Last week was Spring Break for our kids and instead of venturing to any warmer weather destinations, we decided to head north to Niagara Falls. It had been well over a decade since my husband or I had been there and our kids had yet to see the falls. It was however because of the frigid weather and amount of walking we knew would be involved that we decided to leave Audrey behind in the care of our parents. Trust me, she had a blast being the only grandchild spoiled with one on one attention ;)
We planned this trip with friends of ours, shared an AirBnB and had the best time laughing and freezing our butts off. Despite the cold, the Falls were absolutely magical and beyond any words that I could dream up. The snow and ice seem to magnify the beauty which was honestly jaw-dropping. I didn’t remember the water being such a stunning shade of turquoise or the magnitude of the falls overall. They have a way of capturing your gaze as you stare in awe.
We were on the Canadian side of the falls and actually stayed 20-25 minutes north along Lake Ontario in St. Catharines. You can find the rental we stayed at here which we couldn’t have enjoyed it more. It was a beautiful home right along the water and I can only image how breathtaking it is during the summer months (that pool!).
We all agreed it was the best choice to stay a bit out of the city and get to see more of the area and enjoy some less touristy places. We had dinner at NOTL (Niagara on the Lake) which is adorable town nearby that was recommended to me by a number or people. The restaurant that we had planned to eat at was closed (timing is tricky in the off-season!) so we ended up running into the closest (and warmest) place we could find which ended up being a wood fire pizza place called Bistro Six One. Not only was the pizza amazing, but the fish tacos were to die for.
This was our view from the house. Once it was dark you could see Toronto across the water. And yes, we had to look that up because we had no idea what direction we were facing!!
We didn’t spend a ton of time in the home, but when we did, it was well enjoyed. There was plenty of room for the kids to run around and enjoy themselves and for the adults to squeeze in a few workouts!
We purchased Wonder Passes for each person ahead of time and we got the most out of our money using them. The kids wore them like a badge of honor and we joked that we were VIP’s being that we were first in all the non-existent lines during the entire trip!
These passes granted us access to Journey Behind the Falls which was a self guided tour behind the falls…
Niagara’s Fury (an interactive experience)…
The Butterfly Conservatory which was WARM and so beautiful…
And the Floral Showcase…likely the kids least favorite part of the trip, lol!
We also had access to ride the WeGo, their bus transportation that took you to/from all of the attractions. We can skip the part where we didn’t realize that the service ended at 5:30pm until it was 5:37pm….whoops!
That’s actually how we ended up in the most touristy area of them all. The kids (and adult!) were lost in a mirror maze for a hilarious amount of time and hot coffee and donuts were enjoyed. Some of us wanted to ride their enclosed ferris wheel, the Sky Wheel, but apparently it was too boring for the kids, lol.
There are obviously many more attractions to take advantage of during the warmer months, like the Maiden of the Mist, riding a zipline etc, but we tackled just as much as we all could handle in the few days we spent there.
One afternoon we grabbed a late lunch at the Queen Victoria Place Restaurant, overlooking the falls. Not only was the food delicious but the views were unbeatable. You can see the Skylon Tower behind the restaurant which we did consider seeing but ultimately ended up skipping.
After we checked out of our Air BnB we took a local recommendation and ate at Rosie’s near our home in St. Catharines where we all had one final breakfast feast.
We are fortunate that the falls are only 4 hours from our home, but they are certainly worth a longer journey if you’re able to make the trip at some point. There’s plenty to do, great food to be eaten and a beauty that’s worth it all.
I know there were a number of you already in the process of planning a trip there, so if there are any other questions that I may be able to answer for you, just let me know!
