Niagara Falls, stunning in Winter

Niagara Falls is a looong way from Montreal, but since neither of us had seen them in winter, we decided to add this diversion to our itinerary. As usual with long drives, we tried to avoid freeways by taking the scenic route wherever possible. This strategy not only makes the drive more interesting, and allows us to look at interesting countryside and pretty towns, but the slower driving speeds make the journey safer in snowy weather. We divided the trip to the falls into two days by staying overnight in Kingston Ontario, a very nice navy town right where Lake Ontario drains into the St Lawrence River, and the location of the Canadian Military College.

The ferry from Kingston ON breaks the ice as it makes its way to nearby Wolfe Island.

Wolfe Island is home to Canada's 2nd largest wind farm.

Our scenic route was along Route 2, and (as usual) we encountered very snowy conditions. The next day, rather finer, we also followed Route 2 until we ran out of time and had to tell our Garmin Navigator to take the 'fastest route'. We had to get through Toronto, Canada's biggest city, in the mid-afternoon, and despite excellent guidance from the Garmin, this 100km of high speed heavy traffic through a complicated freeway system was pretty stressful. We arrived at Niagara Falls at dusk.

Numerous derelict and operating barns are seen on farms in the Ontario countryside.

The spectacular horseshoe of the Canadian Falls, showing the rapids and the ice flow barrier.

The previous night, we had spent some time on the web deciding what hotel to stay at at the Falls. There was no doubt we would stay on the Canada side, but which hotel was a big decision. We wanted a good view of the falls from our room! Our decision was Hilton's Embassy Suites and it was a great choice. Our room on the 37th floor had a superb view of both the American and the Canadian Falls. The hotel itself is well past its prime - the lobby was a bombsite of renovation, the 5 lifts in our north tower were infuriatingly slow, and the 37th floor was being 'freshened up' according to signage. Our room was fine if dated, but the view made up for all shortcomings!

The full panorama from our hotel window, American Falls on the left, Canadian Falls on the right.

The American Falls between Goat Island and the US 'mainland'.

The perfect horseshoe of the Canadian Falls, as seen from the 37th floor our our hotel.

Judging by the traffic, the town of Niagara Falls was modestly busy, but nothing like it would be in summer. Our hotel was packed solid with guests (but we suspect the larger south tower was closed). Hundreds of guests crowded the restaurant at breakfast and the bar at 'happy hour'. The guests were either families with children, or couples like us. We puzzled over what they were doing doing here at all, because we certainly did not see many people at the falls! We deduced that the couples were gambling at the casino, and the families were taking their kids to the myriad of theme-park like attractions. Lucky families with baby-sitters in tow could do both!

Frozen cascades form intriguing patterns in the American falls.

The base of the falls is ever moving as the river courses towards Lake Ontario.

We went nowhere near the casino (except to look at the lobby) and didn't contemplate any of the attractions. We were here for the falls! Day and night we watched them from our window and walked there to get as close as possible. A cliff separates our hotel from the falls, and while they are only a couple hundred metres away as the crow flies, we had to walk about a kilometer or two, down steep an slippery Murray Street, dodging cars driving into the casino carpark.

Hotels are very close to the falls but only as the crow flies. Pedestrians have to walk around the cliff, up or down steep Murray Street.

In the right light, the clear waters of the Canadian Falls is a beautiful green.

Can't beat the view from the Elements Cafe!

The time we could spend at the falls was largely dictated by how cold we got. Luckily, we could thaw out at the adjacent Welcome Centre. A funicular railway runs from the centre up to the Embassy Suites, but we preferred to walk, and anyway, it went to bed at 5pm.

Selfies at the Falls. a vital part of everyone's visit to Niagara

The American Falls at night, with Niagara Falls NY in the background.

The Canadian Falls at night.

Our departure from Niagara Falls also signalled the sad end of our Canadian trip. We crossed the border on the Rainbow Bridge, and headed back into New York state of the USA.

No wonder this is the Rainbow Bridge!