Advertisement
Niagara Falls, NY
The view from the observation deck above the Maid of the Mist Our family decided that our annual summer road trip had to be temporarily shelved due to rising gas prices, but that doesn't mean our love of budget travel had to be shelved as well. I bought a guide book to Western New York at the local bookstore and decided that instead of going away on vacation, we were going to take a summer
staycation. This summer I will attempt to bring my family to local attractions we've never experienced before and act like tourists in our own area. Today's outing was to
Niagara Falls, NY, about 20 minutes from my hometown.
The American Falls sometimes gets a bum rap. This is due to the depressing downtown area of the city of Niagara Falls which is in remarkably shabby condition for housing such a major tourist attraction. However we were pleasantly surprised by the
Niagara Falls State Park. If you confine your stay to the grounds of the State Park during your visit, you will not be disappointed. There is ample parking, beautiful, well maintained gardens, and a trolley that can drive you around the grounds. It's only if you venture out into the surrounding city that things could get dicey.
The Maid of the Mist
My husband and the boys are enjoying a good soaking. Today we took the
Maid of the Mist boat ride. Although we've seen the Canadian side of the falls, the children and I had never ridden the Maid of the Mist before and my husband hadn't been on it since he was 12. We parked in the lot near the entrance to the ride. We had to go through a Pavilion that had a nice gift shop, counter service restaurants and also an Imax theater which looked interesting.
We bought our tickets and headed up to the observation deck and then down to the boats. We got there around 11:30 and there was no line at all to get onto the boats. The ride was great. If you are only visiting the American side of the falls during your trip, you will definitely want to take this ride because it's the only way you'll get around to the front of the falls to see the view the Canadians get to look at. Yes, you do get wet. We stayed on the lower deck of the boat because we didn't want a complete shower, and we heard lots of shrieking and squealing coming from the people upstairs.
After
the Maid of the Mist, we sat at one of the picnic tables near the Pavilion and ate lunch. I packed a cooler (do you expect anything less from the Sandwich Queen?) and it was only a short walk back to the car to retrieve it. From the Maid of the Mist to the
Cave of the Winds was a short (15 minutes, tops) walk across a pedestrian foot bridge. None of us had ever been to the Cave of the Winds before and we were under the mistaken impression that it was an actual cave. Not exactly. It used to be a cave until it caved in back in the 1920's. Now it should be called "The Deck of the Winds." What you will be doing is walking up and down a large wooden deck that is built next to the Bridal Veil Falls. Interestingly, the deck is dismantled every year and built from scratch again each spring. Apparently, the snow and ice damage it during the winter.
The Cave of the Winds is the closest you can actually get to Niagara Falls. Technically, the falls will be getting to you. You will be soaked after this attraction. As you walk up and down the deck, there are sections where the water is crashing over rocks right next to you. You can actually reach out and touch it (and I did!). Hold onto children, because the stairs are steep and slippery. They give you special sandals to wear during this tour and when you're through you can keep them as souvenirs, or donate them to needy people by placing them in collection containers near the exit.
After the Cave of the Winds, we ventured out to the
Daredevil Museum. I was interested in seeing the barrels and other devices that people have used to go over Niagara Falls. To get to the museum we had to leave the confines of the State Park. Although we walked there, I would suggest you drive if you intend on going. We weren't sure if there would be parking, but it turns out there was. Plus if you drive, you won't have to walk by the empty depressing storefronts that we saw on the way.
The Daredevil Museum is housed in a convenience store. It sounds like I should be joking, but I'm not. Admission was free (obviously). I couldn't help but think to myself, what a waste of an exhibit. A convenience store isn't really the place to properly store things you want to keep safe for a long time. Disappointingly, I found the things on display to be dusty and discolored from age. The concept of this museum would work really well if it was done correctly and housed somewhere at the State Park. In it's present location, this is definitely one attraction that you could skip, unless you needed to pick up a can of soda anyway.
Lot of people who do the American side of the falls buy the combo ticket that gets them on the Maid of the Mist, through the Cave of the Winds tour and also includes admission to the Imax movie and the Niagara Falls Aquarium. Since we didn't see the Imax movie, I don't have an opinion on it. But I have been to the Niagara Falls Aquarium enough times on school field trips to know...it's not worth it. This little rinky dink aquarium really isn't worth the cost of admission in my opinion. It's small, run down and dated. Since there are some truly great aquariums in this country to visit (in Chicago or Baltimore; for example), I wouldn't waste my time on this one.
If you were worried about trying to fill up the rest of your day on the American side of the falls, I say save the money that you were going to use at the Aquarium and spend it over at the
Factory Outlet Mall. That side of Niagara Falls is not as seedy as the downtown area and better developed. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from. We had dinner in the food court and did some shopping. I haven't been to the outlets in over a year and I was impressed with the caliber of stores that have recently opened or are opening soon (I'm personally excited about going back when the Kate Spade store opens).
If you follow my travel blogs, you know I like to keep track of what we spend and share it with other families who are planning similar trips. So here's the grand total of today's summer
staycation:
Parking at Niagara Falls State Park: $10
Maid of the Mist boat ride: ($14.50/adults, $7.30/children, youngest free) $39.60
Cave of the Winds tour: ($10/adults, $7/children, youngest free) $34.00
Dinner at the Factory Outlet food court: almost $30 (A budget buster! The only big name chain there was Subway, no cheapo Burger King or McDonalds)
Footlocker Outlet Store: $12.46 (This is what I spent on
two pairs of Timberland snow boots for the twins! You can't beat that deal with a stick!)
Eddie Bauer Outlet Store: $10.39
Grand Total: $136.35 (plus a quarter tank of gas).
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for our next family adventure!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.272s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 12; qc: 55; dbt: 0.1203s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 2;
; mem: 1.1mb
Suzie Zoo
non-member comment
I've been to Niagara Falls so many times and have never done Cave of the Winds and I haven't been on the Maid of the Mist since sixth grade!! Glad you all had a good time! Love all the photos on your blog!!