Niagara Falls, Ontario, in the Winter: Travel Tips and More in an Icy Wonderland

A Special Trip:

My husband's birthday is in December, and I try to do something memorable for him every year. This year, I had the bright idea of taking him to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, for a birthday dinner. I figured that we never know what spring can bring, so let's go to Canada now, while we still have the chance. If you don't know what I mean by "still have the chance", a brief explanation is in order:

US-Canadian Passport Requirements:

A passport is required for air travel between Canada and the US, but not for land (car/pedestrian) or sea (boat/marine) travel. (The car/pedestrian thing strikes me funny: My late grandfather emigrated to the US from Germany, and he would never take a car to Canada, but he would walk over the bridge. I am a natural-born US citizen who lives within a two-hour drive of the border, so I have never hesitated to travel by car to Canada.)

Passport restrictions are scheduled to tighten in the summer of 2008, requiring all US-Canadian travelers to have a passport or equivalent. (Please refer to: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html for details.) After marrying my husband, who doesn't like to fly, I let my passport expire and never renewed it. It would cost $270 for our family of three to get passports, and, quite frankly, I'm not sure if it's would be worth it for us. That being said, I want to take advantage of everything our "Neighbor to the North" has to offer while I still can.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls is one of the great wonders of the world. But did you know that Niagara Falls actually has two falls? The American Falls are on the American side (obviously), and The Horseshoe Falls are on the Canadian side. The best vantage point to view both falls, in my opinion, is on the Canadian side.

If you were to ask people in this area (Western New York State) how many times they've been to Niagara Falls, they're likely to answer, "A thousand." or "A million." It's the best day-trip going in this neck of the woods! As a matter of fact, a lot of people go to Niagara Falls for reasons other than viewing The Falls.