Exploring Canada - Part I

T-shirt in tourist shop

As I mentioned previously, we discovered that the toll to walk the bridge (50¢ per person) was significantly less than the cost of tolls and Canadian parking.  It did make for somewhat of a long walk, but the exercise certainly didn't hurt us any too much. I know that I sit down at work far more than I used to and don't exercise as much as I should.

According to Google Maps the distance between the Goat Island Parking lot and the edge of Horseshoe Falls in Canada is about 4.3 miles round trip.  Well the map actually told me 3.5 kilometers each way, but I have an app that I can use to convert the distance for me.  The town reminded me of Gatlinburg, TN (i.e. very touristy) in the direction away from the falls.  We didn't walk up there right away, but would before we left for home.

As we walked towards the edge of the gorge we passed this monument to those from Niagara Falls, ON who fell in World War I & II.

These flowers were located in the park that hugs the edge of the gorge all the way from the Rainbow Bridge to Horseshoe Falls

This is a duplicate of the very first picture of the falls from 1840, mounted in the gardens next to a fountain.

These are the boardwalks and platforms we had been walking on during the Cave of the Winds tour.  I zoomed in with my camera to capture this shot from Canada.

And as I said earlier, you can get excellent views of American Falls from Canada.

My first few pictures of Horseshoe Falls were all obscured by the massive amount of mist thrown up by all of that falling water.  At one point I even had water falling since it had been driven up and thence back towards the gorge by wind.

I assume this is an observation tower.

Without a tripod we couldn't get pictures together.

But we could still pose separately in front of American Falls.

I just thought this looked amusing. It could easily be misread to indicate that restrooms are in opposite directions for the different genders (and they were a ways off).

 I thought that this history was quite fascinating.  If I recall correctly the reverse was in French, so you're not missing any information by not seeing the backside of this sign.

Sir Casmir S. Gzowski 1813-1898
First chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission (1885-93) Czowski was born in Russia of Polish parents.  Forced to emigrate, following participation in the Polish Rising of 1830, he came to Canada in 1841.  An exceptionally able engineer, he first served as a government construction superintendent.  He later organized a company which built the Grand Trunk Railway form Toronto to Sarnia, 1853-7, and the International Bridge across the niagara River at Fort Erie in 1873.  He was a founder of the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers in 1887.  A colonel in the Canadian militia.  Jan was appointed Honorary Aide-de-Camp to the Queen in 1879 and knighted in 1890  Czowski served as Administrator of Ontario 1896-97
--from official Ontario signage

Another great view.  We thought the Canadian side looked very commercial because of the skyscrapers, but I think plenty of that depends on your perspective.  When we were on the Canadian side we clearly saw              several American skyscrapers.  Yet on both sides the very edge of the gorge is preserved as a state (or provincial) park.

Part of the way along our walk we stopped for a few minutes to rest in the grassy area next to the sidewalk.

This is the view back where we'd come from.

And this was part of the view up ahead.

But the best view was straight overhead.

I could zoom in on the full spread of American Falls in this video.


This is detail from the base of American Falls.

And this fun shot is of the top of American Falls, closer to the Prospect Point side than to Luna Island.

~Matt