 6-10 feet across and weighs about 1200 pounds. It has a steel framework covered in rubber and a reclining seat inside. He had oxygen available in case the sphere became trapped in the turbulent water. He went over the falls and survived with only relatively minor injuries. When he came out of the fall, he wasn’t greeted as a hero – he was arrested and was the first person prosecuted under the Niagara Parks Act for performing an unauthorized stunt. He was fined $100 plus $13 in costs. After that it was illegal to go over the falls, and the fine today is $25000 Canadian and $20,000 US.
The first person to go over the falls was Annie Edson Taylor in 1901. She was 63 years old and went over in a barrel. She was hoping the stunt would make her rich famous but that never came to pass. She survived the fall but later died penniless. She actually used a cat to test the barrel’s safety first and the cat survived too.
Alisha told us that 5000 people have died trying to go over the falls.
Next we walked down to the next experience – Journey Behind the Falls. Along the walk, Alisha introduced us to one of the squirrels that greet her as she walks by with her bag of peanuts. One at a time, they go up her leg to get a peanut.
We missed the marriage proposal!
When you arrive at the falls, they give you a yellow poncho and you descend into tunnels where you get two different experiences of the falls. You descend about 125 feet and walk through the tunnels cut into the rocks. You are behind the falls near a large open window and get to see and hear the water roaring past.
Next, you go to an open deck where you are covered with the mist coming off of the Horseshoe Falls – hence the need for the poncho!
Our next stop was the boat ride that takes you into the gorge below the Horseshoe Falls and for that you get yet another poncho – this one is red.
It is amazing to feel the power of the mist generated by the falls!
The boat ride was about 20 minutes long and was really fun. Afterward we had a snack before heading back to the hotel to our next destination – Niagara on the Lake.
Of course we had some silly pictures taken and I had to buy them to share here!
