It seems like only yesterday, and not the 21 years that it really is, that John Kinney owner and operator of the Whirlpool Jet Boat Rides pitched The Niagara Parks Commission to gain support for his new thrill ride. He was turned down a few times but his determination eventually won out and the support was granted.  Today, this one hour popular high speed ride into the Niagara Gorge is still as popular as ever.

His custom built fleet of jet boats has an explanatory record of safety.

The wet, wild and wonderful attraction recently for the season opened on the Canadian side of the border at Niagara on the Lake. On May 4th the operation opens on the U.S. side of the border at Lewiston.

Here’s just a partial list of celebrities who braved the Niagara Rapids on this spectacular jet boat adventure; media personality Regis Philbin, American singer Harry Connick Jr, actor Ray Romano, Joe Perri, lead guitarist for Aerosmith and actress/singer Mandy Moore.

Attached are a few photos I took of the Jet Boats going through the rapids as seen from the Niagara Glen on the Candian side of the river.

Greetings from NFT

From May 10th – 12th, 2013, Niagara Falls will be host to the 2013 Canadian National Cheer & Dance Championships being held at the Scotiabank Convention Centre.  This spectacular event; now in its second year at the Convention Centre, will be bringing in over 20,000 people, over 200 teams to the Niagara Region! 

It was on May 24, 1888 that The Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park (later named The Niagara Parks Commission) was formed. However, Queen Victoria Park near the falls was opened to the public without an official ceremony.

Niagara Falls citizens were so enraged that there was  no official ceremony they held there own official ceremony a month later on June 21st.This original park consisted of 62 hectares (154 acres) from the foot of Clifton Hill to Dufferin Islands. This was the area known then and still today as Queen Victoria Park.

Stay tuned for lots of springtime events taking place here that I will be blogging about in the next number of weeks.

Today’s Niagara Parks extends along the Canadian side of the border from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario a total of 1,325 hectares (3,274 acres).

It was on March 30th, 1885 that the Legislature of Ontario passed, “An Act for preservation of the Natural Scenery about Niagara Falls”. The act, known by its short title “Niagara Falls Park Act” provided for the formation of the park in 1888.

Incidentally, The Niagara Parks Commission (The capitalized “T” in The is officially part of the parks name) is Ontario’s first provincial park and not Algonquin Provincial Park which was founded in 1893.

The folks at Algonquin Provincial Park don’t like to hear this fact.

Attached are a few photos I took this week of the colourful flowers you’ll find in QVP (Queen Victoria Park)

Whirlpool Jet Boats - Season Open!

Apr 27 - May 05 , 2013 : 1:00pm to 6:00pm

The Whirlpool Jet Boats have been working hard getting ready for another busy season!

On April 27, their boats were back in the river and our drivers and trip leaders were  ready and waiting to take visitors on the most exhilarating experience Niagara has to offer.

In celebration of our first two weekends of the season, we are offering a Polar Bear Run package for those brave enough to be one of the first to face the Devil's Hole Class 5 rapids.

Price: $45 inclusive (photo included)
Duration: April 27 - May 5

Trip Times:
April 27 to May 5 - Tours departing at 1 & 3 p.m from Niagara-on-the-Lake
May 4 - 2 p.m. tour opens out of Lewiston
May 5 - Tours departing from Lewiston at 2 & 3 p.m.

See you out on the river!

The world famous Maid of the Mist boat ride ,which is North America’s oldest attraction having started in 1846, quietly slipped into the lower Niagara River a few days a go.

This is a trip that takes you to the base of both falls where you get up close and personal to the majestic cataract.

It’s the final year of operation for the,”Maids” from the Canadian side of the border. Next year the “Maids” will operate from a new docking area on the U.S. side of the border.

A new boating operation (yet unnamed) will be operating from the Candian side using the same docks formerly used by the “Maids”. The new boats are owned by Hornblower, a company that operates tours in other parts of the United States.

This will be the first time two different boat tours will be operating at the same time below the falls. It should be interesting.

A Few Technical Facts About Niagara Falls

The depth of the rapids above the American Falls range from 8-10 centimetres (a few inches) to about 0.6 metres (2 feet).Above the Canadian Horseshoe Falls it ranges also between 8-10 centimetres to about 3 metres (10 feet).This range is as a result of wind direction and the amount of water diverted  for the production of hydro power.

The speed of the rapids above the falls is about 48 kilometres per hour (30 mph).This is because the river becomes much narrower a couple of miles above the falls. And the riverbed also drops almost 18.3 metres (60 feet) before water goes over the falls.