After a few days in Toronto, we had decided to drive to Niagara Falls on January 1. I was curious to see the falls in the winter.

Because the weather had been relatively mild in Toronto, we had forgotten how cold it really was in the rest of Canada. An hour away from Toronto, it started to snow. In Niagara Falls, it was cold and windy and there were huge chunks if ice here and there in the water.

The scenery was very different from the last time we were there, in the Spring. The town itself was very quiet and looked deserted but a handful of tourists were hanging out by the Canadian Falls. You could spot the ones from Southern U.S. right away: they were the only one playing with the snow like if it was some kind of fun radioactive material. I actually heard a mother yelling to her kids: “go wash your hand, you just touched snow!!”.

We stayed long enough for me to take pictures and headed to the nearest Starbucks to warm up.

The American Falls
I’m Cold!!!
The Canadian Falls
Do Not…Jump?
Little House By The Falls
Colorful Hats Tourists
Danger: Winter
Impressive Flow Rate
Fresh From Under The Falls?
Looking At The Falls
The Edge
The Tree
Frozen Land
Close To The Water
The Mist

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26 Comments

  1. Joseph Condron January 27, 2010 at 10:38 pm

    Those are some impressive photographs. Yes, you will always get the overprotective parents!

    Reply
  2. Sidney January 27, 2010 at 11:51 pm

    “go wash your hand, you just touched snow!!”

    Hahahaha…that is the best I heard lately ! 🙂

    Wow…I could not survive in that cold environment!

    Reply
  3. Nigel Babu January 28, 2010 at 4:48 am

    Beautiful! Must’ve been freezing, you’re so covered up :-p
    .-= Nigel Babu´s last blog ..Sucess! =-.

    Reply
  4. Cynthia January 28, 2010 at 5:05 am

    They look great in winter but they even look better when they’re frozen 🙂
    .-= Cynthia´s last blog ..Il y a des journées comme ça … =-.

    Reply
  5. Kim January 28, 2010 at 6:59 am

    I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with Niagara Falls :O I think maybe because it was my first tourist attraction I’d visited outside of the smaller places I’d been, and I was shocked by the number of people and how ‘commercialised’ it seemed. My naïve NZ mind… haha! It was only after my next tourist visit to Rome that I realised I was always going to have to deal with lots of other people when visiting tourist attractions. I went to Niagara Falls in the summer and saw it from the Canadian side and it was impressive. I’ve seen the photos of Niagara Falls with lots of snow and ice and I’d love to see them again in this setting!! Lovely photos.
    .-= Kim´s last blog ..J’envisage de faire une pause =-.

    Reply
  6. Bluefish January 28, 2010 at 10:08 am

    People are nuts to go under the boat tour in winter! Wouldn’t their hair freeze or something?

    Reply
  7. London Caller January 28, 2010 at 11:20 am

    Awesome!
    I wonder whether the falls ever get frozen in subzero temperatures?!

    Re: Walking on Broken Glass / 走在碎玻璃上 / Berjalan di atas Kaca yang Pecah / 壊れたガラスの上を歩いている

    That’s quite common in here, but I have never seen anything that HUGE before though… Ha ha!

    Re: Land of Hope & Glory / 希望与光荣之地 / Bumi Keharapan & Kemulian / 希望と栄光の国

    As in the colour or the shape of the ceiling units that look like pills? Ha ha, or both?!

    Re: Gallery in the Street / 街上的画廊 / Galeri di tepi Jalan / 街の画廊

    That’s so true! And life is just like one!
    .-= London Caller´s last blog ..Gallery in the Street / 街上的画廊 / Galeri di tepi Jalan / 街の画廊 =-.

    Reply
  8. Lizz January 28, 2010 at 10:21 am

    Oh wow, these are so beautiful. I want them as my wallpaper, haha.
    .-= Lizz´s last blog ..Shopping on Amazon with Johnny Air Shipping = 2 Gorgeous Dresses! =-.

    Reply
  9. Linguist-in-Waiting January 28, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Ahaha, that is funny, they are so not from here if the children are told to wash their hands because they touched snow. And I can see that there are some hardcore tourists there, even though it wasn’t snowing, I am pretty sure the temperature was rather cold! And yet they did the mist tour?
    .-= Linguist-in-Waiting´s last blog ..Book Review: The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton =-.

    Reply
  10. micki January 28, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    Wow, that looks soooooo cold and awesome! I was there in the summer time, have not seen Niagara Falls in the winter time. Glad to see it in a different season with your awesome shots!
    .-= micki´s last blog ..Anping Historic Residence and Sword-Lion =-.

    Reply
  11. kyh January 28, 2010 at 2:26 pm

    I remember seeing the falls completely frozen somewhere… Does that happen always?

    The falls look better from the US or Canadian side?

    And oh, Zhu, you better go wash your hands ‘cos you just touched snow!! XD
    .-= kyh´s last blog ..Bunaken’s blue, blue seas =-.

    Reply
  12. Nomadic Pinoy January 28, 2010 at 8:57 pm

    I thought I would see a frozen Niagara. Been there before on a warmer weather. Those tourists must really love the cold weather to visit the falls in winter.
    .-= Nomadic Pinoy´s last blog ..Tutankhamun and Train =-.

