Planning a Niagra Falls Vacation

Investing some time in planning a Niagara Falls vacation helps ensure you'll get in on the best Niagara Falls has to offer. Easy road access and abundant camping options make planning the essentials easy. The immediate Falls area offers enough walking tour options to keep you busy for several days. Throughout the rest of Niagara Park, you'll find a variety of gardens, trails and other attractions for nature lovers. While summer is the most popular time to visit, Niagara Falls has outdoor attractions and events year round.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Niagara Park trails map Campsite maps
Niagara Park trails map
Campsite maps

Step 1

Pick a good time to go. Summer, while hot and muggy, offers the most tours and attractions. For cooler weather and autumn foliage, choose the last two weeks of October. In winter, visitors face chilly winds but can enjoy a snow-covered wonderland and the park's Winter Festival of Lights. By May, the park is in bloom and many attractions have opened for the season.

Step 2

Decide how to get there. By air, choose either the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada or the Niagara Falls International Airport in the United States. Both require several hours of travel to reach the falls, but shuttles and public transit are available. If you're driving from the United States, you'll cross the border via the Queenston/Lewiston Bridge.

Step 3

Choose a campsite or cabin. Riverside Park (13541 Niagara River Parkway, Niagara Falls) offers a relatively natural setting. Campark Resorts, with 400 sites around the park, also has many quiet, tree-filled areas for tents. For a campsite with everything, try Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park (8676 Oakwood Drive, Niagara Falls), which combines outdoor camping with facilities like a mini-mart, rec hall and heated pool. Most of these camping areas also offer cabins and RV facilities.

Step 4

Plan how you'll spend your time. Near the falls themselves, the Journey Behind the Falls and the White Water Walk are the most popular walking tours. The nearby Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens and the Heritage Trail also appeal to nature lovers. Somewhat father from the falls, Niagara Glen, the Niagara River Recreation Trail and other nature preserves let you explore Ontario's wilderness.

Step 5

Find restaurants that use local ingredients. Queenston Heights Restaurant (14184 Niagara Parkway, Queenston) serves Canadian foods like Atlantic salmon and St. David's prosciutto. For Canadian favorites in a casual atmosphere, try the Wild Mushroom Sports Bar (5633 Victoria Avenue, Niagara Falls). Vegetarian restaurants are few, but the 4triple5 Cafe (4555 Queen Street, Niagara Falls) has a good vegetarian selection.

Tips & Warnings

Note that many outdoor attractions close from mid-November and May. During this time, not all trails are maintained and may be dangerous due to snow and ice.

Resources

Article Written By Nicole Langton

Nicole Langton has been a professional writer for over 10 years. She began writing for a natural health company where she developed a deep interest in nutrition and natural treatments. Langton earned a Bachelor of Arts in east central European studies as well as a certificate in English language to teach to adults.

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