Even as I get older, the one thing that will never change is that you never stop needing your Mum. I’m not sure about you, but we try to go on a ladies trip at least once a year, and this spring we traveled to Niagara Falls (the Canadian side).

We’re early risers, so we fit in everything we wanted to see with just an overnight trip! There’s two falls when you visit Niagara Falls: the American Falls and Horseshoe Falls (the one everyone pictures when you think of N.F.).

The USA side of the falls doesn’t have much; it’s really only worth visiting that side if you want to do Maid of the Mist and walk on a path that brings you right next to the American Falls. The Canadian side, however, has access to the big falls (Horseshoe Falls), and they’e clearly built it up as a tourist attraction. Go here, trust me. It’s a splendid and weird mix of a beach boardwalk, Vegas, and a beautiful park all combined.

Coming from Boston it’s very easy – after work on Friday we flew direct to Buffalo, NY (1.5 hour flight) and rented a car for $57 for a day. It’s a 35 minute drive to the Canadian border (via 290 & 190), and that time of night it took about 10 minutes to get through customs at the Rainbow Bridge. Once you’re on the Canadian side, all of their touristy stuff is no more than a 7-10 minute drive away.

Niagara Falls (the downtown) has three main roads: Niagara Parkway, Clifton Hill, and Fallsview Boulevard. You can walk between them all within 20 minutes… literally.

Pro-tip – if you’re on Clifton Hill, your US cell phone will still work, but once you move away from that area, it will go out of cell service range.

Friday Night

Niagara Brewing Company – founded in 2015 and located at the base of Clifton Hill, NBC has a variety of beers ranging from Honeymoon (a peach beer that I surprisingly liked… I’m a bit of a beer snob) to an IPA and an Irish Red. While NBC doesn’t have many options for dinner, it does have giant pretzels and other small snacks, daily/nightly local artists performing, a roof deck, and so much more! After getting off the plane, this was the perfect spot to decompress after a long work week and kick off our trip!

Saturday

Saturday we woke up early and headed towards the falls. This had been my first big trip with Manfriend back in 2015, and this time around with Mum it was just as grand to see. It’s shocking really how massive the falls are.

After walking alongside the falls on the Niagara Parkway, we went into the Visitor Center and bought tickets to Journey Behind the Falls. I wouldn’t suggest trying to do this in the winter or early spring – go in the summer when you can do the full experience. The Journey brings you through a forced photo (for purchase later), down an elevator, and into the tunnels behind the falls… down 125 feet (38 meters). The tunnels let you walk behind the falls (literally) to two viewing portals and one large platform at the base of the falls. Standing there, you see 34 million gallons fall over the falls per minute. It’s a surreal experience.

Another way to get close to the falls is by boat. Most people know Maid of the Mist (I [embarrassingly] first learned about it from The Office), but if you’re traveling to the Canadian side, you want to visit The Hornblower. After donning your poncho, the boat brings you right up to the falls crashing in front of you. It’s amazing and a bit terrifying.

We finished all of that by 10:30, so we decided to drive 30 minutes to Niagara on the Lake. If you’re from the East Coast, Niagara on the Lake is akin to a Burlington, VT or a Portsmouth, NH. The small, quaint downtown is replete with local shops hosting some touristy trinkets, but mostly locally produced art, gelato (like from Il Gelato de Carlotta), and other items for sale.

After, we stopped by Reid Winery where we had some amazing red &

Niagara on the Lake – is you’re renting a car, it’s a 25-30 minute drive from Niagara Falls & is like a Burlington, VT or a Portsmouth, NH. Il Gelato de Carlotta has AWESOME gelato- ^^ Reid Estate Winery – on the way to N.OT.L