    Reply
  13. Soleil January 28, 2010 at 9:03 pm

    It’s been way too long since I’ve been to Niagara Falls. Have to say though, I’m not terribly anxious to go in the winter! The pics are beautiful though, so I’ll just live vicariously through you.
    .-= Soleil´s last blog ..The Best Mini Pastry I Ever Ate =-.

    Reply
  14. Seraphine January 29, 2010 at 3:21 am

    you might be cold, but you are still beautiful. belle.
    i love the comment about washing your hands after touching snow.
    maybe i should brush my teeth after drinking water too.
    .-= Seraphine´s last blog ..Cupcake =-.

    Reply
  15. Charles Dastodd January 29, 2010 at 11:31 am

    Wow, some incredible shots! I have never been to Niagara in the winter time but now I might have to take a trip. thanks for sharing!
    .-= Charles Dastodd´s last blog ..Along the Hooghly – 3 of 4 =-.

    Reply
  16. Bill Miller January 29, 2010 at 1:27 pm

    Wow. We have never been to see the falls. We need to do that. Very impressive.
    .-= Bill Miller´s last blog ..Skywatch Friday =-.

    Reply
  17. Zhu January 30, 2010 at 12:04 am

    @Joseph Condron – Thank you! Yes, I had never really snow was that dangerous 🙂

    @Sidney – Oh yes, you could, just need a bit of time to get used to it.

    @Nigel Babu – It was something like -15C, plus the wind especially by the falls. Yep, cold.

    @Cynthia – I don’t think they are ever all frozen, except maybe once (I remember seeing a very very old picture).

    @Kim – I kind of understand what you mean. In my case, the first great waterfalls I have seen were Iguazy Falls (Brazil/ Argentina) and everybody told me I was going to be disappointed by Niagara Falls, so I had low expectations. Plus, NZ has some amazing sceneries so maybe to you it’s just not that great!

    @Bluefish – I know! My hair already freezes when I go out for a smoke after taking a shower, when it’s still wet 😆

    @Lizz – Go ahead! Just check out the Flickr set (link above the picture). Go to the picture you like, and then “size”. You can download a copy from there, you have my blessing.

    @Linguist-in-Waiting – I didn’t even know the mist tour was available during the winter, looks crazy to me!

    @London Caller – As far as I know, not really. I mean, it can be more snowy and a bit more frozen than that, but it doesn’t totally freeze. The flow rate is too high.

    @micki – Same for me, I saw them during the spring and summer a few times, and I was very curious of how they looked in the winter.

    @kyh – For the frozen thing, see above 🙂 Not to be patriotic, but the Canadian side is much better in my opinion. You can get really close and the drop is higher.

    @Nomadic Pinoy – I know, I was surprise they were quite a few people!

    @Soleil – Do that, it’s way too cold to go outside anyway 😆 It was just a crazy decision 😉

    @Seraphine – You definitely should. I mean, water is like… melted snow, right? You can never be too safe.

    @Alexander – Thank you for visiting and… thank you 🙂

    @Charles Dastodd – You should, just to get a different perspective! Thank you for visiting 🙂

    @Bill Miller – Yes, it is well worth a visit. Although I must say the US side is a bit shady these days.

    Reply
  18. Nisha January 30, 2010 at 1:18 am

    Oh my ! The pictures are very cool. I didn’t know tourist throng this place even in this winter.

    You look quite different in the picture. 🙂

    Reply
  19. RennyBA's Terella January 30, 2010 at 7:25 pm

    On my top 10 travel list and I would have loved to go there in the winter time – makes it feels more like home you know, but then again I’m from Norway 😆

    Btw: Sorry I haven’t been around that much lately – have been busy planning for OsloBG and….. as a matter of fact, I have a job to you know 😉
    .-= RennyBA’s Terella´s last blog ..For Oslo Blog Gathering at Norway Travel Fair =-.

    Reply
  20. Ily January 30, 2010 at 9:49 pm

    I LOVE this post! The pictures are fantastic and you just brought back the best memories of upstate NY for me…our trips to Niagara Falls!

    PS – Love the comment about “go wash your hands, you just touched snow!” lol In Miami it’s, “go wash your hands, you just touched sand!” Go figure.
    .-= Ily´s last blog ..facebook =-.

    Reply
  21. shionge January 31, 2010 at 8:58 pm

    Wonderful!!!!! You lead me down memory lane again Zhu and grrrrrr…it was freezing when I was there in November and yes!!! I rememebered the snow and my broken pinky hahahahha.. 😀

    Great shots…all of them!!!!! 😀

    Reply
  22. Zhu February 1, 2010 at 11:37 pm

    @Nisha – Must be the cold, I was freezing 😉

    @RennyBA’s Terella – Don’t excuse yourself, come over when you have time — that’s good enough for me! I’m sure you’d love it. Maybe some days I’ll be your tour guide…?

    @Ily – Thank you! The scenery is pretty cool, indeed.

    @shionge – Yes, poor you… That was quite an adventure 🙁

    Reply
  23. Crikette February 5, 2010 at 4:07 pm

    Nice to see it. I never managed to get there in the winter time while I was living in Canada …
    Great shoots …I’l keep in touch
    Take care
    A canadian back in Paris, France
    with a franco canadian blog …

    Reply
  24. Seb February 11, 2010 at 6:00 pm

    Gorgeous! Must be a transcendental experience!
    .-= Seb´s last blog ..Prediction Cat =-.

    Reply

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