Visit to Canadian side of Niagara Falls provides spectacular sights, good vibrations

Rainbows often form in the mists from the Horseshoe Falls on the Ontario side of Niagara Falls. (Janet Podolak)

The roar of Niagara Falls informs every moment of a visit to this world’s natural wonder at the border of the United States and Canada. The soles of your feet feel the rumble of 3,100 tons of water per second flowing over the precipice long before you can even see the mists ascending from the storied Falls.

My first foray into Canada since pandemic restrictions were lifted was punctuated by a visit to Niagara Falls. We came in May, when flowers along the Niagara Parkway bloomed brightly and migrating birds soared in thermals over the gorge where the Niagara River flows from the Falls to Lake Ontario.

Throughout the area the immersive roar of the Falls forms a constant white noise that soothes the soul.

The Niagara River islands are revealed when the Canadian Horseshoe Falls is seen from 52 stories high in the revolving Skylon Tower. (Lynn Ischay)

Lake Erie’s levels determine the volume of water flowing over the American and Bridal Veil Falls on the New York side of the river and the adjacent Horseshoe Falls in Ontario. It’s a full half-mile from the far edges of one to the other, but distances are deceiving against this massive scale. The water flow peaks in late spring and declines in winter, part of it diverted to generate electricity for eastern parts of both countries.

A friend and I chose the Rainbow Bridge border crossing in Niagara Falls, New York, because commercial traffic is banned there. So we avoided the long lines of trucks — and delays — that come with entering Canada at the more popular Peace Bridge, 20 miles south in Buffalo. Flags of both nations fly next to each other in the middle of both bridges.

It’s an easy three-hour-plus road trip for Northeast Ohioans, following Interstate 90 east from Cleveland to I-190 in New York. In New York, I-90 becomes a toll road.

Just after dinner in Massimo’s Italian Fallsview Restaurant, we watched color wash over both falls as darkness fell. My falling-off-the-bone lamb shank posed beautifully for a photo against the backdrop of both the American and Horseshoe Falls.

The roar of the Falls through an open floor-to-ceiling window lulled us to sleep in our Sheraton Fallsview Hotel room, and birdsong from the garden below welcomed the next morning. The hotel is both well-located and quiet — an unusual but welcome combo.

There’s a funky, old-fashioned feel to many of the Niagara Falls attractions, especially on and around Clifton Hill, which is anchored by a 175-foot-tall Ferris Wheel, a go-kart track and more than a dozen other amusement park-style attractions. It’s ideal for families with teens and others not necessarily captivated by the wonder of the falls themselves.

Instead we walked almost next door for a morning visit to Bird Kingdom, which is billed as the world’s largest free-flying indoor aviary. It’s a great choice for a day when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

A multi-level rainforest leads down and around structures that seem to be from Thailand or maybe Myanmar, all habitats for various birds and behind a waterfall where children peek out to catch the falling water between their fingers.

Bird Kingdom visitors pass beneath a waterfall in the open aviary which delights children who reach out into the falling water. (Lynn Ischay)

For their admirers, many birds speak and perform, including one that lifts its four-toed foot to wave at passersby. In the darkness of the Night Jungle, you’ll find owls, bats and other nocturnal creatures. Get close to photograph the more than 400 species of birds that make this their home.

A Bird Kingdom parrot raises its four-toed foot to wave at passersby. (Lynn Ischay)

The Niagara Parkway, stretching 13 miles from Niagara Falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake, is lined with gardens and park areas, most of them landscaped and maintained by students from the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. A paved bicycle path follows the river gorge past the Falls for 35 miles from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Fort Erie.

Walk along the very edge of the tumultuous, roaring river at the White Water Walk, about three miles from the Rainbow Bridge and 200 feet by elevator down into the gorge. Viewing platforms along the quarter-mile-long boardwalk put you just above the Whirlpool Rapids. The huge whirlpool forms at the end of the rapids below the Falls where the gorge turns abruptly counter-clockwise.

The changing colors of the American Falls after dark are a nightly show from a room at the aptly named Sheraton Fallsview Hotel. (Lynn Ischay)

The Whirlpool Aero Car wasn’t yet open for the season when I visited, but the Spanish-built antique cable car takes 35 passengers out over the gorge to view the whirlpool from 3,600 feet above the gorge. Suspended by six cables and powered by a motor, the Aero Car has been soaring over the gorge without incident for 105 years.

Mesmerized by our sight-and-sound immersion into Niagara Falls, my friend and I took a break for a visit to the Christienne Fallsview Spa back at our hotel. The views were simply fabulous, especially from the spa’s own whirlpool.

A whirlpool bath overlooking the American Falls is prepared for a client at the Fallsview Spa. (Lynn Ischay)

As an esthetician named Elizabeth administered my hourlong facial, I asked her about living with the Falls as a backdrop to her life.

“I love it here and have never been away for long,” she said. “It’s a very international town, and we meet people from all over the world, but everyone knows each other.”

As a teenager, she worked at several attractions on Clifton Hill and said she’s glad that the gardens have maintained the beauty and character along the parkway. When she finished high school, she chose massage and cosmetology training as a route to remain in the city she loves.

“I live 30 blocks away but parallel to the Horseshoe Falls,” she said. “I can hear the Falls from my home.”