Fun Weekend Trips Near Niagara Falls
Fun Weekend Trips Near Niagara Falls
Looking to extend your vacation outside of Niagara Falls? Maybe you want to do something a bit different or see somewhere new.
I have some fun weekend trip ideas for you.
This is my list of fun weekend trips near Niagara Falls!
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Hamilton
A fun weekend trip from Niagara Falls is Hamilton.
It only takes about 1 hour to get from Niagara Falls to Hamilton on the Queen Elizabeth Highway.
If you’re looking to connect with the water and nature, and get some great food and drinks, why not head down to Hamilton.
I know what you’re thinking… Hamilton?
It’s actually considered the waterfall capital of the world!
It is deemed the “City of Waterfalls”.
Some of the biggest waterfalls in Hamilton are Tews Falls and Webster’s Falls.
You can enjoy hiking, relaxing in nature, and being by the water.
An FYI – for some of the waterfalls in Hamilton, people are not allowed at the bottom.
Just make sure you check the signs about what is allowed and what is not.
If you’re looking to connect with nature even more, you can check out The Best Natural Attractions in Ontario here.
Hamilton is a big city with lots of fun areas to explore.
It’s big enough to spend the weekend and check out different areas.
Hamilton is quite a big city with different areas. Here is my top recommendations of the Best Areas To Visit in Hamilton, Ontario.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-lake is a beautiful and charming place to visit!
It’s right beside Niagara Falls and takes just under a half an hour to get there from Niagara Falls.
There are great lake views at some of the parks and streets.
If you’re into theatre and art, feel free to check out the Shaw Festival.
The Shaw Festival brings concerts, plays, performances, activities and workshops every year. Some of the performances take place outdoors.
Would you believe that this festival runs from February to December with great performances happening regularly!
If theatre is not your thing, there are tons of quaint and beautiful shops and restaurants in Niagara-on-the-lake. You can chill on a sidewalk patio or a rooftop patio.
There is a great Indigenous shop with authentic Indigenous art work and beautiful 
pieces of art and clothing called Upper Canada Native Art.
It’s located at 109 Queen Street. I highly recommend checking it out as they are many local Indigenous artists featured in this beautiful store.
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a very historical area. You can also visit the historical Fort George where you can learn about the war of 1812 and the battles that happened in the area. Fort George is located at 51 Queen’s Parade Street.
Queenston Heights Parks was also a battle ground in history. Now it is a beautiful park that has a commemorative memorial for Six Nations and Indigenous allies. Visit the park at 14184 Niagara River Parkway.
Be sure to get your photo with the Floral Clock at 14004 Niagara River Parkway.
You can stroll through the downtown area with gelato or go shopping at the beautiful shops!
If you’re not in the mood for walking, but still want to explore. Here is the perfect option to do so – in style! How Appropriate! 😉
A horse and carriage ride! You can catch your ride at the corner of King and Queen Streets.
Just wait outside of the Prince of Wales historical hotel for your chariot!
4 people can ride at a time, and it goes through the downtown and historical area.
You can choose between a 15 minute to 1 hour tour. Blankets are provided too.
You can learn more at Sentineal Carriages.
More than that, there are also 38 wineries in Niagara-on-the-lake. You can mingle around different wineries.
Niagara-on-the-lake is full of quaint charm and beautiful views that are definitely worth the trip, plus the rich history and art, wine, cuisine, and much more!
Winery Tours
Ontario is home to so many wineries!
Some wine routes are very close like the Niagara wine routes while others like Prince Edward County is around 4 hours from Niagara Falls.
There are actually official wine routes. If you’re driving you will see a sign with grapes that indicates that you’re on a wine route. There is a picture above of this.
The biggest wine routes are near Lake Erie, Prince Edward County, Niagara, Niagara-on-the-lake, and the Niagara escarpment.
Also, there are some smaller wine areas in places like Norfolk County, Georgian Bay, Ottawa and Huron Shores.
