There’s no question that one of the biggest tourist attractions in North America is the natural wonder that is Niagara Falls. There are ways to experience it on both the USA and the Canadian sides of the Niagara River, with some 21 million people estimated to visit each year.
But ask anyone which side is the best, and the unanimous response tends to be Canada. And with some 5 million more visitors on the Canadian side than the USA side each year, those numbers speak for themselves. This comes down to the wide variety of activities that the Canadian side offers, as well as the arguably superior views of both the smaller American Falls and the iconic Canadian Horseshoe Falls.
We’ve delved into a lot of the activities that get you up-close-and-personal with the Canadian Horseshoe Falls on this website already, but one aspect that we have never delved into extensively is Clifton Hill. It’s a street that lives with the tagline “Fun By The Falls”, and it’s a destination unlike any other in Canada. And this year, it turns 100 years old.
So what is Clifton Hill, and is it worth a visit in itself? I travelled to the iconic destination to see for myself.
A brief history of Clifton Hill
By the 1920s, Niagara Falls was well established a popular tourist attraction on both sides of the river, and that notoriety was continuing to grow. On the Canadian side, what is now known as the “Journey Behind The Falls”, which takes guests into tunnels behind the Horseshoe Falls, was already in its 10th decade of operation. Which is pretty remarkable given how popular it remains to this day.
To cater for the growing number of guests, new accommodation options were needed. 1.6km from the Horseshoe Falls, a steep road known as Clifton Hill, sitting between Falls Ave and Victoria Ave, started being used for this very purpose. 100 years ago, in 1925, this saw the opening of the Foxhead Inn, on the corner of Falls Ave, where the Sheraton Fallsview sits today.
Around the same time, a number of campsites opened on both the north and south side of the hill. One of these, the Clifton Hill Camp, eventually became the Clifton Court Motel, which is when the Clifton Hill Family Restaurant was added. Today the motel is known as the Thriftlodge Niagara Falls At The Falls, and the restaurant remains to this day.
It was in the 1959 that this mix of accommodation options started to become accompanied by museums. The first was Louis Tussaud’s English Wax Museum, which is now knows as Louis Tussaud’s Waxworks. Movieland Wax Museum followed in 1962 (pictured below), and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in 1963.
Today, these museums are accompanied by experiences like haunted houses, roller coasters, dark rides, the Niagara SkyWheel, and one of Canada’s largest miniature golf courses, the Dinosaur Adventure Golf.
There’s even an elevated go-kart track, the Niagara Speedway Go Karts.
So, how does it all work?
What Luna Park is to Sydney Harbour, Clifton Hill is to Niagara Falls. They’re both the Midway sections of popular tourist destinations – and they work somewhat similarly, too. Entry is free, but rides and attractions have individual fees. Which is great if you just want to come and enjoy a ride on the Ferris Wheel, or spend an afternoon mini-golfing. But if you’re planning to enjoy multiple attractions, you’ll want to look to the two value passes that are available on the strip.
First, the “Big Fun Value Pass” offers discount deals on a number of experiences on the north side of the street – where you’ll find Bronto’s Adventure Playland, Big Top Maze of Lasers, SkipARRR’s Pirate Putt and more. Passes are available in two, five and seven packs, with some packages including food and retail vouchers.
And then there’s the “Clifton Hill FUN PASS“, which incorporates eight of the most popular attractions, situated on the south side of the street. For $39.95 CAD (plus taxes) for adults, and $26.95 CAD (plus taxes) for children 12 years and under, the pass gives you access to six of eight attractions, which can provide savings of up to $30. We enjoyed this pass over two days, spending hours immersing ourselves in this Midway experience.
We started with the 4D ride Zombie Attack, which opened in 2018. It sits in a 36-seat XD Dark Ride Theater – the largest of its type in North America. In it, guests sit in amphitheater-style indoor seating, with chairs that vibrate, move and offer sound effects. Each seat has a gun attached to it, which you use to shoot the zombies that come at you on the massive screen. From there, it becomes a team effort to save the day. While a relatively new attraction, we were disappointed to have guns that didn’t work all that well, with the bullets shooting in different directions to where we aimed. It was nonetheless a fun time, and the motion of the room was impressive.
Another ride to experience is the Carnival Chaos HyperRide, that opened in 2023 and remains the newest addition to the precinct. With the FUN PASS, you have the choice between this and Toy Store 4D. We chose the newer option, and this was definitely the most impressive ride I experienced while in Clifton Hill. If you’ve gone on the Toy Story Midway Mania at Disneyland, it’s very much designed in a similar vein. You shoot digital screens for points as you move from one room to the next, amongst 7 interactive spaces.
The Ghost Blasters Dark Ride, which sits in the same complex as Toy Store 4D, is another ride on the FUN PASS list. This one is a dark ride shooter in the vein of Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters at Disneyland. Shoot physical targets, get points. And then of course there’s the Niagara SkyWheel, which has become an iconic fixture of the Niagara Falls skyline since it opened in 2006.
The SkyWheel offers unparalleled views of Clifton Hill, with many of the photos in this article taken while going for a spin. The wheel takes you over 53 metres into the air with at least three rotations over 8 or so minutes.
