Honestly, I should have known better.

When my wife suggested that we drive up to Niagara Falls for an overnight trip, I said “Sure! That sounds like fun!”

And then I did absolutely nothing else to prepare. You can imagine how silly I felt when we arrived, and I had no clue what I was going to photograph. I didn’t know what were the best photo ops or the ideal times to photograph them. I was a complete tourist.

There was no excuse for this. I had even published a whole podcast episode on how you plan for a vacation. 

I muddled my way through and made some notes for the next time I returned. I share them below, because I haven’t needed them since. Figures.

My notes from the trip

Photo ops

• •Prospect Point

• •Observation Tower ($1 - best bang for the buck)

• •Crows Nest

• •Goat Island

• •Maid of the Mist

• •Horseshoe Falls

The Light

• •Sets onto the falls.

• •Rises behind it but can create your rainbows

• •Check sunrise & sunset times

• •TPE

Tools to take

• •DSLR, Mirrorless, or compact camera

• •Weather sealed helpful

• •Tripod (not essential but can be helpful)

• •Medium zoom for most vista shots

• •Telephoto zoom for close ups across the park

• •Macro for occasional flower shots (optional)

• •Wide angle for the Horseshoe falls

• •Loupe

Tips

• •Only one official Visitor's Center. Beware all the sales centers preetending to be the visitor's center

• •You can do it on your own. There's no photography benefit to buying the $200 tour packages.

• •Parking should only cost $10. The guys flagging you down can be more.

• •Paid parking is good for all three lots.

• •Park trolley is good investment if you don't want to hoof it around with all your gear - $3

• •Best days to visit - weekdays