Niagara Falls in Winter: Festival of Lights, Tours from NYC and Tips

Open and Closed This Winter

Niagara Falls State Park is open 365 days a year and it is always free to walk in. The Cave of the Winds keeps winter hours of 9am-4pm, with the last ticket at 4pm, and its winter tickets are sold at the attraction only. On the Canadian side, Journey Behind the Falls and the Niagara Parks Power Station and Tunnel are open year-round.

Niagara City Cruises runs until 31 December if the weather allows. Its winter price is not stated.

What the Tours Swap In

The boat is the big winter change. The Maid of the Mist ends its season on 8 November, so every winter tour from New York City drops it. On the 2-day outlet shopping tour the Niagara Power Vista and the Cave of the Winds replace the boat, both included, and Montour Falls replaces Watkins Glen.

On the Corning and Finger Lakes tour Old Fort Niagara takes the boat's place in the day 2 optional Classic Tour. On the day trip with the optional boat ride the Niagara Power Vista museum in Lewiston is the winter swap.

Dates, Hours and Cost

The Winter Festival of Lights runs 14 November to 10 January, in its 44th year. The light displays are on nightly 5pm to midnight, holidays included, and the festival is free to attend. At the Dufferin Islands exit there is a suggested donation of $5-$10 per car.

This season adds 25+ new displays and interactive exhibits. The route runs more than 8 km along the Niagara Parkway from Clifton Hill to Dufferin Islands, with more lights in the Fallsview District and on Lundy's Lane, all built on three million lights.

Winter Fireworks Schedule

Fireworks over the falls go off at 8:00 pm and each show lasts about 5 minutes. They are free to watch from the public viewing areas near Queen Victoria Park and the Parkway, weather permitting, on the Canadian side. The official schedule from Niagara Falls Tourism is below.

Between shows, the 5-minute Sparkling Winter Lights illumination plays at 6, 7 and 8 pm nightly as part of the regular falls lighting.

Hot Chocolate Trail, Misty Kids and Parking

The Hot Chocolate Trail runs 27 November to 14 February at participating cafes and restaurants, some of them spiked, from Hershey's Chocolate World to the Sheraton Fallsview lobby bar. Buy a featured hot chocolate and scan the venue QR code to enter a prize draw. Five Misty Kids mascots are the festival ambassadors: visit one for a selfie and a free treat, and Misty Lodge in Queen Victoria Park runs Fridays and Saturdays 6-9 pm.

For parking, the official advice is to park at your hotel and walk. Paid lots sit across from Table Rock Centre, at the Skylon Tower and in the Clifton Hill district, where the main lot has more than 700 spaces. The WEGO bus also serves the districts.

Getting to the Festival from a NYC Tour

None of the tours from New York City takes you into the festival, because every day tour stays on the U.S. side. To see it you cross the Rainbow Bridge on foot on your own time. Bring a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license or NEXUS card.

The pedestrian toll is collected only when entering the United States, at $1.25 by tap. Read more on the Canadian side and the Niagara Falls fireworks pages before you go.

The Concert and the Fireworks

On 31 December a free concert returns to Queen Victoria Park with Riley Green headlining, joined by The Reklaws, Tenille Townes and Sacha. The concert is expected to start between 8 and 8:30 pm. Fireworks run at 8 pm and again at midnight in a 9-minute show.

A CCMA special airs on CP24 and streams on Crave from 10:30 pm ET. None of the tours from New York City here is built around New Year's Eve, and the 2-day tours spend their evening on the U.S. side, so plan it independently. Cross the Rainbow Bridge on foot with a passport, passport card, enhanced driver's license or NEXUS card, and plan a Niagara Falls trip from NYC with a night near the falls, since the midnight show ends long after the last tour leaves.

The Falls Never Fully Freeze

Niagara Falls does not completely freeze over, although it can grow a layer of ice and look frozen. Niagara Falls State Park puts it as: the falls never really freeze, it just looks like it. What you see in deep winter is a layer of ice building up on the rocks, with ice formations around Bridal Veil Falls and the American Falls.

The last full stoppage of the flow came in March 1848, when an ice jam from Lake Erie held the water back for about 30-40 hours. An ice boom has been placed in the river every winter since 1964 to help a natural ice arch form and reduce ice entering the Niagara River.

Monthly Normals

The table uses the National Weather Service Buffalo 1991-2020 climate normals, in Fahrenheit and inches of snow. December averages a high of 37 F (3 C) and January a high of 32 F (0 C) with a low of 19 F (-7 C). Snowfall is heaviest in December and January at more than 25 inches each.

What to Wear

The official advice is to dress in layers, with a warm coat, sweaters, gloves, a scarf and a hat. Near the falls the spray freezes on railings and paths, so wear waterproof boots with real grip and a waterproof outer layer rather than a wool coat. January lows average 19 F (-7 C), and Niagara Falls Tourism gives -15 C (5 F) for the coldest days of January and February.

Lit Falls Compared

The table compares the tours that leave New York City, using the departure times and winter swaps from each operator listing. Only the day-and-night departures see the falls lit, and the overnight departures see them by daylight only.

The Trade-off

The departures that stay for the lights are long days. The day-and-night runs return to Manhattan around 5:30-6:00 AM, so you arrive home tired and the 22-23 hours are mostly on the bus. The overnight departures miss the illumination entirely, and the 1-day overnight tour is back in Manhattan around 10:00 PM.

If the lit falls matter to you, the 2-day tour from NYC gives you a hotel night and the night tour without the dawn return, and the fireworks tour does it in one push. A Niagara Falls day trip from NYC in winter is doable, but choose your departure time carefully.

By Amtrak

The Maple Leaf 63 is the only daily train, leaving Moynihan Train Hall at 7:15am and arriving at Niagara Falls, NY at 4:50pm, a run of about 9 hours 35 minutes. The return, train 64, leaves Niagara Falls at 11:50am and reaches Moynihan at 9:16pm. The station is at 825 Depot Avenue West, Niagara Falls, NY.

Note the timing: you arrive at 4:50pm, after the 4:30 PM illumination has already started in November and December, and the return train leaves at 11:50am, so the trip needs at least one night. The full route is on the NYC to Niagara Falls page.

Local Winter Tours Once You Are There

Three winter tours start in Niagara Falls, NY and pick you up at your hotel, which suits a trip up by Amtrak. The table lines up their length, pickup and what the price covers, from the operator listings on Viator. None of them crosses into Canada, and none includes the Festival of Lights.

What You Gain

Winter gives you ice formations around the falls that do not exist in summer, an illumination that starts at 4:30 PM so you see the lights without a midnight finish, and the Winter Festival of Lights with its fireworks. Entry to Niagara Falls State Park is free all year, and the Cave of the Winds costs $14 for adults, sold at the attraction. The Hot Chocolate Trail runs from 27 November to 14 February.

What You Give Up

You give up the boat, since the Maid of the Mist ends on 8 November. You give up comfort, with temperatures around a high of 32 F (0 C) in January and paths that ice over. The day tours still run 22-23 hours, with 14-16 of them on the road.

And the festival, the fireworks and the New Year's Eve concert are all on the Canadian side, so you need a passport and your own border crossing, because no tour from New York City here goes into Ontario. If that trade sounds wrong for you, read whether a Niagara Falls day trip from NYC is worth it in any season.