From my experience the escarpment, Niagara and Niagara-on-the-lake, and Prince Edward Couty wine routes are my favourites.
Some have special events, restaurants, performers, or other activities.
There are so many wineries and so much variety with what they offer. It can be very overwhelming when you’re trying to plan out a trip.
I use this super helpful Wine Route Trip Planner. I can add wineries to my list, then look at the map and add or take away others until my day is planned.
Here you can plan your trip, check out events and a listing of all the wineries at Wine Country in Ontario.
Port Dalhousie
Port Dalhousie is a fun little area in Niagara.
The bonus is it’s only a 25 minute drive from downtown Niagara Falls to Port Dalhousie.
It’s an area of St. Catharines with some cool restaurants and bars, a nice park and a great sandy beach.
The Park is called Lakeside Park.
One of the most notable features is the view and this large antique carousel that still works!
The Lake Side Beach is a beautiful sandy beach that fills with colourful beach umbrellas and people sunbathing.
There is parking up the hill from the beach, as well as street parking.
It’s worth taking a sunset stroll with some ice cream or dining on a patio at one of the many restaurants.
I also enjoy walking around the marina area too.
Hiking trails
There are so many great places to hike around Niagara. In Niagara Falls, there are some hiking areas along the Niagara River away from the Niagara Falls.
If you’re looking for something close, but out of Niagara Falls, then I would recommend St. Catharines or Grimsby for some great hiking trails, including the famous Bruce Trail.
Some really nice hiking trails are at conservation areas.
Some other hiking areas that I recommend are:
- Rattlesnake Point Conservation area
- Crawford Lake Conservation Area
- Spencer Gorge Conservation Area
- Mono Cliffs Provincial Park
You can see waterfalls at some of these hiking areas that are along the Niagara escarpment.
If you’re looking for more ways to enjoy nature, check out The Best Natural Attractions in Ontario.
Turkey Point
Another fun weekend trip from Niagara Falls is Turkey Point!
This is about a 2 hour drive from Niagara Falls.
It’s a fun beach town with a 2-kilometer long beach.
There are also some fun outdoor bars, restaurants and shops where you can eat, have a drink, shop or get ice cream.
There is parking just behind the beach that you can pay for.
There is also the Turkey Point Provincial Park. It’s a great place to hike, especially during aututmn.
You can camp there seasonally, like between May to October.
Be sure to check out some of the local breweries or wineries and restaurants too.
Port Dover
Another fun weekend trip near Niagara Falls is Port Dover.
Port Dover is a small port town that has a lot of charm and cool shops.
Port Dover is about an hour and a half from Niagara Falls.
It is best known for the Friday the 13th biker event. Every Friday the 13th is a special day for Port Dover where bikers come from afar to Port Dover. There are bands, vendors, and fun events. The streets are closed and there are vendors and fun everywhere during warmer weather months.
An FYI -they only let locals with a special tag on their car and bikes drive into the town.
For everyone else, you can drive until the designated parking area, then hop on a shuttle to go to downtown Port Dover.
If it’s not Friday the 13th, Port Dover is still such a great place to spend a day or weekend.
Make sure you mingle on the beach among the sand and palm trees.
Would you believe that they have palm trees there! Yep, it’s true. Real palm trees on the beach.
Get some of the fresh-caught fish ‘n chips at the Fisherman’s Catch Bar and Restaurant or Knechtels on the beach.
You can get a famous foot-long hot dog at the Arbor.
There are also several beach house restaurant such as: The Beach House, Erie Beach Hotel Cove Room, 211 Main, and David’s restaurant.
After you eat, take a walk on the pier, and of course, you can go swimming.
Powell Park is downtown and hosts markets and festivals regularly.
There are tons of different types of cool shops like biker shops, cottage decor shops, Friday the 13th memorabilia shops, clothing, home decor, gift shops and much more.
There are some fun bars and restaurants to visit like the iconic Callahan’s Beach House.
