Best Things To Do in Niagara Falls

Walk through the underground caves beneath the Erie Canal, remnants of a past industrial age when goods were stored here, and traipse along the water tunnel that was blasted out of New York's solid rock in the 1850s. Hanging stalactites and lots of paraphernalia left behind by past workers decorate the stony pathway, and after you've gone subterranean you can climb to the surface and check out locks 67-71, which were built in 1838.  In October there are special underground Halloween tours through various caves reputed to be haunted.

Get a floating history lesson on how 363-mile Grand Old Erie Canal was dug by hand by hardworking laborers more than a century ago. The canal connected the Hudson River with the Niagara River, with 83 stone locks that help boats navigate the 571-foot height difference between the two rivers. You can cruise along for two quiet hours, passing under drawbridges, traveling through the solid rock walls that had to be cut to make locks, and navigating the famous “Flight of Five,” the original 1840 locks (several more have been added since the 1900s). The locks are about 20 miles outside of Niagara Falls proper.

Get right into the maelstrom on the Maid of the Mist, Niagara's famous boat ride into the thundering heart of Horseshoe Falls. There's really no way to describe the awesome power of Mother Nature's water spectacle, except to say you will get very wet even after you don the bright blue rain gear provided by Maid of the Mist. Lines for this very popular boat ride are loooong, and there's a lot of walking just to get everyone funneled onto the massive ferries used to carry you under the foam of the pounding waterfalls. Prepare for an adrenaline-fueled soaking!

Small but interactive, there are plenty of hungry mouths to feed at this inland “oceanarium,” as the staff likes to call the Niagara aquarium. Inside there are over 1,500 different marine creatures, from sharks and piranhas to sea lions and endangered Peruvian penguins. Pop by at feeding time (10AM) and you can watch the black-and-white birds belly up to the trough, or come at 3PM, buy a bucket of fish and feed the perpetually-hungry sea lions yourself. There are also seasonal opportunities to feed the seals, but they’re not always on display. Tidal pools and shark exhibits take up the main floor of this fairly small-sized aquarium.

Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking Lake Ontario, this old fort dates back to Colonial times when control of the waterways was critical for military purposes. Visitors today will see three flags flown over the stone buildings and old wooden barracks, one for each nation that once held the property: France, England and the U.S. The French first built the fort around 1726, but lost it to the British in 1759. The British held the fort through the American Revolution, but had to yield it in 1796; it was recaptured by the British in 1813, but America reclaimed it again in 1815, spoils from the War of 1812. When the Erie Canal was built, the fort diminished in importance. Now it's a National Historic Landmark and one of Niagara's most-visited sites. Walk among the desolate old buildings and stone walkways on the windy bluff and you can practically hear the cannons booming.