Page 9 - AAA North Jersey – AAA Now! – July/August 2016

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Discover niagara Falls
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From conventioneers to honeymooners and families on vacation, people from all walks of life — millions of them — travel each year to Niagara Falls chasing the heady rush of a carnival-style thrill ride, tranquility of a garden path or, more recently, the suspense of a dice roll or spin of a roulette wheel. But ultimately, they all come for one thing — to experience the cool mist, the thundering roar, the utter violence of a half million gallons of water crashing into a rocky gorge every second. it's not just a spectacular scene; it's a spectacular scene in unrelenting motion.
Who would not be transfixed by the three separate cataracts that make up niagara Falls? Rocky American, tiny Bridal Veil and show-stealing Horseshoe, over which the lion's share of the river flows, spawned a tourism industry here nearly
200 years ago. Today, businesses entice visitors by offering views of this natural marvel from every possible angle: below, above, beside and even behind. And almost from the beginning, attractions sprang up that were either only marginally related or completely unconnected to the falls' grandeur — from daredevil high-wire acts and amusement rides to museums flaunting the bizarre and macabre.
Rampant development and industrial exploitation threatened the falls early on, and in response to public outcry, new York bought land adjacent to the falls to create America's first state park, while Ontario acted similarly by establishing a park on its side. International accords now regulate how much water can be diverted from the falls to produce power,
guaranteeing that niagara Falls will continue to astound visitors for generations to come.
The awesome sight of water from four of the five Great Lakes pouring over a 170-foot-high precipice at the rate of 600,000 gallons per second has fascinated visitors to niagara Falls for well over a century. Unsurprisingly, most attractions on both the fall's Ontario and new York sides focus on this natural wonder — and most are AAA GEMs.
if niagara Falls were an award-
winning play, then niagara
Falls State Park would be a
front-row seat. No other spot
allows you to get as close to the
brinks of all three falls: Terrapin
Point on goat Island overlooks
the Horseshoe Falls, and tiny
Luna island sits between the
American and Bridal Veil Falls.
Paths wind within woodlands
and along both the American and Horseshoe rapids as well as the niagara Gorge's rim on either side of Rainbow Bridge.
Across the border, Queen Victoria Park offers
a more formal, manicured version of its wilder American counterpart. The falls are at their most picturesque from this angle thanks to a sharp turn in the river. Strategically located benches dot the park's broad lawns, which are bordered by trees, shrubs and seasonal flower beds. Old-fashioned street lamps enhance the area's charm, as do the horse- drawn carriages passing along niagara Parkway.
The Maid of the Mist departs from docks on either side of the river for a brief voyage past the American and Bridal Veil falls into the spray-filled basin at the foot of the Horseshoe Falls (note: On the Canadian side, the attraction is called Hornblower Niagara Cruises). Thundering sheets of water nearly surround you when you're this close, so you'll want to wear one of the free plastic rain ponchos distributed by the crew. The alternative is sopping wet clothing.
The Maid of the Mist
Speaking of wet, the only way to get closer to the falls would be to step into them, which is exactly what you do at the Cave of the Winds Tour with the help of an elevator down to the river and a boardwalk at the base of the Bridal Veil Falls. Water actually splashes across sections of the boardwalk, which is the reason rubber sandals are provided.
Similarly, Journey behind the Falls, located on the Canadian side, transports visitors down through 150 feet of rock to an outside observation platform. Tunnels lead to portals where the attraction lives up to its name by offering views from behind the thunderous Horseshoe Falls. Just a couple miles downstream on the Canadian side is White Water Walk, which carries visitors via elevator down into the gorge — in this case arriving at a 1,000-foot- long pathway along the niagara River's white-water rapids.
Remember your passports when going to Canada.
july/august 2016
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