Niagara Falls is a natural wonder that each of us should visit. Situated on northern side of New York, it falls on the border of US and Canada and in between, two of the Great lakes of the US – Lake Ontario & Lake Erie.
Best Weekend Road Trip Guide from New Jersey
Planning the Trip
For most of the states on the east coast of the US, the drive to Niagara Falls is within 8 hours, and a well-planned weekend trip can comfortably cover it. So, in April of 2024, while my parents were in the US, we decided to take a weekend trip to the grand Niagara Falls. The trip costs $350 per person, including food, lodging (for one night), toll, gas, and tickets at the state park (parking and other activities).
We started our day early on a Saturday, since the drive from New Jersey to Niagara takes about 6 to 6.5 hours. The drive is exceptionally beautiful, especially in the early spring months with the brilliant blue sky and the greens along the sides of the highway.
It takes about 4 to 5 hours at minimum to completely explore Niagara. So, there are two ways to go about it –
Option 1
Do, one of the activities like ‘Maid of the Mist’ or ‘Cave of Winds’ on the day of your arrival and the leave the rest, for the next day
Option 2
This might be a stretch for some, but this is what we did. We explored the state park completely on Saturday and had a booking in a nearby hotel for the night, so we did not have to rush through check-out the next day while also driving back to NJ. So, we made a coffee stop right before reaching Niagara State Park, getting ready for the excessive walk.
Niagara Falls State Park – Places to explore
Upon arrival, the first thing to do is to look for a parking slot. It is usually extremely busy on weekends and holiday season. So you may have hard time finding a free parking slot, although there are loads available on the paid parking. The paid parking charges anywhere between $10 – $30 for 24hours, depending on the parking slot.
Maid of the Mist
The first thing we did, was to go for the ‘Maid of the Mist’ boat ride. This boat ride departs every 30 minutes and is an absolute must. You get to see a close-up of all the three waterfalls. The ticket prices are $28 per adult. It is so well managed, that you hardly have to wait for your turn on the boat. They provide you with a blue raincoat on the US side (and pink on the Canadian side), which does its best to prevent you from getting fully drenched.
Once, on the boat, grab a spot closer to the rim, get a good hold of your phone (because mind you, it gets super windy and foggy closer to the falls), and awe in the grandeur of Niagara Falls.
The ride first takes you along the smaller ‘American Falls’ and ‘Bridal Veil Falls’, both of which seem humongous until you reach the ‘Horseshoe Falls’. The boats get as close as possible to the ‘Horseshoe falls’ where you can actually feel the powerful mist sprays from the falls, with almost 90% of the Niagara river making it’s way down through this fall.
The ticket also includes free access to the observation deck, where you can enjoy the falls up-close and click pictures.
Other picnic spots
After the exhilarating experience, you can walk around a bit in the park. Here are some amazing spots to picnic, have lunch, while enjoying the view of the falls. Terrapin Point – Closer to the Horseshoe falls, this vantage point gets you closer to the thunderous roar and misty spray of Niagara’s most majestic waterfall
Prospect Point – This point is famous for offering the stunning panoramic views of Niagara Falls
Goat island and Luna Island – Located on the US side, both of these islands provide some of the most sought after viewpoints of the falls.
Cave of the Winds
Next, we made our way to the other side of the state park, over to the ‘Cave of the Winds’. It’s one thing to see the waterfalls from up close, but it’s overwhelming to feel its power. That’s what you experience at ‘Cave of the Winds’. The tickets can be purchased on the spot and cost about $21 per adult. A batch of people go in every 30-40mins with no restriction on the return until 9 PM.
Upon entering, you spend the initial 10 minutes exploring the history of Niagara Falls via a short film. It’s encouraging to see how people from the early 1900s were enough environmentally aware to have found a movement to preserve the natural beauty of the falls. You also get yellow raincoats here, but that doesn’t help much because you are at the foot of the falls.
I read in some blogs that water slippers are also provided but that wasn’t the case for us. So, I would suggest carrying an extra pair of slippers for ‘Cave of the Winds’. Else, be prepared to spend the rest of your day drying your walking shoes, like we did.
Once in, stay as long as you can (until they close up) and enjoy getting drenched in the waterfall directly. There are wooden barracks all over, so you won’t have a problem navigating around the upper and lower decks. There is water everywhere, so be very careful while taking your phones out for pictures.
By the time you are out, you will be tired. So, take it slow. Soak in all the beauty of these massive falls in the time that you have. There are numerous food stalls to choose from. You could also souvenir shops from one of the retail stores. To help navigate through the park, you can also download the park explorer app from their official website. If you have time to spare, stay post-dusk to witness the light show on the falls. We were all exhausted from the water activities by this point, hence we decided to call it a day.
And that was the round-up of my day exploring the Niagara Falls State Park. Do share your story and experience in the comments.
