Aug 8, 2024 – Youngstown, NY
Our drive to Four Mile Creek SP near Youngstown took five hours. While we had intermittent rain, it was otherwise smooth with no traffic issues. Like most NY state parks, the campground was very nice with large, open sites dotted with nice trees for shade and modern, clean bathrooms.
It had been a long day and we were tired so dinner was tomato soup out of a box and fresh sweet corn.
Aug 9, 2024 – Youngstown, NY
We woke to light rain showers. We wanted breakfast out and needed internet access so we drove into town. Breakfast was at the Youngstown Village Diner. They were the only game in town but they played well with perfectly prepared eggs, bacon, sausage and home fries.
To get a feel for the area we drove around Youngstown and nearby Lewiston, including their small but nice waterfront areas. Returning to Youngstown we stopped at the library for an hour to use their WiFi and to pick up a few novels to replace some of those we’d finished. While in the library the sun came out and the rest of the day was very nice.
This is Niagara Falls territory and we headed for that town with stops along the way at the tiny state parks of Devils Hole and Whirlpool. At Devil’s Hole you look down at a set of steep rapids while Whirlpool SP features steep rapids flowing into a sharp bend in the river that causes huge whirlpools. At Whirlpool we saw the Canadian Aero Car, a cable car ride that begins and ends in Canada but traverses the bend in the river over the whirlpools.
We last visited the falls in 1996 so it had been nearly 30 years since we’d been there. The American side of the falls is a state park and, except for the falls themselves, it seems to have been extensively developed since our last visit. And, there was quite a crowd considering it was a Friday with a rainy forecast. But, while busy is was very well organized. The main parking lot was full so we parked on street and stopped at the in-town Visitor Center to get oriented.
We’d never done the Maid of the Mist boat ride so that was our first stop. It was everything we could have wanted. It was a very organized production line kind of experience getting everyone down the elevators to the river, issuing disposable raingear to everyone and getting people on and off the two electric boats. They circled up to the edge of both the American and Horseshoe Falls just to the point where you almost can’t see due to the mist.
Everyone gets pretty wet and the roar of the water crashing at the bottom of the falls is almost deafening.
The Crows Nest is a platform right below the edge of the falls and we joined the line of people clambering up the steep stairs to get a close-up look and to get our picture taken at that dramatic location.
Then it was back down the stairs and up the elevator where we peered out over the edge of the observation tower.
Prospect Point, at the edge of the American Falls, is another viewpoint at the edge of the falls. Directly above the Crows Nest, you get to see the water fall over the crest of the falls. It’s a bit dizzying.
Finally, we took the shuttle to Goat Island which is the bit of land that sits on the precipice between the American and Horseshoe Falls. Along the way to the bridge way you pass the extensive rapids above the falls. It’s a scary bit of water. And, to compare, while both falls are magnificent, the Horseshoe is prettier.
Perhaps the most amazing thing is that, depending on the season, only half to one quarter of the Niagara river actually goes over the falls. Most of the river’s flow is diverted to hydroelectric generating stations. Imagine what the falls would look like if all of the river’s water flowed over it!
Come end of day we were tired. And we were wet from both mist and sweat. So we headed back to the campground where showers awaited. Dinner was shrimp sautéed with butter and Old Bay, steamed haricots verts and sliced tomatoes.