Niagara Falls is the oldest State Park in the country; its breathtaking beauty and power led a group of citizens to petition to protect it for future generations and allow access for all. We spent a very long and active day in the state park exploring the Falls and a couple more days hanging out on Grand Island and checking out Buffalo. When we arrived at Niagara Falls State Park we got scenic trolley tickets to explore the park and proceeded to book the two main experiences on our must-do list: Cave of the Winds and Maid of the Mist.

The park is very spread out across two islands (and it was extremely hot that day) so we were thankful for the trolley. For just a couple of dollars we had hop-on hop-off access to all the stops within the park. We started with Cave of the Winds. After viewing a movie about the history of the Falls, including it’s preservation and it’s utility for hydroelectric power, we donned our yellow ponchos and descended to the bottom of the falls in an elevator. Once at the bottom we traveled along a series of wooden stairs and walkways to get up close and personal with the American Falls. It was epic and absolutely exhilarating. Near the beginning of the walkway a sea gull pooped on the top of Jake’s head and he was pretty frustrated until I suggested he use the falls to get his head clean. Surprisingly he agreed and took a nice long Niagara Falls shower.

Maid of the Mist is an electric boat ride that travels around the base of the American Falls and heads into the center of the Horseshoe Falls, chilling there for a while before turning around. I had read about the lines and long wait times so was anxious to get in line for stuff early. I don’t know if it was just because it was a Wednesday, but there were almost no lines. Apparently avoiding weekends is a big help at this busy state park. After a very short wait we put on our blue ponchos and boarded the boat. The first part of the ride gave us a gorgeous view of the falls from the middle of the Niagara River. I almost took off my poncho since we were only getting refreshing light mist (and those plastic ponchos are sticky in the heat). I mentioned that to Jake and he pointed out where we were heading: right into the Horseshoe. The center of Horseshoe Falls felt like being in the middle of a hurricane. It was amazing but almost too much. The water was so intense I couldn’t really see anything. But what an experience! After our boat ride we went to the top of the observation tower, and then checked out the 3 sisters islands to experience the rapids. Niagara Falls as a whole was 10/10. Next time we will definitely bring our passports so we can check out the Canadian side.