One museum is also included in the FUN PASS: The Movieland Wax Museum. This Madame Tussauds inspired attraction opened in 1962, and features wax celebrities sitting amongst photo ops and interactive set pieces. There’s everything from the Barbie car – with Ryan Gosling’s Ken and Margot Robbie’s Barbie sitting behind it – to the set of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. There’s even a little cinema talking about Buster Keaton and Laurel and Hardy, which suggests that some of the set pieces may date back to the museum’s opening.
And we can’t forget The Simpsons couch, which definitely was designed by Bort.
And finally, you have the option of two mini-golf courses. There’s the outdoor Dinosaur themed course pictured earlier, and Wizard Golf, an 18-hole indoor glow-in-the-dark course. As it had started raining by the time we got around to the mini-golf during our second day in the Falls, we opted for the latter. It was a lot of fun, though I would have certainly chosen the outdoor option in better weather. Even though we didn’t go on a particularly busy day, all it takes are a few families to pack out the rooms.
Unfortunately, one of the best attractions on the south side of the hill is not included in the FUN PASS, and that’s the elevated Niagara Speedway. This is one of the more recent additions to Clifton Hill, opening up in 2018, and is also one of the most popular attractions on the hill. We didn’t get to experience it, but you can learn more about it HERE.
But even without the go-karts, the FUN PASS remains fantastic value. If you’re going to be spending a day or two at the Falls, and are including Clifton Hill in your itinerary, the FUN PASS is a must. We happily lost hours to the experiences they offered. Head HERE to buy one, and for more details.
Where To Eat
Sitting on Clifton Hill are a number of chain restaurants. Many, like Boston Pizza or Wendy’s, can be found throughout Canada. However, this is the only place in Canada you’ll find the immersive dining experience known as the Rainforest Cafe.
We had a solid – if expensive – meal here, and the animatronics and thunderstorm effects still are as enjoyable as they were when we were kids.
You’ll also find places like the Clifton Hill Family Restaurant, which offers diner style food at a reasonable price, and as one of the earliest dining options on the strip, is currently helping celebrate Clifton Hill’s 100th anniversary.
Also, hot tip: You can also visit the Hersey’s store, just down on Falls Ave from the Sheraton Fallsview, and get yourself some authentic smores.
Where To Stay
At the base of Clifton Hill, you’ll find the Sheraton Fallsview. Sitting in the same footprint as the 1925 Foxhead Inn, the hotel underwent a massive $50 million dollar overhaul that was unveiled in 2021.
Rooms here are very comfortable, and well designed, with Juliette balconies giving you unparalleled views and sounds of the natural wonder. It’s the only hotel with views of the Falls to offer such balconies as a standard amenity.
Here’s a look at the incredible view we had from our own balcony. Few things beat waking up to that, or falling asleep to its sounds.
A quick look at the bathrooms also shows you how fresh the design feels, with fantastic lighting, and all the amenities you could need during your visit to Niagara Falls.
Sitting at the base of Clifton Hill, you’re right in the middle of all the action. Head to their official website for more details, and you can read about my experience at Massimo’s Italian, a flagship restaurant that sits within the building, HERE. It serves as another great dining option in the area.
The hotel is also connected to the Fallsview Indoor Waterpark via an indoor walkway, and they also offer the only outdoor pool with views of the Falls. There is a lot to enjoy here.
Not the only thing turning 100…
Clifton Hill isn’t the only part of the region turning 100 this year. In 2025, Niagara Falls is also celebrating a century of the Niagara Falls Illumination Board, whose job it was to install the 24 state-of-the-art arc lights that continue to illuminate the falls nightly. That system was then unveiled on 25th May 1925 ahead of the grand dedication ceremony and an International Festival of Lights on 8th June 1925. Here’s the view we captured from our Sheraton Fallsview balcony last month:
Part of the celebrations also includes the launch of Niagara Takes Flight, which will open on 29th August 2025. Not dissimilar from the Soarin’ attraction at Disneyland, this is brought to you by the same people who developed the FlyOver experiences that you’ll find in cities like Vancouver, and in Las Vegas.
This attraction joins the Niagara Parks Power Station Tunnel as the latest ways to see the Falls from new angles. In The Tunnel, which opened in July 2021, guests walk 670 metres through a passage from the Falls’ decommissioned power station, through to a new observation deck near the river.
How To Get There
If you’re travelling in from Canada, it’s a two hour train trip from Toronto, with GO or ViaRail, and a little under two hours if you’re driving. There are also a number of bus operators between the destinations, including FlixBus and Megabus. From the US, you’d travel in from Buffalo, New York, and cross the Rainbow Bridge to enter the country. You can also fly into Buffalo Niagara Airport here, with most major airlines offering services.
All prices in CAD and were correct at the time of printing. While in Niagara Falls, the author stayed as a guest of the Sheraton Fallsview for one night. The Clifton Hill Fun Pass was provided by Clifton Hill, Fun by the Falls, with the support of Niagara Falls Tourism. All photos by the author unless otherwise credited.
