While not the tallest or widest waterfall on earth, Niagara Falls is still a very popular tourist destination. Straddling the U.S. border with Canada, there are actually two main sections to the falls: Canada's Horseshoe Falls and the American Falls. While the falls themselves are the biggest attraction for tourists, the Niagara River Gorge and whirlpools are also key points of interest. As of 2010, Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours is the only company approved to take tourists to the whirlpools on the Niagara River. If you choose to use any other boat or company to visit the whirlpools, do so at your own risk.
Tourists can get up close to the whirlpools from the safety of a jet-powered boat. Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours has been giving guests of all ages the white-water experience since 1992. Departures on the Wet Jet are scheduled daily from May through October. Boats depart from three different locations on both the U.S. and Canadian sides of the river. Passengers must be at least 6 years old and 44 inches tall in order to ride. The company advises tourists to bring a change of clothes for after the ride, since riders often end up soaked from the splash and spray of the river.
Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours
61 Melville Street
PO Box 1215
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Canada L0S 1J0
3050 Niagara Parkway
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada L2E 6K2
115 South Water Street
Lewiston, NY 14092
888-438-4444
whirlpooljet.com
Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours has a different option for sightseers: a domed boat. If you'd prefer not to get wet while out on the water, the Jet Dome is for you. It uses the same technology to bring guests close to the action without getting them drenched. The Jet Dome is operated only out of Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours' two Canadian locations, unless you are making a private location for a group of 15 or more. In that situation, departures can be scheduled out of the company's Lewiston, New York, location. To ride the Jet Dome, passengers must be at least 4 years old and 44 inches tall.
Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours
61 Melville Street
PO Box 1215
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario
Canada L0S 1J0
3050 Niagara Parkway
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Canada L2E 6K2
115 South Water Street
Lewiston, NY 14092
888-438-4444
whirlpooljet.com
If you aren't able to see the whirlpools from the water's surface using the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours, you do have other options.
One is the White Water Walk. This attraction uses an elevator to take tourists several hundred feet down to the base of the Niagara River gorge. Once at the river's edge, tourists can walk along paved paths to get an up-close view of the river and the whirlpool rapids. Scenes for the movie "Superman II" were filmed at this attraction.
White Water Walk
4330 Niagara Parkway
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
905-374-1221
niagaraparks.com
Whirlpool State Park in New York is another option to see the whirlpools up close on foot. There are two levels to this park. The first gives visitors a view of the whirlpools from several hundred feet up. The second requires guests to walk down a 300-foot path to the river bed for a closer look at the whirlpools.
Whirlpool State Park
c/o Niagara Frontier Region
PO Box 1132
Niagara Falls, NY 14303
716-284-4691
nysparks.state.ny.us
The final way to see the whirlpools up close is also the oldest way. The Whirlpool Aero Car first opened to tourists in 1916, but has undergone three upgrades since. The Aero Car takes passengers on a guided wire tour out over the whirlpools, for a bird's-eye view of nature's fury. The 10-minute trip takes tourists on a 1-km route. This is a seasonal attraction and is only open March through November.
Whirlpool Aero Car
3850 Niagara Parkway
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
905-354-5711
niagaraparks.com
