visiting Niagara

I have questions and I know niagara has been thoroughly covered in
here because I googled it, but I haven't seen the answers I need so
here goes. :-)
We are heading there for a weekend, we need a hotel that will not
require us to walk up that hill as our son is unable to do it, due to
physical problems. We don't have to stay right in niagara falls, I've
looked at niagara on the lake also but I'm not familiar with the area.
I'm sure there are other towns in the vicinity that would be within an
acceptable distance. I've looked at so many hotel websites that my
head hurts, so here is the list of things we would like to do and see,
I'm hoping some kind person that knows the area will have some
suggestions as where to stay in a moderate priced hotel that is not
too far from everything. Also we're wondering about the parking by the
falls, where the parking is and how much it costs. Of course we want
to view the falls and see the colors at night, we would like to do the
cave of the winds, we are hoping to take the ghostwalk in
Niagara-on-the-lake and we want to go to the butterfly conservatory.
It would be good to see fort erie also and I believe there is some
kind of scenic drive from there to niagara but I haven't found any
specific info on it. We are coming up from Bradford, PA after
breaking our daughter out of her campus for the weekend, so it's a
rare family weekend. Thanks for any and all information.

BmB

wrote:

We are heading there for a weekend, we need a hotel that will not
require us to walk up that hill as our son is unable to do it, due to
physical problems. We don't have to stay right in niagara falls, I've
looked at niagara on the lake also but I'm not familiar with the area.

I don't think many people walk down that hill to see the falls. Most drive
down and park in the lot across the street from the falls, or the one at
the greenhouse a few hundred yards upstream from the falls. Michael's Inn
is a decent hotel that is right on the parkway, so you would not have to
deal with the hill.

There are some expensive hotels with a view overlooking the falls, but if
you want a more economical hotel you should consider one along Lundy's
Lane, which is easy to get to from the falls. There is a nice Holiday Inn
in Fort Erie, which s not much of a town (IMO) but has lots of
inexpensive restaurants, and the drive along the Niagara Parkway from Fort
Erie to Niagara Falls is quiet scenic, and takes about 20 minutes. There
are lots of hotels in St.Catharines, which is only 15 minutes from the
falls. Niagara on the Lake as lots of nice hotels, but they tend to be
very expensive, as are the restaurants there.

The Butterfly Conservatory is on the grounds of the school of
Horticulture, which is one the Parkway between Niagara Falls and Niagara
on the Lake. The Niagara Parkway is the road that runs along the Niagara
River from Fort Erie, right alongside the falls and on to Niagara on the
Lake. There are some nice houses on along one side of the road, and the
river on the other side, except for a short stretch near Queenston where
there are a few houses on the river side. There is also a bicycle path
beside the road. There are some old forts along the route, Fort Erie (in
Fort Erie of course) Fort Mississauga and Fort George in Niagara on the
Lake. There are also several old battle sites from the War of 1812 along
the parkway.

We are heading there for a weekend, we need a hotel that will not
require us to walk up that hill as our son is unable to do it, due to
physical problems.

Look at this aerial photo

http://www.globalairphotos.com/image...fh2003_047.jpg

which is looking more or less northwest. Goat Island, on the US (east)
side of the river, is at lower right, and the Canadian (west) side
occupies the rest of the photo.

The cluster of tall towers near the center of the photo include the
hotels that are nearest the falls on the Canadian side. Between them
and the river you can see, in order: (1) a strip of tree-covered land,
which is a hill; (2) a level area , with roads and parkland and a few
buildings; and (3) the steep cliff of the gorge. Oh, and inside the
gorge is (4) a power station.

If you're thinking of staying in one of these hotels with a view, and
the hill "(1)" is the one you mean, then it can be avoided by using the
incline railway (funicular) visible between the large letters "l" and
"y" in the copyright notice. Here's a closer view of it:

http://www.niagarafrontier.com/image...inerailway.jpg

Although the funicular ride is short, it costs $2; I couldn't find out
online whether that's one way or round trip, but I seem to remember
you buy a round-trip ticket. If you buy a day pass ($7.50) on the
"people mover" bus line that follows the river from the falls north
to Queenston Heights, the funicular is included.

Or if you stay somewhere else and drive to the falls area -- or for that
matter, drive from one of the above hotels -- you are already at the
bottom of the hill "(1)":

Also we're wondering about the parking by the
falls, where the parking is and how much it costs.

