Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada For The First Time In 25 Years

Niagara Falls Ontario Canada A Photographer’s Perspective

In 2025, we visited Niagara Falls, Ontario, as part of a family vacation. This was the first stop on our Canadian adventure to Ontario and ultimately to Toronto. We spent only two night at Niagara because we knew that this was enough time to do what we wanted. People who want to see the falls, enjoy the restaurants, and visit the many tourist attractions will need more than two nights.

While I made sure everyone in the family did what they wanted, I got to play tour guide once again. I also had some time to myself, so I used my photography skills to capture several cool shots of the Niagara Falls area. Going out at dawn for the best photos and zero crowd yielded great results again. I encountered 10 people at sunrise. Having the falls to myself was an amazing experience.

My First Two Visits 25 Years Ago

As a travel photographer, I knew I could walk away with at least a couple beautiful shots from our 2025 vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada. 25 years ago, I took two back to back trips to Niagara Falls within two weeks. One was with my family and one was with my wife’s family. Having just been there, I got to be the tour guide, which I LOVE doing. We did the touristy stuff, went behind the falls, rode the Maid Of The Mist when it was on the Canadian side, and visited Niagara on the lake. This was largely what we did again, even visiting Inniskillin Winery outside of Niagara.

The Power Plant

The Power Plant tour of the former Niagara Falls Canada power plant was self-paced but worth the price. As a love of Urban Exploration videos, the power plant was great for me. I was able to explain how things worked there based on the UX videos I have seen of other power plants. The history in the main generation hall was captivating and well done.

At the end of the tour, we descended to river level into a large diversion tunnel. This is now a tourist attraction that is 1/4 mile long. As you walk through, you get sense of how big and powerful the Niagara river is. The tunnel exit at the east end of the tunnel has a viewing platform right up against the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. This was a nice leisurely stroll with no up hill or down hill grades. I loved it!

Niagara City Cruses (Formerly Maid Of The Mist)

A rite of passage for Niagara Falls Canada visitors is to take the Niagara City Cruises boat straight into the falls. On the American side, this is called “Maid Of The Mist.” This tour company is well-oiled and runs several boats per hour. The trip to the falls is very quick with a lot of time right at the base where the water hits the river. The sense of scale amazes me every time. Niagara City Cruises does a great job from ticket sales all the way to the post-ride experience. I was able to use my action camera on a selfie stick to capture this for everyone.

Avoiding The Tourist Trap Spots In Niagara Falls (Good Luck)

There are two touristy areas we tried to spend very little time in. Clifton Hill and the Fallsview area. While we enjoy tourist attractions, we are generally not fans of kitchy stores, arcade, amusement rides, and go kart parks. If you are looking for these types of attractions, Clifton Hill may be for you. There are tons of restaurants and stores as well. The Fallsview area situated to the west has a few restaurants and the majority of large hotels. We always go with a trusted brand name hotel with 4 and 5 star reviews on TripAdvisor.com.

Being a travel photographer and using my photography skills to capture memories is such an honor. Check out my other travel photography from London, Los Angeles, and more.