Observation Tower - Rainbow Bridge View

Photo: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Niagara Falls State Park Walk, a free self-guided tour.

This tower is 282 feet tall, but you only see the top of it: its base sits at the bottom of the gorge, and the deck reaches out past the cliff so you can look back at the whole face of the American Falls. It opened in 1961, taking over from older elevators and an incline railway that had carried visitors down the cliff for generations, and it was refurbished between 2001 and 2003. Check the park website for hours and the small admission fee.

From the deck, turn downriver to the steel arch of the Rainbow Bridge. It opened on November 1, 1941, near the site of the Honeymoon Bridge, which an ice jam brought down in 1938. Cars, bikes and people on foot cross it to Niagara Falls, Ontario. If you want to see the Horseshoe Falls head-on from the Canadian side, bring a passport or another document accepted at the border.

Notice how the gorge runs on downstream: this whole canyon was carved by the retreating falls.

Getting here: Walk north along the railing from Prospect Point to the tower entrance, only a minute away.

Did you know?: In 1859 the tightrope walker Charles Blondin first crossed the Niagara Gorge on a rope, and over the following months he repeated the stunt, once carrying his manager on his back.

Photo op: From the end of the deck, frame the full face of the American Falls on one side and the arch of the Rainbow Bridge on the other; on sunny days look for rainbows in the mist.

Nearby: Restrooms and a gift shop are at the tower.

More on Wikipedia: Prospect Point Observation Tower · Rainbow Bridge · Honeymoon Bridge · Prospect Park Incline Railway

Observation Tower - Rainbow Bridge View

Stops on this tour