Niagara Falls US vs. Canada Side

[formerFR]

hmmmm... we visited the US side in 2014 and loved it. Found no issues with parking our rig with bike rack and tow vehicle, walked right down the street, thru the park, and to the falls. Found it not only amazing from the 'look out point', but also the walk next to the falls where you not only get 'up close' to the MASSIVE amount of water coming over the US side, but get as wet as you are willing to in the process!

the next year, we toured eastern Canada and Prince Edward island, making our way back in October thru the Canada side of the falls... also, beautiful, but a different look and approach, but still amazing.

I think the idea of 'which' side is the best is subjective, but the reality is that either is an amazing experience. For that reason, and as a US citizen, unless you already have a passport, or are planning on getting one anyway for other travel in Canada, I would not go to the that trouble 'just' to visit the other side, or vice versa.

travel, have fun : )

[A32Deuce]

The Falls themselves are beautiful from either side. The difference is the area leading up to the Falls from either side!

[grumpy0374]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

The Falls themselves are beautiful from either side. The difference is the area leading up to the Falls from either side!

Totally agree, although the Canada side does have more to view.
It is the area around the Falls on either side that is my original point.
US side, for a welcome center, is nothing but a huge "cube" shaped building that has more fast food, games and more key chains and t-shirts than Canada has in it's entire country!!! Empty old plants, locked up empty lots, streets that are in dire need of repair.
Canada side...well lined pleasant streets, streets in nice condition, plenty of different food outlets, no boarded up store fronts, huge boardwalk to view falls.
Sorry, but as a USA citizen, I would never recommend the US side as a "tourist destination".

Would tell my friends to get a passport and go stright to the Canadian side.
Grumpy

[Ralphf10]

One thing I did not see mentioned is the walk under the falls on the Canadian side. Standing at the bottom of the falls with the water force coming down was undiscribably awesome. I thought it was the best part of the trip. Boat ride did nothing for us, but get very wet. Well, my son got dumped on by one of the gulls, and the seeing the baby gulls in their nest was really cool.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Ralphf10

One thing I did not see mentioned is the walk under the falls on the Canadian side. Standing at the bottom of the falls with the water force coming down was undiscribably awesome. I thought it was the best part of the trip. Boat ride did nothing for us, but get very wet. Well, my son got dumped on by one of the gulls, and the seeing the baby gulls in their nest was really cool.

We did the Cave of the Winds walk on the US side. Being able to stand on the Hurricane Deck and have a tiny portion of water hit you was amazing.

After experiencing that, you're right- the boat ride was ho-hum.

[Ralphf10]

That was closed when we were there in May, for walk way repair.

[GalsofEscape]

What is the real shame, is that since the US side is a state park, money generated goes to the STATE.... Not the town. The town certainly is not reaping many rewards of being a tourist destination.
I found the state park to be nice though crowded. they were renovating quite a bit inside the park. We enjoyed it, the falls are quite a sight to behold.
I have been to the Canadian side, and while it is pretty along the falls edge, get about a block away and I didn't like it there either, felt those stores were just tourist traps. I went for the falls, not to see the town, not to shop for chotchkeys or what nots....and I enjoyed the falls from both sides equally.

[wanderer26]

The first time i saw niagra falls was when the movie was being filmed. (NIAGRA FALLS). It starred Joesph Cotten and Marilyn Monroe. My folks took my brother and i to see it. We saw the actors. Although it was so long ago i don’t the actors but i do remember the falls. My wife wants to go see it so thanks for this thread. Now i know just where to see it. I personally would not give New York city or state the time of day.

[Houston Remodeler]

The Tesla statue is on the Canadian side, thus the best side to see the falls and get a selfie with the man.

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by itat

IMO, everything in Niagara Falls, Ontario is nice except for 2 things - Clifton Hill (tourist trap) and restaurant prices. In addition to the Falls there is a nice casino and quite a few wineries. I agree with Clark Miller that you should not take a motorhome and expect to find a place to park it close to the Falls. The drive to Niagara-on-the-Lake is beautiful. Parking a motorhome in Niagara-on-the-Lake will also be challenging.

