Sailboats catch the eye looking westward from Erie Basin Marina, tacking through the breaks in the sea wall protecting the shores of eastern Lake Erie and Buffalo, New York, from the wind driven tides of the lake. At the confluence of Lake Erie and the Niagara River, the grand channel flows north across the wide expanses separated by an unseen mid-river border. The United States is on the eastern shore while on the western shore is Canada. The endless torrent of water emanating from the upper Great Lakes continues on, eventually cascading and eternally thundering over the cliffs of Niagara Falls. The lower Niagara River begins with the roaring whitewater at the base of the falls, eddies and whirlpools creating an unfriendly caldron, passing through 6 miles of canyon carved out by the river over a mere 12,000 years. Departing the canyon the white water subsides and waters stream meandering more tranquilly through the historic towns on both sides of the river. Several more miles north the river meets the deep blue of Lake Ontario. From the mouth of the river on the southern shore of the lake, looking out over choppy seas, the towers of the grand city of the lake, Toronto, far across the waters on the north shore, rise majestically. Once again sailboats on the lake decorate the seascape.
The Niagara Region lies on the eastern end of Lake Erie, along the shores of the Niagara River, and in the southwestern region of Lake Ontario. Among the many jewels are the wine regions both east and west of St. Catherines that currently are predominantly featured in Conde Nast Traverler’s ‘Best Wine Regions to Visit in 2020,’ historic New York towns such as Lewiston, East Aurora, and 1st Ward Buffalo, Ontario towns such as Niagara-on-the-Lake, Port Dalhousie, and Port Colborne, and this is just a small sample of the many outstanding places. This is a special region, albeit underrated and under-appreciated. A relatively compact area, you can get from one part of the region to any other in an hour or less. An international border is involved, so a passport is a necessity.
2 Lakes 1 River is a website dedicated to the great towns, cities, and unique destinations in the Niagara Region. Check out our weekly visits to entertaining destinations. For example, spend a few hours on Center Street in Lewiston, NY. There you can choose from over a half dozen excellent restaurants including one with a microbrewery, you can shop at unique boutiques, drive to the bottom of Center Street from where you can walk to the banks of the Niagara River, look off to the left and see the point of the river crossing of the Underground Railroad, look up to Queenston Heights, Ontario, across the river, and see the site of intense fighting and heroic tales from the War of 1812, and take in the geologic phenomenon where 12,000 years earlier you’d be 170 feet under a glacier that covered much of North America. Finish the visit back up Center Street at arguably the best bakery in the region, and then grab your favorite coffee drink for the trip out of town at a great coffee shop 2 blocks east of the bakery.
Weather is one the first things that people outside our area think about relative to this region. We’re going to talk facts about the weather here, and have fun doing it. The Great Lakes impact the climate here quite significantly, in the winter a nemesis, in the summer a friendly protector. And Global Warming? Our entire region was carved out from the retreat of the glaciers a mere 12,000 years ago. There’s a lot to learn from that, but nobody seems to be talking about it.
Destination outdoor activities! Is the Niagara Region a golf destination? It should be. A significant number of high quality courses from many of golf’s best known course designers make golf just one more overlooked gem of the Niagara Region. Weather and golf? I’ll just say that I’ve played golf in every month of the year in the Niagara Region. Not a golfer but love the outdoors? There are more parks and trails in our region than can be counted or visited. But we’ll visit a bunch of them.
Check out our weekly posts. Please enjoy, and your comments and suggestions are always welcome.
