Niagra Falls State Park Route

Along the Niagara River Gorge
By Harvey Botzman Author, Cyclotour Guide Books

The Niagara Falls are a sight to thrill the mind and heart. Likewise, bicycling on the within earshot of the Falls on above the Niagara River Gorge is a delight for even the most novice of bicyclists.
Niagara Falls New York is a very different outdoor experience than simply viewing the mighty “Falls.” It is a participatory experience!
In Niagara Falls State Park visitors can touch the water as well as see it from above and below the Falls at the Three Sisters Islands off Goat Island. Visitors can walk under the Bridal Veil Falls abutting the dramatic “American Falls” on your way to the famous Observation Tower and “Maid of the Mist” to the face of the Falls’ boat ride. Most importantly, you can bicycle, hike, or walk to all these attractions.
The “Niagara Scenic Trolley” road ringing the State Park from Goat Island above both the American and the Canadian Falls to the “Discovery Center” allows the cyclist and walker to first go from the Park’s Visitor near the Rainbow Bridge then to “Three Sisters Islands” and back to the Visitor Center (~4 mi./7 km. ) without hassling with motor vehicle traffic.
At “Three Sisters Islands” it is a short walk over bridges and through a wooded area to the water’s edge. Here it is possible to touch water from the farthest reaches of the eastern slope of the continental divide just before it cascades over the “Falls” on its way to the Atlantic Ocean!
On the way back to the Visitor Center, a stop at the “Cave of the Winds ($)” to walk under “Bridal Veil Falls” is another treat for visitors to Niagara Falls, New York.
Cycle on the “Trolley” road under the Rainbow Bridge’s access ramps to the “Discovery Center” (~1 mi./2.4 km.). Then, just after this museum, as if by magic, the cyclist veers a bit to the east and is suddenly on a wide two lane highway with bicycle lane markings! The New York State Department of Parks created a bicycle super highway by closing two lanes of the Robert Moses Parkway, forcing car traffic on to the other two lanes of the roadway.
A stone dust hiking path, at the very brink of the Niagara Gorge, parallels the Bikeway and motor vehicle Parkway. It is possible for you to bike on this hiking path. On weekends it is crowded with walkers and hikers. Mid-week you will have to stop less often to allow walkers to have the right of way.
The “Bikeway” goes through what appears as a continuous series of parks along the Niagara River Gorge. At Whirlpool State Park there toilet facilities, water fountains, and picnic tables in the open air and under a shelter. Here, a look into the gorge to see the swirling waters of the Niagara River below the Falls.
At Devil’s Hole State Park, just 1.2 mi./1.9 km. further north a hike into the “hole” is well worth dismounting from your bike before leaving the car less “Bikeway” and continuing for another .8 mi./1.3 km. to the New York State Power Authority’s Observation Tower and electricity generation exhibits.
Including the round trip to Goat Island from the Park’s Visitor Center, you have biked 7.5 mi./12.0 km. It is another 4.7 mi./7.6 km. of delightful along the Niagara River Gorge before returning the Visitor Center.
Mr. Botzman will answer bicycling in New York State questions on this and other routes. Email him (in English), cyclotour@cyclotour.com, with a subject line of “NYS Biking Info Request.” His bicycle tour guide books are published by Cyclotour Guide Books.

Maps in PDF format:
NYBC Niagara Falls St Pk North Bike Route Map
NYBC Niagara Falls St Pk South Bike Route Map