Two very different viewpoints here. We were on the Canadian side for a week in early June. Just before their tourist season (and prices) start. We found great local places to eat for very cheap. Even the fancy restaurant overlooking the falls was reasonable. The only truly expensive eateries were US national chains like I-Hop.

We also loved Clifton hill. Lots of old fashioned arcades, fun houses, minigolf, and carnival. We spent two very enjoyable evenings there and bought the passes for $30 Canadian that let us participate in most everything. And yes, it's a tourist trap, but guess what.... We were tourists!!!

We are planning the go back with friends next year. The Niagara Park Adventure pass was also a fantastic deal. For $120 Canadian you get to do about everything there is to do there.

[KyDan]

It's been a few years but we stayed in 4 mile creek NY state park. We hiked right along the NY side of the river all the way up past the whirl pool until we could see the rainbow bridge. It was a fantastic hike! We enjoyed site seeing around the NY side and the boat ride on the Erie canal was way more fun than I thought it would be.
It's not Disney World but unless it's greatly changed in the last few years I would go back.
If you want a resort and big crowds that's your thing. We'll keep trying to find the road less traveled (and the camp ground less camped!)
Happy Trails!

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by KyDan

It's been a few years but we stayed in 4 mile creek NY state park. We hiked right along the NY side of the river all the way up past the whirl pool until we could see the rainbow bridge. It was a fantastic hike! We enjoyed site seeing around the NY side and the boat ride on the Erie canal was way more fun than I thought it would be.
It's not Disney World but unless it's greatly changed in the last few years I would go back.
If you want a resort and big crowds that's your thing. We'll keep trying to find the road less traveled (and the camp ground less camped!)
Happy Trails!

We just stayed at Four Mile Creek SP and loved it. Cell service was very spotty and slow, though. And the sites were 30amp electric only.

But, it was a huge savings vs the private parks on both sides (like close to $100/nt vs $35/nt).

[GalsofEscape]

Originally Posted by ependydad

We just stayed at Four Mile Creek SP and loved it. Cell service was very spotty and slow, though. And the sites were 30amp electric only.

But, it was a huge savings vs the private parks on both sides (like close to $100/nt vs $35/nt).

The price and that it is a state park and not commercial campground where you would be all packed in is also why we picked 4mile creek. We loved it as well when we were there three years ago. It is still close enough for all the sightseeing you want.

[ENE]

When we travel all the USA we get spotty service from our AT&T service. In June we switched from AT&T to T-Mobile. AT&T bills were erratic and high. Tried T-Mobile for 3 months and it the coverage was worse than AT&T but the T-Mobile senior plan was half of what I was paying with AT&T. We finally switched to Verizon and now have more coverage than the other 2 but the bill is slightly higher than AT&T. We do a lot of streaming videos on Netflix via our hot spot. Some places in our RV there is no cable or Over the Air TV so we needed to be able stream Netflix with our phones. We are paying more but we are getting what we needed.

[birdsong4]

Sorry to read all these comments about Niagara Falls, NY USA, but the sad thing is that they are, as someone said, “spot on “.
It wasn’t always like that...I grew up in NF, moved away 42 years ago, and continued to visit my family a few times each year. Saw the slow and sometimes rapid descent Into misguided, and greedy decisions for development bring about what you now witness.
When I hear someone say they are traveling there, my advice is always go to Canada.
You may be able to get physically closer to the Falls on the American side, but your best view is from the Canadian side as well as a better experience. Saddens me to say it.

[t.simpson]

Originally Posted by KyDan

It's been a few years but we stayed in 4 mile creek NY state park. We hiked right along the NY side of the river all the way up past the whirl pool until we could see the rainbow bridge. It was a fantastic hike! We enjoyed site seeing around the NY side and the boat ride on the Erie canal was way more fun than I thought it would be.
It's not Disney World but unless it's greatly changed in the last few years I would go back.
If you want a resort and big crowds that's your thing. We'll keep trying to find the road less traveled (and the camp ground less camped!)
Happy Trails!

KYDan nailed it. Historically, NY has always focused on and protected the natural side of the Falls. (I am speaking about the Falls themselves, not the city of NF)The difference between the two sides is Nature VS Development. If you have fun hiking, fishing, exploring nature, then the NY side is the place. If you like people, hustle/bustle that comes with development, then the CA side is the place. The two sides are very different, but that creates an opportunity for more people to get what they want or enjoy.



