Over the River and Through the Woods

From Goat Island we walked over the pedestrian bridge to Green Island and thence to the mainland.  The shoulder of ground directly next to American Falls is called Prospect Point.  Green Island was originally heavily developed, just like the edge of the Niagara Gorge, until a movement in the late 1800s helped to set aside the entire area as the country's first state park (something similar happened on the other side of the international border also).

Today, the park’s signature attraction, majestic Niagara Falls, is the dramatic apex of the free-flowing waters of the Niagara River Gorge. It wasn't always so. During the Industrial Revolution of the early 19th Century, the natural beauty of Niagara Falls began to suffer as earnest industrialists built mills and factories along the river to harness its power. By the late 1860s, a small band of early environmentalists, concerned over the river’s waning flow, founded the Free Niagara movement. The movement held that the natural beauty of the land surrounding the Falls should be protected from commercial interests and exploitation, and remain free to the public. Members urged New York State to reclaim the Falls and the surrounding area. 

After more than 15 years of pressure, the Free Niagara crusaders won their battle. The Niagara Appropriations Bill was signed into law in 1885, creating the Niagara Reservation and signifying possibly the most important event in Niagara Falls’ history. New York State Assemblyman Thomas Vincent Welch figured prominently in getting the bill signed and served as the first superintendent of America’s first state park.
--from Niagara Falls State Park website, Park history section

From the bridges you can get a good view of the rapids as the water nears the top of the falls.

Green Island is a beautiful short walk.

This phone looked like it belonged on the set of Doctor Who for some reason.

We walked along the water for just a bit.


Standing on the mainland side of the American Falls this is about as much as you can see.  There is a tower and walkway that you can use to get a slightly better view (the tower contains an elevator that takes you down to the Maid of the Mist dock), but still you can't get a fantastic view of the falls from the American side.

I also took a video of the rainbow:


This staircase looked very inviting as you walked towards the main visitor center.

 Here is that visitor center.

 One exhibit shows how Prospect Point collapsed once in the past.

 As a result of the Prospect point collapse and other crumbling rocks the American Falls was actually "shut off" in 1969.  This allowed engineers time to study the rocks in the area and see what could be done.  Several times since then small adjustments (reinforcements or dynamiting of loose areas) have been made.

 The gardens surrounding the visitor center are in the shape of the great lakes.

 This water is rushing directly towards the American Falls.

 Niagara Falls, Canada is visible over the falls.  The stone in the background is on the Canadian side of the gorge.

 The tower I mentioned above is in the foreground of this shot.  The background shows half of the Rainbow Bridge that crosses into Canada.

 And this is about the best view of the American Falls that you can get from mainland America.

After this we headed back to Goat Island so that we could buy tickets and descend down to the base of the falls!

~Matt