Few places announce themselves as loudly as Niagara. Before you see the falls, you hear them, and then a column of mist rises over the trees, and then the river drops away in front of you, a mass of green water plunging fifty metres into a boiling gorge. The Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side take the bulk of the flow, while the American Falls and the narrow Bridal Veil are on the New York side, and the whole thing is the product of one of the biggest drainage systems on earth, the Great Lakes, emptying through a single river.
The falls have been moving upstream for about twelve thousand years, eating back into the limestone ledge at the lip, and the gorge below is a record of that retreat, some eleven kilometres long. Engineers now control the rate of erosion, and much of the river's flow is diverted to hydroelectric plants, which supply power to New York and Ontario. A statue of Nikola Tesla on Goat Island honours the inventor who helped design the system that made it possible. The state park around the American Falls, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, was the first state park in the country, opened in 1885 after a campaign to stop the shoreline being swallowed by mills and hotels.
For a rider, the visit is more about the setting than the road. The Niagara Scenic Parkway runs along the river, and the surrounding roads are flat, suburban and busy, with heavy tourist traffic in summer. A ride along the Seaway Trail, which follows the river and the shore of Lake Erie, is more peaceful, with farm stands, vineyards and glimpses of water. In winter the spray from the falls freezes onto the trees and railings, covering everything in ice, and the place becomes a white, eerie sculpture, though the roads can be treacherous.
Fuel, food and hotels are everywhere in Niagara Falls, a city of nearly fifty thousand, and the main challenge is parking and crowds. The best times to visit are early morning or late evening, when the light is soft and the numbers are fewer, and the illuminated falls at night are a spectacle. A boat tour, the Maid of the Mist, has been operating since the 1840s and takes you into the base of the falls, where you will get soaked. Bring a waterproof jacket, and keep your passport handy if you plan to cross into Canada.