Niagara Falls Day Trip Plus Peller Estates Vineyard Tour
Due to the lockdown, I’ve had some time to unearth a ton of travel photos and memories that I haven’t gotten around to sharing. Let me start a series of narrative posts that are perhaps a little less informative than usual, but more on the nostalgic side.
Let’s start with the little road trip that I took from Toronto to Niagara Falls with my fave Canucks, Belle and Rowena. It took us just a little more than an hour to drive down to the US border from Toronto. It was an early morning trip in the middle of autumn and I can tell you this: It was f*cking cold!
Normally, I like the colder months. However, it’s not so much fun when you have semi-frozen mist attacking you from all directions. Remember, the Niagara Falls system is massive and very powerful. Even if you’re walking several hundred meters away, the mist is all over you. It was so cold that both my camera and my phone kept dying on me!
Needless to say, while we enjoyed the view, there was no way we were gonna get on the boat for a closer look only to get drenched in icy water. If you want to grab a poncho and take the ferry tour, make sure to visit in the summer!
Nevertheless, the whole town around the falls is a great destination. It’s even better if you have the whole family with you. There are lots of attractions like the “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” and “Guinness World Records” museums and other similar places of interest. There’s lots of shops and restaurants as well.
Note that Niagara-on-the-Lake is a wine region. There are vineyards and distilleries that you can visit. We took a little wine tasting tour on Peller Estates and had a lovely lunch there, with wine pairing of course!
It was already post-harvest when we visited so the vines were bare. Regardless, the estate was still quite picturesque and a lovely place to visit. The tour also takes you around the cellars and the stages of wine making. All of this happens with samples of various wine varieties being passed around! Now, that’s what I call a worthwhile tour!
They had an interesting -10 degree ice room where you can enjoy some ice wine. It was fairly small but the eerie blue glow made for interesting photos. You get an extra jacket to keep you cozy so don’t freak out about being inside an igloo.
Overall, it was a great day trip. Needless to say, we purchased some bottles to bring home. We even dropped by the Wayne Gretzky Distillery to grab some bottles of whiskey. Perhaps in the summer we can stay in the area longer and do a full-blown tour of the falls. I would be interested in crossing to the other side to see it from the US as well. The ferry tour looks like it would be fun when it’s not so cold!
Have you been here? Tell me about your experience too! Share some tips sso I know what to do when I come back!