White Water Walk in Niagara Falls

The White Water Walk in Niagara Falls, Canada is a must see, if only just one. It can be expensive - it can run you up to $20/person during the peak season.

For starters you'll go down to the rapids in an old manual elevator with handle lifts and an elevator operator while you travel 70 metres to reach the base of the Niagara Gorge.  

 

As you exit you immediately enter a long arching tunnel as nostalgic to me as the Brady Bunch (if you don't know who they are - you're too young, lol)

At the other end of the tunnel there's an impressive quarter-mile of boardwalk that runs along the shoreline of the Niagara River. Imagine the poor workman who had to do that job!!

 

 

 

This was the part I enjoyed the most.   There are several lookout points along the boardwalk which literally take you to rapid - level where you will experience crashing waves with an awesome view of the 400 million year old rock formations/layers in the gorge.

 

 Now for the scary part!  The Whirlpool Rapids have been clocked as the most ferocious in the world with a class 6 (according to the whitewater rapids classification guide.  Class 1 being gentle waves; 2 - you might get splashed; Class 3 - you'll get wet; Class 4 - you'll get soaked; Class 5- high adrenaline; and last Class 6- non-navigable!

The boardwalk itself is not very long at quarter mile, so it won't take you long to view the rapids in this self-guided experience, so we went back and forth a few times so I could do it all over again!  

 

If you are a photographer, novice or pro - you'll get the best views at the lower platforms of the water's rage so you might find it worth it to pay the admission.

Happy trails!