Travel: Visiting the Gorgeous Fury of Niagara Falls

From a boat on the river below Niagara Falls, the natural wonder looks like an alien world.

There are few sights on Earth more able to communicate nature’s beauty and fury than Niagara Falls.

A recent media trip to explore the new, upscale world of Radisson Hotels happened to bring reporters to the world famous natural wonder of the three cascades creating the border straddling attraction. Niagara Falls sits on the Canada/U.S. border, with Horseshoe Falls marking the Canadian side and the American and smaller Bridal Veil Falls making up the U.S. side. According to park guides, more than 48 million gallons of water pound over the Falls every minute — and erosion wears away one foot of the rock under the Falls every 10 years.

Related: Riding through Glacier National Park 

Thanks to the Radisson organizers, the press had a chance to observe the Falls from every possible angle short of hitching a barrel ride. Of course, we took in the sights from the tourist walk ways alone the Canadian side. We also were able to venture behind the falls through a series of tunnels dug into the rock — leading to open portals revealing the sheets or roaring water falling about half the distance to the river bed below.

While an exciting helicopter ride showed the layout of Niagara Gorge from hundreds of feet in the air, the most impressive angle to feel the raw power of the waterfalls is from the Hornblower – a passenger ferry that chugs to within 60 feet of Horseshoe. You’re lost in a world of white mist, spraying foam and the constant explosion of water falling 165 feet into rock.

Below you’ll find a gallery of my own photos exploring the world’s most active waterfall. Enjoy.