Niagara Gorge- Whirlpool Trail
The Good Ole Gorge
Well, I guess the time has come to talk about what is probably the most famous hiking spot in Niagara, the Niagara Gorge. Now in particular we’re gonna be talking about the Whirlpool Trail, which if done in my manner, yields about 3.5 km of hiking, and a really good workout.
Now what;s my way you may ask? Well, you start at the Niagara Glen Parking lot by this building in the picture. I like to park on the close side of the entrance to the parking lot since it’s usually not as busy.
Tip: You only have to pay for parking for as long as you’ll be there. Best to overpay your first time to get a feel for it, you could also buy a season pass if you’d like so you don’t have to worry about it. I’m at the point where I would pay for 1 hour of parking and run through the trail to beat it back.
Walk down the hill and across the field from where you parked, and you come to the staircase down. It also has a handy map which I strongly recommend taking a picture of.
The red line is roughly the route I take. The circled area is the stairs.
Alrighty, at the bottom of the stairs, you continue straight along the rocks. You kinda weave your ay through this next bit, but pretty much the gist is, go as straight to the water as you can, and then turn right and follow that trail. Eventually you will reach a little bay, this is the point to which you start your trek. You follow the whirlpool signs along the waters edge, you’ll see some really nice viewpoints, and few spots to dip your hands and take a break.
One of the nice viewing points along this route.
Eventually you’ll make your way up a little crevasse and you’ll come to the most workout part of this hike. These stairs are painfully laid out, very awkwardly spaced and it takes a toll on your legs, but when you reach it, boy will you be glad.
From here, you just walk back along the paved path to the parking lot and you’re all done, a nice cool down from the hike.
Not many points of interest around, but tried to show you the parking lots, and threw a point on Great Wolf Lodge
The route as tracked by Map My Run