Niagara Falls & other honeymoon-worthy wild water

By Judith H. Bernstein, Newsday
12:17 PM PDT, July 12, 2007

After recent trips to Spain and Ireland, and cruises to Alaska and Panama, I racked my brain for a jaunt worthy of our 35th wedding anniversary. After all, for our 25th, we'd stayed at a seaside resort on the Big Island of Hawaii. How could we top that?

"How about Niagara Falls?" my husband, Paul, suggested. And that idea blossomed into a vacation about a force of nature so powerful it's been a tourist magnet since the early 1800s, when Napoleon's brother visited with his bride, kicking off Niagara's reputation as a honeymoon destination.

We decided we'd immerse ourselves in New York's natural wonders -- the waterfalls that blanket the central and western part of the state. Online, I found Scott A. Ensminger's Western New York Waterfall Survey. Ensminger has written books on Canadian and New York waterfalls, and lists more than 900 on his Web site. And Rich and Sue Freeman's "200 Waterfalls in Central & Western New York: A Finder's Guide" (Footprint Press) contains photos, maps and a one- to four-boot system that rates each falls' accessibility, a necessity since we're not into extreme hiking.

It was clear: Niagara Falls was only the beginning.

But what a beginning! We decided to see the three ever-changing falls in Niagara from as many vantage points as possible (although not via barrel or helicopter, thank you!). The view from our hotel room on the Canadian side of the falls was a great start. (One of the benefits of our early May visit was snagging a suite with a fireplace and whirlpool tub for only $115 a night. And that included a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning, plus a $40 dinner voucher, which we used at the hotel's ninth-floor steakhouse. That offered yet another view of the falls, which are illuminated at night in constantly changing colors by 21 spotlights.)

The thunderous din of crashing water was so intense we could hear it in our room, even with the window closed. The spray blanketed our car as we drove along the walkway that skirts the falls, and cooled us when we strolled alongside the rim. Over our three-day stay, the U-shape of the Horseshoe Falls -- the largest of the three cascades -- often resembled a cauldron, with the rising mist looking like steam above a colossal pot.

Among our stops on the Canadian side was the Table Rock Center, where we donned yellow rain slickers as an elevator whisked us 150 feet below street level to Journey Behind the Falls. There, we explored the tunnels and observation decks behind and below Horseshoe Falls. The 520-foot-tall Skylon Tower's open-air observation area swept us up in the other direction, but the falls' power could be felt, their roar heard, even at that distance.

Slowing the flow

Ironically, these massive falls don't cascade at full strength. Our tour guide, George, explained that power companies in New York and Canada harness the falls to produce electricity but also have slowed the flow to alleviate erosion that was moving Horseshoe Falls 3 feet to 4 feet a year; that erosion is now just 1 foot every 10 years.

We decided to follow the waters north along the Niagara River Recreational Trail. The unique power of rushing water is obvious here, with 30 mph whitewater rapids that reach Category 6, the most dangerous level. At the White Water Walk, we took an elevator 230 feet down to a boardwalk that hugs the tumbling rapids and rock cliffs.

Afterward, we drove north along the river to Niagara-on-the-Lake, where the Shaw Festival is in residence from April through October. We lucked out: The festival had matinees in two theaters that day. We snagged front-row balcony seats to Shaw's "Saint Joan" at the Festival Theater, and strolled charming village streets lined with shops and restaurants until the play started. After Joan's fire and passion, we had a quiet dinner on the outdoor deck of an Italian restaurant overlooking placid Lake Ontario, where all that sound and fury of Niagara finally, calmly flows.

As part of our tour of Niagara Falls, the lures included attractions devoted to birds and butterflies and flowers. And on another evening, we drove away from the busy, touristy downtown area and visited a winery just south of Niagara-on-the-Lake for dinner punctuated by glasses of local wine.

On our way back to the Finger Lakes, we stopped at Niagara Falls State Park -- New York's first state park, established in 1885. While our Canadian hosts had pooh-poohed the view on the American side, the difference was striking. Being in Canada and seeing the falls is like being in Astoria or Brooklyn and viewing Manhattan's skyline: undeniably breathtaking.

But being on the American side is like being in Manhattan -- you can't get any closer to the falls than this on land.

The Maid of the Mist, which sails from both Canadian and U.S. shores, had just started its season that morning. It's a short ride, but stunning, as the boat, rocked by the crashing, tumbling waters, sails straight to Horseshoe Falls and takes you up close to the American and Bridal Veil falls. It's easy to see why the Maid, running since 1846, when it was a ferry, has such longevity among Niagara's tourists.

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