Niagra Falls

This fall we drove from Grand Rapids to Niagra Falls for a family vacation.  Our first stop was in London, Onterio.  We stopped at the Story Book Gardens.  Our kids loved it.  We played for 2 hours and could have stayed alot longer.

We then went to Lockport, New York to see the Erie Canal.  We saw the original flight of 5 system and then we watched boats come in and out on the canal.  The canal operator came out and talked to us about how the canal works.  We all loved watching the locks fill and empty.  We could have stayed there a long time.

Original flight of 5

Watching the lock doors open and close.

After we checked out the canal we went to the national park located near the canal. They learned a lot about the process of building the canal and it's history. The kids got a Junior Ranger badge there which covered the whole Niagara Falls area.

We also did the Lockport cave tour, which was awesome.  There were 3 factories that used the water power from the canal in the 1800's.  One was a fire hydrant factory, the inventor of the fire hydrant, Birdsill Holly, has the 2nd most patents in the US.  We learned a lot about Birdsill Holly.  The other factories were a pulp mill and ceramics factory. The factories are no longer there but the tunnel that use to provide their power is and you can take a boat ride on it. The guide was wonderful and the tour is defiantly worth the time and money.  

From Lockport we went to our campsite.  We stayed at the Jellystone Campgrounds.  It is the closest campground to the falls.  It was a nice campground.  They had a pool, jump pillow, and a nice playground.  Because it's so close to the falls it's city camping.  You can hear the near by roads and there are businesses near by.

The next day we went to Marineland which was my kids favorite part of the trip. They had roller coaster rides that were fun for my 3 year old and 9 year old.  They also had a great dolphin show.  The kids got to feed a buluga wall and they have an open bear enclosure that you can feed the bears.  This is a really neat place to visit.

Later that evening we went to see the falls at night.  It was really fun to see the falls lite up at night. It was getting cold so we stopped at starbucks for hot cocco.

One way to save money on vacation as a family of 5 is cook your own food.  By camping or getting a rental home you can cook your own food and save a lot of money.  A cooler and some ramon noodles and my kiddos are happy and we save some major cash.  Then going out for things like ice cream or a trip to starbucks is totally doable.

The next day we spent the morning on a boat trip that brings you close to the falls.  The big kids really liked doing the boat ride but the 3 year old wasn't really sure about it.

In the afternoon we went to Fort Niagra.  I'm a little bit of a history lover so this was really fun for me.  The kids liked talking with the actors and watching a mortar demonstration.  They also loved the fort and the climbing on the cannons. The original fort was built to look more like a mansion than a fort so as to not alarm and appear hostile to the Native Americans.  It was used mostly as a trading post. They also have a nice museum that is included with the fort.  They have parts of the orginal flag that was flying at the fort during the war of 1812.

After the fort Westin and I took the trolley back to the falls.  It's free and stops at many of the attractions in the area.  Westin was very excited to ride it as he loves Danial Tiger and his trolley.

After the fort visit we went to the American side of the falls.  We walked along the river walk which was really cool for the kids to see the amount of power in the river before the falls.

The next day we went to the Niagra Gorge Discovery Center.  It cost $3 for adults and $2 dollars for kids.  So it was very affordable. My kids loved it.  It was a small center but my kids love geology and the center focuses on how and when the gorge was created and the kind of rocks that are found there.

The Gorge Discovery center also gives you access to the hiking trails along the river which are beautiful.  I would highly recommend this hike.

After that we went on our hike we went to the power vista.  This was the kids second favorite part of our trip.  And best of all it's free! The vista sits next to the power plant that harnesses the hydro power from the falls.  The kids learned a lot about how electricity works and had a lot of fun.

For our last day we did Clifton Hills.  It was raining in the morning so the kids did indoor put put golf.  We also played some games at the arcade. We also checked out the Hersey store.  By the afternoon the rain cleared up and we hiked around Goat Island.  It's crazy how close you can get to the falls on the island. The kids also loved the Tesla statue on the Island.  They learned a lot about him while we were in the area as he was the one to harness the hydro power from the falls and his ideas on Alternating current are still used today in our homes.