Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds

There are a number of ways to get soaked at Niagara Falls, but the Cave of the Winds tour in the Niagara Falls State Park on Goat Island is by far the wettest.

The Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds tour takes you down a 180 foot elevator ride to the base of the Bridal Falls on the American side. Visitors are given a yellow plastic poncho to wear and it quickly becomes obvious as you walk along the wooden walkway towards the falls why you’re wearing it.

The “Hurricane Deck” brings you as close as 15 feet from the actual waterfall as you are surrounded by the whirling spray and winds that can be up to 68 miles an hour.

Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds was one of the few locations filmed on the American side of the Falls featured in the 1952 motion picture “Niagara” starring Marilyn Monroe.

Originally the Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds was exactly that, a cave. The real cave was estimated to be about 130 feet high and about 100 feet wide and went back about 30 feet under the Bridal falls. The cave was discovered in 1834 and tours began in 1841.

There was a partial collapse of the cave in 1920 and tours were ceased due to the unsafe conditions. Niagara Falls State Park officials decided to reopen the tour in 1924 but instead of going behind the Bridal Falls they constructed the series of decks and stairs resembling today’s tour.

The original Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds was finally destroyed in 1954 when there was a major rockfall in the area, including Terrapin Point at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls.

The Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds “Hurricane Deck” is torn down every autumn by Park maintenance workers and then reconstructed every spring. This is done because the heavy amounts of ice created by the falls in the winter would tear the deck apart.

The Niagara Falls Cave of the Winds is a can’t miss hit on a visit to Niagara Falls.