Scott’s campground, Niagara Falls, Ontario to Middleport, NY. 50.4 miles

I packed up the bike early so I could go down to Niagara Falls before meeting my friend Petr for lunch. I was very lucky to be at the falls on a weekday pretty early in the morning because there weren’t many people there. If you ever go to visit Niagara Falls, go early in the day, mid week on the Canadian side. It definitely has better views of the falls. I never realized Niagara Falls are really three falls.The largest one is Horseshoe Falls also known as the Canadian falls, then there is the American Falls, and the third is Bridal Veil falls.

I was thinking Niagara Falls might be disappointing with all the commercial development around it. I had been there once before and had just glimpsed the falls while driving over the Rainbow Bridge. But getting to experience the falls close up from the Canadian side was moving and I came away feeling that it is a fantastic natural wonder. I think the close up video of Horseshoe falls below captures some of its impressive majesty. Shortly after I took the video, I saw a double crested cormorant floating on the river go over the falls and nonchalantly take flight. I wondered how many times he did that trick in the past.

I met my friend Petr in the Adirondacks back in 2017 or. I was there with my wife Beth for the Adirondack Mountain club’s Winter mountaineering school. Petr was taking the same course and we became fast friends. We haven’t seen each other since then but have kept in touch. He is an accomplished amateur photographer, loves outdoor adventures and does very meaningful work for Canada’s oldest nonprofit organization. It is a co-op that works to affordability house low income Canadians. He had just gotten back from being away the day before and drove to meet me and brought a picnic lunch for us. It was terrific to visit with him. Thank you Petr for making time to meet up.

Before I got out of Niagara Falls, New York, I found myself stopping at, you guessed it, a bakery. It was Di Camilla’s Bakery and I may have had the best donut in my life. I need to go back someday and make sure it wasn’t the bike touring hunger making me think that.

Shortly I had linked up with the Erie Canal Trail. When I first started on it, I was on a section that they must of just resurfaced with crushed limestone. It was really hard going for me on a loaded touring bike, like riding through a couple inches of sand. But after a mile or three it changed to a more compacted surface.

The towns along the Erie Canal are port towns and many reflected it in their names. I went through Lockport and Gasport before coming to Middleport where I camped for the night. A lot of the towns along the Erie Canal had little parks/marinas where bicyclists and folks transiting the canal by boat could camp. Middleport had a nice picnic shelter and there were bathrooms and showers available close by.