Jun
28
2010
Niagara Falls Queen Victoria Park, ON
Author: RockyWhen someone says Niagara Falls, immediately you think of gushing torrents of water descending down a giant horseshoe shaped fall, misting up into a great cloud that rises up into the sky.. but there’s something that’s still nature going on there – though slightly more man made. As you walk down the pavement with the falls to your right, over the road on your left – is Niagara Falls Queen Victoria Park.
It’s a stark contrast from the busy casinos, amusements, restaurants and rides of Niagara’s town centre, but Niagara Falls Falls Queen Victoria Park does its job well, providing visitors with a calm relaxed open space full of life, both flora and fauna – and colour.
Queen Victoria Park is literally the “heart” of Niagara Parks. Bounded by the steep Fallsview moraine and the Niagara River Great Gorge, the Park contains a valuable collection of unique native and international plants and beautifully maintained gardens.
Walking through the Park beside the Falls, from Clifton Hill to beyond Dufferin Islands, you can enjoy a rock garden, hanging baskets, a Hybrid tea rose garden and attractive carpet-bedding displays. Park benches and well-groomed lawns provide pleasant venues for relaxation and photography.
Queen Victoria Park celebrates every season in style. In Spring, over 500,000 daffodils start the season in their bright and welcoming way. Magnificent magnolia trees, breathtaking tulips and other blooms are all there for you to enjoy.
Summer features carpet bedding displays as well as thousands of bedding plants. Fuchsia and lantana standards, cannas, coleus and many other plants provide horticultural and aesthetic points of interest. Chrysanthemums and kale are used in the Fall to provide interest after the arrival of “Jack Frost”.
During the Winter months, the stark branches of trees and shrubs create visual and special interest for our visitors, especially when beautifully covered with the freezing mist of the Falls.
We went at the beginning of May, and what caught my eye first was the brilliant red tulips that were around the paths in abundance while walking up the path from the falls towards the town centre, and around the park there were a number of other coloured tulips – pink, yellow, white, and purple!
The route we took this particular day was to first park up in the car park we usually do, up at the far end just past the falls on the right. There’s been a new welcome centre opened since we last walked along the main front of Niagara Falls, so we walked down the side of the car park, over the bridge – through the centre and out by the side of the falls. From here we walked down the path and came upon the sight in the picture above. That was when suddenly i realised exactly how beautiful the park was. Its a difficult competition, to compete for your eye at the Falls, on one side you have the huge majesty of the natural horse shoe and America falls, and on the other the beautiful Queen Victoria Park. Usually of coarse The falls wins out.. but the park shouldn’t be underestimated!
We walked down the path to the main town and walked up the main street where there is Wendy’s, Tim Horton’s, the amusements and things – and grabbed a bite to eat. It’s on the way back which we decided to spend some time enjoying the park and exploring it more than we usually do, which is to simply use it as a quiet route back to the car park.
Seeing the skylon looming from the top of the hill, through the trees of the park is certainly a unique sight greeting you as you begin to walk through the park and as you continue you find yourself walking by a fountain, again surrounded by flowers. This is the Zimmerman Fountain Pond. This beautiful fountain takes its name from Samuel Zimmerman who came to Canada from Pennsylvania in 1842. He amassed a fortune through a series of lucrative contracts involving the building of the second Welland Canal and various railway lines, allowing him to begin construction of a large estate in what is now Queen Victoria Park. The estate was unfinished when he was killed in a railway accident in march 1857. This fountain pond which dates back to 1856 is the last remaining remnant of his estate.
Further into the park you’ll find rose gardens and even a small island surrounded by a pond. You’d think it would look slightly out of place in such an area but it manages to blend in well to the surroundings, and is all but missed as you walk down the road on the other side!
Along with the beauty of nature’s plants you’ll also find some of the wildlife – such as the black squirrels and the Canada Geese that are around the park
There are so many different colours and sights to see in Victoria Park, the best thing for me to suggest is for you to have a look for yourself while you are there! It’s not a massive park, and you’re never far from the main road, but its definitely not worth missing if you’re heading to Niagara Falls and love a little greenery in your visits!
Since i took so many photos, and haven’t the space to really display them all on this article, I’ve put some of the above photos as well as my other favourites below for you to have a look at!
The park is particularly easy to find as if you’re by the falls, then the park is right on the other side of the street:
