Queen Victoria Park

Queen Victoria Park is the landscaped strip of parkland along the Canadian side of the Niagara River in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and it is the best place on the Canadian shore to look at the cataracts. It faces both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls, which means that the broad view from the railing takes in the full sweep of the water. The park was created in the 1880s when the Niagara Parks Commission was formed to protect the land beside the falls from private development and to keep the view open to the public. It was named after the reigning monarch of the day.

The park is a mix of lawns, flower beds, trees and promenades, and it is free to enter. A walkway runs along the edge of the gorge, and the viewpoints are never far from the paths, with the spray from the falls blowing across the grass on windy days. Below the lookouts, the river rushes toward the gorge. From the Horseshoe Falls end, the roar is loud, and the mist produces rainbows on bright days.

Gardens are a feature in their own right. The park holds rock gardens, rose beds and carpet-bedding displays, with colour that changes through the year. Daffodils and tulips arrive in spring, and the roses and summer annuals follow, with hanging baskets lining the paths. The Oakes Garden Theatre, a terraced garden and outdoor stage near the entrance to the park, is a pleasant place to sit and look toward the falls, and it is a popular spot for photographs. Trees and shrubs give shade, and benches are placed at intervals.

The park comes into its own after dark. The falls are lit with coloured lights each evening, and in summer fireworks are set off over the water on certain nights. In winter the Festival of Lights fills the park with illuminated displays and animated scenes, and the whole stretch glows from late in the year into the new one. Even in cold weather the falls are dramatic, with ice forming on the rails and the mist freezing on the trees.

Visitors can walk the park in an hour, or linger much longer. It connects to other places along the Niagara Parkway, including Journey Behind the Falls at Table Rock, the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory and the Dufferin Islands to the south. The Skylon Tower rises just beyond the park boundary, and the tourist attractions of Clifton Hill are a short walk. It suits families, couples and anyone who wants a relaxed way to see the falls without a ticket.