Luna Island - Between Two Waterfalls
Photo: Raman Patel, CC BY 3.0 (cropped)
A stop on Niagara Falls State Park Walk, a free self-guided tour.
Cross the short footbridge and you're on a sliver of rock only about 350 feet long, with the American Falls on one side and the Bridal Veil Falls on the other. Few places in the world let you stand this close to the edge of two waterfalls at once.
The Bridal Veil is the smallest of Niagara's three falls, a ribbon of water only about 56 feet wide, yet it drops just as far as the American Falls next door. Luna Island is the only thing keeping them apart. Without it, the water would pour over in a single curtain.
The island's name comes from the moon. On bright nights near a full moon, visitors here reported pale rainbows glowing in the spray, and the name stuck.
Look down past the Bridal Veil and you'll spot people in ponchos on the wooden decks at its foot. That's the Cave of the Winds, and it's your next stop.
Getting here: Cross Green Island onto Goat Island, bear right along the North Shore Trail, and take the footbridge out to Luna Island.
Did you know?: A rainbow made by moonlight, sometimes called a moonbow, looks almost white to the eye because moonlight is too dim for us to see its colors well.
Photo op: From the railing on the island, frame the Bridal Veil curtain up close with the long line of the American Falls stretching off beside it.
Nearby: Restrooms and food are a short walk away at the Cave of the Winds building.
More on Wikipedia: Luna Island · Bridal Veil Falls · American Falls
Stops on this tour
- Welcome Center - Where Free Niagara Began
- Prospect Point - Brink of the American Falls
- Observation Tower - Rainbow Bridge View
- Maid of the Mist Dock - Boats in the Gorge
- Green Island Bridges - The Summer the Falls Went Dry
- Luna Island - Between Two Waterfalls
- Cave of the Winds - Into the Spray
- Terrapin Point - Face to Face with the Horseshoe
- Three Sisters Islands - Beside the Upper Rapids
- Goat Island - The Island Between the Falls