I live in WNY and we spend at least two weekends a year at 4 Mile Creek SP. It a great spot!

[boatman811]

It is so sad to read these comments. Niagara Falls is one of our favorite places on earth. It is not only a destination for us but a stop-over whenever we are traveling and going to be close. To be honest, we have always enjoyed the American side of the Falls much more than the Canadian side. But when we go we spend very little time in town. We go for the park. Spending time along the rushing Niagara River is spectacular. The Falls overlook has always been a favorite of ours. This is a National treasure than is undergoing some much needed renovation. Please don't write it off.

With all that said, if what you are looking for are tourist activities like 4 and 5 star hotels, restaurants, casinos, wax museums, gift shops, etc. the Canadian side is much better. The Falls views are also spectacular and very clean. But I remember not so very long ago when renovations were being made to this side and it wasn't quite as nice.

We will continue to visit, walk, and be awed by the American Falls.

[CampingGator]

From what I have seen, towns that have gambling always go down hill. I don’t know what it is about that, but it’s true. NY state is a heavily taxed state and a beautiful state. I was born there and moved to Florida when I was ten, but look forward to spending more time there when I retire.

[wabakami]

Originally Posted by Clark Miller

We were just there in June. We drove our small class C motorhome pulling a small car. We drove across Canada from Detroit just to see the falls on our way to the east coast. As we came into town on the Canadian side it was much like Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve day. We drove along the main road that parallels the falls. There were throngs of people walking along the sidewalk observing the view. We were for the most part looking over them and the view was pretty spectacular. I was trying to find a place to pull over and park. There were a number of pay parking lots that wanted $25 just to park a car. We drove around for some time looking for a place to park and finally gave up and went across the bridge to the New York side. The US border official directed us to Niagara Fall state park. We followed the signs and parked in an RV lot in the park, took the trolley to the drop off point for the Mist boat ride, took the elevator ride down to the water level and rode the boat up the river to see the falls. It was pretty spectacular. We got back on the trolley and took it to a number af other viewing points and then back to the motorhome. We were very much pleased and satisfied with our viewing of the falls from the US side. So if you are in a motorhome and don’t have days to see or want to see commercial attractions the Niagara Falls state park on the US side works great.

Sorry the Canadian side didn't live up to your expectations.

For other readers' reference we have many free or low cost parking lots on the edge of the city and along the continuous (free) public park that extends along the Niagara River from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, with free or low cost all day shuttle service. Anyone with a toad then can travel at will without the worries of the congestion in the Clifton Hill area. All the Niagara Parks public areas are free, paid for by local and Provincial taxes, so enjoy them at your will.

As for $25 to park a car (all day) I would have gladly paid that in Boston this past summer. For $10 parking you just have to drive 3 or 4 blocks back away from the Falls area, again I found parking for $20 several blocks away (Boston). There are multiple large parking lots back near the Skylon tower which is walking distance from both the two casinos or the falls.

Going by your post you were just passing through otherwise you would have done a little research on your particular requirements. As other posters have said, there are many campgrounds in the area on both sides which are fabulous, if you hadn't tried to do it in an afternoon you would have been staying in one of those and used your toad to get around.


Please keep in mind that in the tourist season the Canadian side handles millions of visitors from all other the world rather well, like all touristy areas there are the tourist traps, but if you look a little further you will find the real heart of the destination.

Next time give us a little bit more time to show you our real Canadian hospitality. I hope your east coast trip included our Canadian east coast as well, we really have some really nice people out there, especially the Newfies, (Province of Newfoundland); they are so unique that they even have their own dog by the same name, it has webbed feet too!
I trust your travels were otherwise fantastic?



Geography lesson; You did not drive across Canada, Canada is over 5500 miles wide, you drove across a tiny portion of South-western Ontario (a province of Canada), roughly a distance of 225 miles, about 4%. I'll add, using modern multi-lane freeways without a toll booth in sight!



Geoff
.

[spock123]

We like Four Mike Creek State Park. The last time we were there we parked on the American side and walked across the the bridge to the Canadian side. We spent the day and had a good time, we also enjoyed the American side. We always enjoy our stay at Four Mile Creek