The Lighthouse Theatre is on Main Street and often has special bands or performances that you can get tickets to enjoy.
Port Dover is a small town with a ‘beachy’ and biker vibe. There is a lot of fun to be had at Port Dover year round.
Grand Bend
Grand Bend is such a fun beach town that is less than 3 hours from Niagara Falls.
There are fun shops, bars and, of course, the beach!
Grand Bend is on Lake Huron and is considered a Blue Flag beach.
A beach is considered a Blue Flag beach when it is clean and protects the water and the shorelines. As well, it is an accessible beach with some mats that people can walk down.
There are lots of fun bars and restaurants at Grand Bend where you can chill and enjoy outside.
There is a strip of bars and shops on Main Street by the beach that are fun to mingle around!
Also, you can enjoy the farmer’s market in Grand Bend, and a winery close to it.
Pinery Provincial Park is in Grand Bend at 9526 Lakeshore Rd. There is a fee $12.25 to enter this park.
It includes a beach! There is the option of camping. You can rent bicycles or canoes.
You can hike on the hiking trails and go to the look out points too.
Grand Bend is a fun place that has live music and fun bars at night when it’s high season, meaning when the weather is warm.
Bayfield
Bayfield is another fun trip near Niagara Falls!
It’s a great little town with a fun and chic Hallmark-type vibe.
It takes a bit under 3 hours to get to Bayfield from Niagara Falls.
It’s such a pretty little town filled with colourful restaurants with locally-brewed drinks, lit up patios and fun and beautiful decor.
There is a beach with a long pier where you can watch surfers scurrying up the pier with their surf boards, so that they an jump into the water and surf to shore… even in the winter!! Just add wet suits to the mix!
There is a big park simply called The Square. There is free parking all the way around it and lots of areas to play and chill.
Bayfield is along the shores of Lake Huron.
Pioneer Park is a quaint park with an awesome sunset view of the Lake Huron! There are benches to sit and chill and watch the sunset.
During long weekends they have events there where you can paint the sunset. All supplies are given to people in the park for free.
There are also hiking trails in Bayfield that you can enjoy. The trails are actually a short walk from the downtown area.
Staying in Niagara Falls?
If you’re looking for things to do while in Niagara Falls, I have several blogs that I will list in this section with great ideas to do in Niagara Falls
There is really so much to do in Niagara Falls at any time of year!
Of course, there’s the famous ‘Street of Fun’ Clifton Hill. It’s entertaining just walking up and down this street, let alone all the attractions, activities, restaurants, games, etc…
I recommend walking Clifton Hill in the evening or night when you can enjoy all the lights and action. You can see some of the fun of Clifton Hill at Niagara Falls- Clifton Hill Attractions.
Maybe Clifton Hill is too busy for you, there are so many other fun activities.
Some activities are normal things like dining at a restaurant, but there are also so many extreme activities in Niagara Falls. Check out 16 Epic Things To Do in Niagara Falls!
Even in the winter Niagara Falls has special activities! There is a yearly festival that happens on the road along the Niagara Falls. It is called the Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls.
It runs from mid-November until the beginning of January.
Tours in Ontario
These are a few examples of some of the fun weekend trips from Niagara Falls, but obviously there are way more!
There is no way that I could mention everything there is to do near Niagara Falls! It would be impossible in 1 blog.
Check out Viator for even more options of tours and excursions around Toronto.
Where to Stay
Need somewhere to stay while in Niagara Falls? Check out the map for some of your options.
Maybe you’re visiting Ontario from another country?
Either way you can research hotels here and book them with booking.com here.
Rent a Car
If you don’t have a car or you’re just visiting Ontario, or if you just want to treat yourself while you enjoy some fun trips near Niagara Falls, you can rent a car!
Why? So that…
- You can fit more people or more things in your car
- To treat yourself to a luxury vehicle
- Why now?
Besides being a travel blogger, I am also a travel writer, Amazon author and an English teacher. Feel free to click on the links for more info or to get started. Thanks so much!
