After making our way through the Welland Canal, we sailed on Lake Ontario to Toronto. After we disembarked the Le Champlain, our first stop would be Niagara Falls. It is actually made up of three separate falls. The American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Horseshoe Falls, or the Canadian Falls, are mostly in Canada. In the picture above the blog title, you will see Horseshoe Falls which runs the length of the picture. The American Falls are on the left side of the picture.

We would see the falls from three different perspectives. We first stopped at the Table Rock Centre, very near Horseshoe Falls – in fact, we got sprayed with water from the falls! There were several places to view the American and Canadian Falls and we took lots of pictures, some of which I have included below. In the first, you can see the American Falls and just to the right – after a little gap – the Bridal Veil Falls. The gap separating these two falls is Luna Island. In the distance is the International Rainbow Bridge, connecting Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. It spans the Niagara River Gorge. The next two pictures are also of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. The third picture has the best view of the Bridal Veil Falls. The last picture is a funicular we were able to ride that also gave us nice views of the three falls.

Niagara Falls encompasses all three falls – the American, Bridal Veil and Horseshoe. Horseshoe Falls is the largest of the three. The falls are approximately 167 feet tall. Six million cubic feet of water fall from these three falls every minute during the summer. In addition to their beauty and the tourism dollars they bring to the area, Niagara Falls is also a source of hydroelectric power.

Our group took Hornblowers’ Niagara Falls cruise. Those taking cruises from Niagara Falls, New York would have taken the Maid of the Mist cruise. Both options provided great opportunities to be “up close and personal” with the falls. The first picture is one of the boats surrounded by mist from the falls. I will admit that when I saw the boats from an observation area, I was a little nervous about boarding the boat. But I did, and the second picture is one of our group on board our boat. Actually, I felt very safe. The next pictures were taken while aboard the boat. The third picture is the American Falls and the last one shows both the American Falls (on the left) and Horseshoe Falls on the right.

These are some more pictures I took during our boat ride. In the first, notice all of the boulders at the bottom of the falls. The second picture was taken as we approached the American Falls. The amount of water and the incredible power with which it fell is very apparent. The third picture includes the three falls comprising Niagara Falls. The next picture is one I took of the falls through a window of a funicular. Our funicular was taking us from the Fallsview Tourist area back up to the Table Rock Centre.

The final picture is one of Horseshoe Falls at night. We did not see the falls at night, but as you can see, the light show gives them a spectacular look…maybe we will see them at night on another visit!