# Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689 "2016-08-22T23:52:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/1 "2016-08-22T23:52:49Z")
You can also include when you were last there, if you want. Like me, I’ve been there a few times, but the last time I was it was about fourteen years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2016, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/2 "2016-08-22T23:56:19Z")
My answer is almost exactly the same. I’ve been there a few times and the last time was around 14 years ago. It was between 12 and 18 years ago because I remember it being before my current job, but I went there alone and 18 years ago was when I started taking trips alone. You’d think that living in Western New York when I was young that I would have been there more often than just a few times, but we didn’t even get to Buffalo that much much less to Niagara Falls. I lived less than 50 miles from it but it seemed very far away for someone who couldn’t drive. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/3 "2016-08-23T00:10:56Z")
[Obligatory Vaudeville Response] Slooowwwly I turned! Step by step! Inch by inch! [/OVR] 😃 Yeah, my family went on a trip to the falls when I was 10. We drove up from Pennsylvania and stayed there for a week. We rode the Maid of the Mist and went to the Canadian side for a better view of the Horseshoe Falls. Sadly, it’s been almost 50 years and I’ve never been back since. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/4 "2016-08-23T00:17:21Z")
Once, US side. I was really really young and barely remember it though. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/5 "2016-08-23T00:22:49Z")
The second time I went to the Canadian side and learned that beer actually tasted good. ---
**Author:** ![delphica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9a140/32.png) [@delphica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/delphica)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/6 "2016-08-23T00:23:58Z")
“MANY, many” seems like it could mean A LOT of times, but it is local to me so I have in fact been there many times. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/7 "2016-08-23T00:26:12Z")
My one visit was in January, early in the morning, on a trip from Ohio to Toronto with one of my grown-up sons. We’d spent the night in upstate New York, and left the motel very early. It started snowing gently when we crossed the border, and when got to the Falls no one was there, so I just parked in a bus stop (rather than trying to find a proper parking area), so we could walk over an stand for a minute or so in the snow gazing at the water alling. It was very impressive, but very cold! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/8 "2016-08-23T00:35:21Z")
If I can’t go over it in a barrel, then I don’t see what’s the point of going. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/9 "2016-08-23T00:40:42Z")
Was there when I was maybe 7-8 years old, don’t remember much except I didn’t like the Canadian Hamburger I was served when we ate lunch. Just got back from a vacation where I saw the Victoria Falls in Zambia (spectacular!), so I guess I need to get back there and see how it compares. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/10 "2016-08-23T00:41:07Z")
A few times. Three or four on the American side and once on the Canadian side. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/11 "2016-08-23T01:06:29Z")
I’ve been there thrice on both sides in the 1980s and early 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/12 "2016-08-23T01:08:00Z")
I grew up about 100 miles away. I’ve been on probably 6 or 7 trips there: twice to both sides and the other times just to the US side. Not that it’s actually worth 6 or 7 trips. Only the first two times were worth the trouble. The other times I was more or less dragged along. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/13 "2016-08-23T01:25:25Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > … Not that it’s actually worth 6 or 7 trips. … Yes, my wife and I took a car trip to upstate New York, including Buffalo and Lockport (the latter being the county seat of Niagara County, which includes the US side of the Falls). We’d both previously been to Niagara Falls (on separate trips), and decided that it wasn’t worth paying a second visit. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/14 "2016-08-23T01:51:46Z")
I paid a quick visit in 2004. I spent the night on the US side, got up early the next day to check out Terrapin Point and went over to see The Cave of The Winds before heading out. The Canadian side seemed “nicer” to me…the US side seemed, I dunno, kind of worn out and a little seedy outside of the main tourist area. The falls themselves are fantastic, absolutely worth a visit if you’re in the vicinity. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/15 "2016-08-23T01:54:42Z")
I used to live there. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/16 "2016-08-23T02:05:06Z")
I did a cross country drive with a boyfriend in, oh, 1998-ish to deliver a car from Palm Springs to Toronto in late spring. The car was a big, classic Lincoln with a sun roof that got stuck in the “open” position somewhere around Kansas City, a development that kept the trip interesting. The car’s owner paid for gas and lodging, but we didn’t have a whole lot of time to deliver it, just 5 days. Still, we stopped and saw a few things along the way. Niagara Falls was the high point for me and I’ll never forget it. Hope to go back one day but probably wouldn’t plan a trip around just that. Agree that the actual Falls are something that should be on everyone’s bucket list. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/17 "2016-08-23T02:17:57Z")
I only live about an hour away so it’s not a big deal for me. I’ve driven there a few times just to go shopping. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/18 "2016-08-23T02:22:45Z")
Went there as a kid. We spent most of the time on the Canadian side – the US side was extremely tacky at that time. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/19 "2016-08-23T02:22:59Z")
I was there in the mid-70s on a band trip. I was about 14. We had about 2 hours to do both sides. More or less just - there it is, get back on the bus. Oh and don’t try to mess with the border patrol. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689/20 "2016-08-23T03:27:56Z")
Been there twice, once on my honeymoon, although I wish we had rented a car and gone to Toronto instead. Later we took our teen-age kids there, as part of a trip including Toronto. The water looked the same! There was enough [del]interesting[/del] shlocky stuff to do there that it was fun - Ripleys, Maid of the Mist, trinket stores, and uh, I guess the falls. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-to-niagara-falls/763689.md?page=2)