Referring back to the first picture, you can see a narrow, elongated
parking lot extending for the equivalent of several blocks, from
just above the letter "B" in the copyright notice to the base of the
funicular and beyond. This is the nearest lot to the falls on the
Canadian side. It charges a flat rate for the whole day, which is
something like $10. If you have to park at the far end, it can be
a 10-minute walk to the falls for a person in normal health.

There are other lots farther south (upstream), at least one of which
charges by time rather than flat rate.

On the US side, the lot nearest the falls is on Goat Island, clearly
visible above the ".com" in the lower right of the photo. I recall
this being less expensive than the Canadian lot mentioned above, or
maybe it charges by time and I wasn't there long last time I went;
I don't have detailed or very recent information. Goat Island is also
where you get the Cave of the Winds tour from. An alternative to this
is the Journey Behind the Falls tour on the Canadian side. The Maid of
the Mist boat trip is available from either country, returning to the
same place, of course. Only on the Canadian side you have the White
Water Walk, which I always recommend -- it takes you close to the lower
rapids, in the gorge below the falls -- as well as the Spanish Aero Car,
which crosses the side gorge containing the Whirlpool, and yes, the
butterfly conservatory. There are combination tickets available for
different attractions in the same country.

This photo

http://www.globalairphotos.com/image...fh2003_048.jpg

shows the same scene as the first one, but from another angle, and here
you can plainly see the international Rainbow Bridge in relation to the
two falls and the other features. You may always wish to look at Google
Maps http://maps.google.com for satellite images, which can be zoomed
right in to where you can count the cars in the parking lots.

If you mean some other hill, I don't think I can help.

It would be good to see fort erie also and I believe there is some
kind of scenic drive from there to niagara but I haven't found any
specific info on it.

Just take the road that follows the river; it runs all the way from
Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake. In most places it's signed as the
Niagara Parkway or Niagara River Parkway, but this isn't 100% consistent,
especially within towns. There is one place, south of the falls, where
where the road deviates briefly away from the river and you have to
make a turn toward the river (right if going north) to stay on it.

If you're crossing into Canada via the Peace Bridge from Buffalo to
Fort Erie, and intend to take the parkway to Niagara Falls rather
than staying on the QEW (freeway), be ready to exit immediately
after the customs barrier, and double back to the riverside.
Conversely, if you want to see Niagara-on-the-Lake (which is a lot
more attractive than Fort Erie) before the Falls, you can stay on
the US side and take I-190 to the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge; again,
take the first exit in Canada and double back toward the river, then
go north (left) to reach Niagara-on-the-Lake.
--
Mark Brader "Those who do not understand UNIX
Toronto are condemned to reinvent it."
-- Henry Spencer

My text in this article is in the public domain.

Check http://www.niagaraparks.com/

wrote:

I have questions and I know niagara has been thoroughly covered in
here because I googled it, but I haven't seen the answers I need so
here goes. :-)
We are heading there for a weekend, we need a hotel that will not
require us to walk up that hill as our son is unable to do it, due to
physical problems. We don't have to stay right in niagara falls, I've
looked at niagara on the lake also but I'm not familiar with the area.
I'm sure there are other towns in the vicinity that would be within an
acceptable distance. I've looked at so many hotel websites that my
head hurts, so here is the list of things we would like to do and see,
I'm hoping some kind person that knows the area will have some
suggestions as where to stay in a moderate priced hotel that is not
too far from everything. Also we're wondering about the parking by the
falls, where the parking is and how much it costs. Of course we want
to view the falls and see the colors at night, we would like to do the
cave of the winds, we are hoping to take the ghostwalk in
Niagara-on-the-lake and we want to go to the butterfly conservatory.
It would be good to see fort erie also and I believe there is some
kind of scenic drive from there to niagara but I haven't found any
specific info on it. We are coming up from Bradford, PA after
breaking our daughter out of her campus for the weekend, so it's a
rare family weekend. Thanks for any and all information.

BmB

Hi

check out

https://discoverniagara.com/main/

must see falls at sundown under the lights

thanks
Smiles

wrote:
I have questions and I know niagara has been thoroughly covered in
here because I googled it, but I haven't seen the answers I need so
here goes. :-)
We are heading there for a weekend, we need a hotel that will not
require us to walk up that hill as our son is unable to do it, due to
physical problems. We don't have to stay right in niagara falls, I've
looked at niagara on the lake also but I'm not familiar with the area.
I'm sure there are other towns in the vicinity that would be within an
acceptable distance. I've looked at so many hotel websites that my
head hurts, so here is the list of things we would like to do and see,
I'm hoping some kind person that knows the area will have some
suggestions as where to stay in a moderate priced hotel that is not
too far from everything. Also we're wondering about the parking by the
falls, where the parking is and how much it costs. Of course we want
to view the falls and see the colors at night, we would like to do the
cave of the winds, we are hoping to take the ghostwalk in
Niagara-on-the-lake and we want to go to the butterfly conservatory.
It would be good to see fort erie also and I believe there is some
kind of scenic drive from there to niagara but I haven't found any
specific info on it. We are coming up from Bradford, PA after
breaking our daughter out of her campus for the weekend, so it's a
rare family weekend. Thanks for any and all information.

