Between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie
Niagara Regional Municipality lies between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. In Ontario, this region brings together winegrowing, nature experiences and history: cycling routes, hiking trails, preserved landscape remnants and historic sites offer different ways to explore. When planning your trip, it helps to first decide what you want to focus on. Spending time outdoors, exploring military history, or discovering wine and regional cuisine—each of these interests can be tied to specific themes in Niagara. That way, your choices don’t start with a predetermined itinerary, but with the question of which side of the region you’d like to get to know better.
Discover routes and nature
Cyclists can choose from more than 200 scenic cycling routes in Niagara. They can be searched by terrain, length, location or difficulty. Each criterion answers a different selection question: length helps you sort options by distance; terrain and difficulty describe other route characteristics, while location provides another search criterion. If you’re still deciding which route interests you, you can first consider which of these dimensions matters most for your plans. This lets you tailor your selection to different characteristics.
Niagara also offers more than 40 hiking and walking trails, each with its own features. Niagara Parks has 15 kilometres of trails through six distinct natural areas. Hiking options range from a broad selection of trails to a specific connection with natural areas. To find your bearings, you can consider both the trails’ features and the natural areas. Hiking is therefore not presented as one uniform activity, but as a way to discover different aspects of the region.
Niagara Glen is one of the last remaining remnants of Niagara’s original Carolinian Forest. This adds a landscape-history perspective to the selection of routes and trails. If you see nature not just as a backdrop for getting around, but as a subject of discovery in its own right, this offers a distinct way to explore.
History in different forms
History can also be encountered in different ways. Fort George offers daily programs with demonstrations and talks. Old Fort Erie presents the military history of the War of 1812 through preserved buildings, exhibits and reenactments. The difference between a daily program and the combination of buildings, exhibits and staged interpretation can help you choose based on your personal interests. If you’d like to visit Fort George, check that day’s program schedule.
Winegrowing and a January festival
Ontario’s Niagara region is Canada’s largest winegrowing area and includes several distinct wine sub-appellations. The term refers to distinct subregions within the winegrowing area; this means Niagara can be viewed both as a whole and in terms of its individual wine regions. Wine enthusiasts can shift their perspective from the larger area to its distinct subregions. This offers a different way to explore the region than its trails or history, since winegrowing and sub-appellations shape the view here.
A seasonal event is the Niagara Icewine Festival. It takes place every year on several weekends in January and features special events, regional cuisine and Icewine tastings in the historic Old Town. Specific dates may change; check them if you’re planning your visit around the festival. Two different perspectives are brought together: the broad winegrowing area with its sub-appellations, and an annual festival that combines events, cuisine and tastings in January.
Discover more destinations: Welland, Thorold, Niagara-On-The-Lake, Fort Erie, Pelham, Lincoln, Port Colborne, Grimsby, St Anns, St. Catharines, Jordan Station, Wainfleet, Niagara Falls.
For the broader travel overview: Ontario.
