Trip to Goat Island & Niagara Falls, NY

It was a beautiful summer day outside and we decided to take a trip across the border to Niagara Falls, USA.  We drove to Goat Island to check it out because I had never been to see the American side of the Falls, and Paul hadn't been since he was a little kid.  We parked our car at the island and walked all around.

The day started off a little bit overcast, but the weather was just perfect - not too hot and not too cold.  Plus, the mist from the Falls cooled us off rather nicely!  These views are from Terrapin Point at one edge of Goat Island.  You can see the Maid of the Mist boat from one of the photos.

We found that the views from Goat Island are a lot better than from the Canadian side.  While the Canadian Horseshoe Falls are the most spectacular falls and they are on the Canadian side of the border, you can see them a lot better from the USA!  You get to be way closer to the water and there were less tourists.  Having been to the Falls on the Canadian side many times in my life, I can say that this was a new perspective of Niagara Falls that I loved!

We walked along the edge a little bit further to take in the views of Niagara Falls and the river.  You can see the Maid of the Mist boat and the Rainbow Bridge between Canada and the USA.

After our view of the Falls, we walked along the river down a scenic path on our way to the Three Sisters Islands.  We were the only ones walking down the path and there were many opportunities to duck into the trees that were growing along the river to get right up next to the rushing water.  The water was flowing down the Niagara River incredibly quickly!

The Three Sisters Islands are named after the three daughters of the man who originally made it across to each of the three islands.  There are small bridges and a path across to each of the three small islands.  We stopped at each of the bridges for the view of the river.  We also went off the main path and explored around the small trails that wrapped around the edge of the islands. 

After visiting the Three Sisters Islands, we walked across a Pedestrian Bridge to the mainland where there were a whole bunch of touristy activities in which you could partake.  We chose to skip most of that stuff and just enjoy the beauty of nature and the view.

We walked back to Goat Island and saw the Nikola Tesla Memorial statue.  He designed the first hydro-electric plant in Niagara Falls.

We departed Goat Island and Niagara Falls knowing that we had a fantastic afternoon there and thoroughly enjoyed our visit!  After the trip to the Falls, we drove to Walden Galleria and did some shopping, and of course, made a trip to the Cheesecake Factory!  On our way to Buffalo, we stopped at a scenic waterfowl outlook and spotted some ducks. We had a wonderful day together not having to travel too far from home!