BmB

I just wanted to pop in and thank everyone that replied to my post.
We had a great trip for the most part. Ended up staying on Lundys
Lane, which worked out fine. The only disapointment was
Niagara-on-the-lake, which we won't be visiting again on our next
trips up that way. Found a very enjoyable and pretty reasonable
restaraunt on Clifton Hill called Boston Pizza...not just pizza...that
was everyone's favorite meal of the trip. Anyway, thanks again for
the advice!

janie

wrote:

I just wanted to pop in and thank everyone that replied to my post.
We had a great trip for the most part. Ended up staying on Lundys
Lane, which worked out fine. The only disapointment was
Niagara-on-the-lake, which we won't be visiting again on our next
trips up that way. Found a very enjoyable and pretty reasonable
restaraunt on Clifton Hill called Boston Pizza...not just pizza...that
was everyone's favorite meal of the trip. Anyway, thanks again for
the advice!


What was the problem with NOTL? It has a terrific theatre, great
restaurants, nice stores, a lot of nice wineries to visit, and it's a nice
drive to get there.

What it lacks is cheesy tourist trinket stores, chintzy tourist traps and
franchised restaurants like Boston Pizza.

On Tue, 11 Oct 2005 11:13:39 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:


What was the problem with NOTL? It has a terrific theatre, great
restaurants, nice stores, a lot of nice wineries to visit, and it's a nice
drive to get there.

What it lacks is cheesy tourist trinket stores, chintzy tourist traps and
franchised restaurants like Boston Pizza.

Well the town itself was lovely. The people not so much. The
restaurant was good, the building beautiful. The staff in every store
we shopped in were unpleasant and acted as if it were a huge
imposition to wait on customers. The wait staff at the restaurant were
rude and the food, frankly, not worth the price tag. Most unappealing
of all there were teenagers all over town on skateboards almost mowing
people down. With children we don't do wineries, and we didn't have
time to go to the theater, we only went to the town to do the
ghostwalk and shop.
In Niagara Falls the only time we went to the touristy area was to
look for a place to grab a quick bite before the illuminations. I
never heard of boston pizza and obviously it is beneath you, but our
family had a fun meal there with good food, a friendly wait staff and
a reasonable price. I wouldn't know about the rest of the area, we
just walked through it, so I would not be as familiar as you are with
the cheezy stores there.

janie

wrote:


Well the town itself was lovely. The people not so much. The
restaurant was good, the building beautiful. The staff in every store
we shopped in were unpleasant and acted as if it were a huge
imposition to wait on customers. The wait staff at the restaurant were
rude and the food, frankly, not worth the price tag.

That's odd because I have never had trouble with the staff in the stores
there. I spent an evening window shopping there a few weeks ago while my wife
and her sister went to a play. The staff in all the stores were very pleasant,
especially in the wine store that I went in not realizing that it had just
closed, and the girl in there engaged me in a long conversation.

Most unappealing
of all there were teenagers all over town on skateboards almost mowing
people down. With children we don't do wineries, and we didn't have
time to go to the theater, we only went to the town to do the
ghostwalk and shop.

That night was the first time that I encountered obnoxious youths in that town,
and they turned out to be some university freshmen pledging. There was one kid
on a skateboard. The most obnoxious people I met were some young men who were
making asses of themselves trying to pick up my wife and sister in law, and
when I showed up they got into a car with NY plates.

"Dave Smith" wrote in message
...
wrote:
The staff in all the stores were very pleasant,
especially in the wine store that I went in not realizing that it had just
closed, and the girl in there engaged me in a long conversation.

The most obnoxious people I met were some young men who were
making asses of themselves trying to pick up my wife and sister in law,
and
when I showed up they got into a car with NY plates.

This was very cute. Chatting up you = very pleasant. Chatting up your wife
= obnoxious asses.
Though I know you didn't mean it to sound like that.