When you head east along Lake Erie from Ohio to New York, you pass through a small section of Pennsylvania and you pass Erie, PA. It takes less than an hour to cross the state up here.
For those who don’t know, my super power is finding wineries just about anywhere. So when we crossed into New York and Joel asked me to find a place to pull over and make lunch in the RV, I found a winery with a large parking area near the tasting room.
It turned out to be New York’s oldest winery. It was charming though the wine was just ok.
We continued east, passing through Buffalo, NY, and pulled into the KOA campground on Grand Island, just a few miles south of the Niagara Falls State Park.
As you walk from the parking lot past the Visitor Center you start to hear water. And suddenly you find yourself overlooking the roaring water falls.
Niagara Falls, NY, in the United States is on one side, Niagara Falls, Ontario, in Canada is on the other side. In the picture above you can see the buildings in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
“Prior to being protected, the lands surrounding Niagara Falls on both sides of the river were largely controlled by private interests, and public access to the falls was limited. Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, an early champion of the falls’ surroundings, began advocating for their preservation in the 1860s. In 1879, at the behest of the New York State Legislature, Olmsted and State Surveyor James T. Gardner helped prepare a special report on the falls’ conditions, which argued for increased public access to the falls and recommended that the state purchase lands for that purpose.” – Wikipedia
We purchased tickets to the Maid of the Mist boat tour. We highly recommend it. It is definietly something to experience if you are in the area. Boat tours leave from the Observation Tower every 15 minutes. We read that you can get quite wet when you take the boat tour so we dressed accordingly.
Maid of the Mist provides everyone with a stunningly beautiful (and waterproof!) blue poncho for the boat tour. As you can see, we immediately put ours on and wore it with pride.
The boat tour begins by passing along side American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. “The American Falls is the second-largest of the three waterfalls that together are known as Niagara Falls.” – Wikipedia
“The Bridal Veil Falls is the smallest of the three waterfalls that make up Niagara Falls.” – Wikipedia
It is located next to the American Falls. In the picture below, from left to right, you can see the Observation Tower, the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (the small waterfall at the far right of the American Falls).
Our boat tour then headed toward Horseshoe Falls. “Horseshoe Falls, also known as Canadian Falls, is the largest of the three waterfalls that collectively form Niagara Falls on the Niagara River along the Canada–United States border. Approximately 90% of the Niagara River, after diversions for hydropower generation, flows over Horseshoe Falls. The remaining 10% flows over American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. It is located between Terrapin Point on Goat Island in the US state of New York, and Table Rock in the Canadian province of Ontario.” – Wikipedia
I put my cell phone in a zip lock bag and just kept taking pictures, completely unsure of what I was capturing. This picture of us completely soaked is one of my favorites.
These waterfalls are massive! For some perspective, below is a picture we took of a Maid of the Mist boat, which holds about 300 people, sailing next to the American Falls.
After our boat tour we walked along the American Rapids, which feeds the American Falls. “The estimated water flow over the US side of Niagara Falls is 75,000 gallons per second, which comes just the 10% of Niagara Falls total water flow.” – Infoniagara.com
How do you top a morning at Niagara Falls? Well, with a visit to where Theodore Roosevelt was inaugurated when President McKinley was assassinated. This National Park site was just a short 30 minute drive south of Niagara Falls. “Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site preserves the Ansley Wilcox House, at 641 Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, New York. Here, after the assassination of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt took the oath of office as President of the United States on September 14, 1901.” Wikipedia
“In 1901, while attending the Pan-American Exposition, President William McKinley was shot twice at close range by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Although early doctor’s reports on the President’s condition were positive, McKinley’s condition soon worsened: while Vice President Theodore Roosevelt rushed back to Buffalo, he was informed on arrival that McKinley had died.” – Wikipedia
“It was decided to conduct the inauguration immediately, due to the tragic and politically charged circumstances of President McKinley’s death. The most appropriate site was determined to be the Wilcox home. Approximately 50 dignitaries, family members and cabinet officials gathered in the front library for the inauguration, while Federal Judge John R. Hazel administered the oath. No photographic image exists of the ceremony itself, although the room was heavily photographed after the inauguration had concluded.” – Wikipedia
There was a large display on the issues that Roosevelt faced when he assumed the Presidency. It seems crazy that so many of the issues he dealt with are still issues today, over 100 years later.
After a couple of days in the Niagara Falls area we continued east past Rochester, NY to the small town of Fair Haven on Lake Erie, where we stayed at a great Harvest Host.
Side note – Lake Erie was the 5th and final of the five Great Lakes we saw on this trip. We didn’t even have the Great Lakes on our bucket list though we are so happy we came this way and saw them.
We don’t normally like to stay at breweries because they are often downtown and fairly busy/noisy. However, this town is very small and the parking lot in the back is wooded and very quiet. We will definitely stay here again when we are in the area.
Our stop in Fair Haven was unexpected. Joel learned that his Uncle Ragon lived up here. He didn’t remember his uncle since he was very young the last time they saw each other. But Joel got his uncle’s contact information from another cousin and called him up. We had a wonderful visit at a great restaurant right by the water.
Two of Ragon’s daughters joined us. It was a great family reunion.
This was a great beginning to our time in upstate New York.
Good afternoon! Glad to hear you are having fun in the state of New York especially at the Niagara Falls on the American side with an added bonus reuniting with your uncle and cousins!
Happy Travels,
Rod and Sashs