So, if you’ve read any past articles here on Niagara Falls, you’ll know I’m a proponent of seeing the waterfalls from the U.S. side and reserving your photographic efforts for after the sun sets. However, one exception to both those suggestions is to take in the Journey Behind The Falls attraction. It’s on the Canadian side and can only be enjoyed during the daylight. To see our night images of Niagara Falls, check out this previous article: Niagara Falls night images.
Journey Behind The Falls
You access the Journey Behind The Falls at the Table Rock Centre. This is the building full of restaurants and gift shops that is located right beside the crest of Horseshoe Falls. This is probably one of the best ways to experience the awesome power of Niagara Falls. Although, the Cave of the Winds on the American Side and the boat ride to the base of the falls are both pretty magnificent, as well.
An elevator takes you down from the Table Rock Centre, 150 feet to nearly the base of Horseshoe Falls. Just out of the elevator is the observation platform. Any of the images in this article that are not of a water shrouded portal are taken from the observation platform.
At this point, you are mere feet from the plunging mass of water and the Niagara River. The water falling over the waterfall is said to be travelling at 65 kilometres per hour.
The above image shows the Niagara River downstream. On the right, just past the rainbow, is the American Falls. The bridge spanning the river is the Rainbow Bridge, connection Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York. The decaying building at the far left is the abandoned Ontario Power Company’s generating station. This building was built in 1905 and ceased operations in 1999. It is now owned by the Niagara Parks Commission – I hope they will some day open it up for public tours…
Journey Behind The Falls Pricing
The Journey Behind The Falls attraction is open year round. In the summer months, adults pay $17.30 while children pay $11.25 (prices do not include tax – prices updated for summer 2017). From mid December to mid April, the price is reduced. I’ve been down in the middle of winter and the price is reduced because often the portals behind the falls are frozen over.
It’s a decent price for such a great attraction. However, like any major tourist destination, you can get the admission cheaper by purchasing it in a bundle with other area attractions.
Going in the off-season and during the week definitely has its advantages. Google images of Journey Behind The Falls and you will typically see large crowds of people jockeying for a better view. Going at the start of December got us basically a private tour. There were few other people at the site and often we were completely alone, able to take as long as we wanted to enjoy this spectacle.
Of course, it’s a crap shoot in the winter months. We happened upon a day with perfect conditions when we didn’t even need the garbage bag rain coats they give all visitors. If we’d gone the day before, we would have got soaked and the fog and mist would have mostly ruined the perfect view of the waterfalls.
Also, as mentioned above, ice is an issue at Niagara Falls. Horseshoe Falls has its own ecosystem, plain and simple. It creates its own wind. It creates its own clouds. It creates its own rain storms. More often than not, freezing rain follows at pretty much a constant pace over a very small area near the edge of the waterfall. It is more prevalent on the American side where there are sections on Goat Island that spend much of the winter under several inches of ice.
Not that we’re negative but we certainly look outside the box at most situations. The discussion began as we were alone at one of the portals behind Horseshoe Falls. There are always daredevils and those committing suicide that jump in the river above the falls and hope to meet their fame or doom at the bottom of the waterfall.
It would be so easy to meet your doom or possibly fame, if you jumped the waist high railings on the observation platform and in the portals and took a dive under the massive weight of that water travelling 65 kph.
There are no visible security cameras. Even if there were, by the time someone saw you on a video screen you could long on your way to heaven or hell by the time they reacted. Not to encourage anyone – it’s just one of those things that make you wonder…
There are two portals behind the falls. The furthest is 150 feet behind the waterfall while the second is roughly halfway. The tunnels to these portals were cut in 1944. They outdate the viewing platform which was built in 1951. Formerly, the whole attaction was known as the Scenic Tunnels until the name change in 1994.
Because we had the opportunity to jump back and forth between the two portals, I’m not 100% sure which portal is which in these last three images. It doesn’t really matter. The view is the same, although the closest to the elevator seems to have a more mesmerizing movement to the water while the furthest is more of a straight cloud of plunging water.
It’s almost hypnotizing, watching the water pass the portal. Water seems to move in all directions, including up. At times, it seems like a dark face is jumping out of the water right at you. In the video below, there is some footage of this.
I included the image directly above to show all that is stopping people from walking to their death. That railing is waist high and easily jumped. At the end of the portal, there’s nothing but a straight drop.
Journey Behind The Falls Video
The HD Video below is a pretty cool collection of clips taken on the same day as the images above. Check it out – it’s truly one of the best experiences you can take in on your visit to Niagara Falls.
