Journey Behind the Falls

Journey Behind the Falls is open year-round so it's up to you when you want to visit this attraction. However, it's recommended that you visit this spot from mid-April through mid-December because the Lower Observation Deck which provides an unobstructed view of the falls is closed from mid-December to mid-April due to icy winters.

Journey Behind the Falls has been drawing sightseers from around the world for over 400 years. But this tourist spot hasn't always been tourist-friendly, in fact, it was quite the opposite. At the turn of the 19th century, the breathtaking sights of Niagara Falls were becoming increasingly popular in Europe and North America, enticing more and more tourists to this attraction each year. But the visitors had to climb down the steep bank over massive boulders and fallen trees to see the famous waterfalls. 

Before the War of 1812, the verge of the falls stood deserted without a tourist-friendly infrastructure. Still, tourists flocked to see this attraction prompting some locals to build visual barricades that made it difficult to see the falls. Their motive was to make capital out of this situation by providing access to makeshift staircases leading down the gorge to the base of the falls. What was the catch? You guessed it! They charged a fee. 

In the following years, the area surrounding the verge of the falls saw a lot of development from enclosed staircases to spiral stairways to see the "Sheet of Falling Water" (the older name of the falls at that time). By 1887, a water hydraulic powered elevator was installed in the place by the Niagara Parks Commission. In May 1889, a series of tunnels were constructed below the surface to fully showcase the Horseshoe Falls.

On May 24th, 1888, the park was opened for the public to see and a visitor building was constructed on the brink of the falls by the name of Table Rock House. In 1925, a newer and grander Table Rock House was constructed which provided access to the "Scenic Tunnels" through a new elevator. In 1951, the Scenic Tunnels saw the construction of a lower observation platform to provide wide views of the Niagara Gorge and the Canadian Falls. In 1994, the name of this tourist spot was changed from Scenic Tunnels to Journey Behind the Falls, which remains famous to this day.