The Niagara Parkway Scenic Drive: Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake

The Niagara Parkway is a scenic road that follows the Canadian side of the Niagara River for roughly 55 km (34 mi), running from the town of Fort Erie in the south to Niagara-on-the-Lake in the north, where it ends near Fort George. Formerly known as Niagara Boulevard and, historically, as the Niagara Road, it crosses the entire Niagara Peninsula between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The portion north of Table Rock in the city of Niagara Falls carries the official designation of an Ontario Scenic Highway. For most of its length the parkway is a gentle two-lane road with a 60 km/h speed limit, slowing to a four-lane divided 40 km/h stretch through the busy tourist core near the falls. Most of the route falls under the care of the Niagara Parks Commission, an agency of the Government of Ontario, which keeps the gardens, lawns and lookouts manicured from end to end — one of the reasons the drive feels more like rolling through a long ribbon of parkland than an ordinary highway.

Starting in the south, the parkway begins at old Fort Erie just south of the Peace Bridge, where it is signed as Lakeshore Road and connects with the Queen Elizabeth Way. It curves north through downtown Fort Erie, passes beneath the International Railway Bridge, and runs opposite the southern shore of Grand Island. The road crosses Black Creek, passes the Willoughby Historical Museum and the Legends on the Niagara golf course, then enters the City of Niagara Falls and meets the Welland River. Here traffic is briefly diverted west to cross at Portage Road before resuming at King's Bridge Park. North of that point the parkway runs alongside the Upper Rapids and passes directly adjacent to Horseshoe Falls, threading through Queen Victoria Park and into downtown Niagara Falls, where it becomes River Road north of Clifton Hill. It continues under the Rainbow Bridge and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, wraps around the Whirlpool, and carries on to Queenston and finally Niagara-on-the-Lake, where it becomes Queen's Parade and ends at Fort George.

The parkway is one of the oldest road corridors in the province. An Indigenous trail ran along the west side of the Niagara River long before Europeans arrived. The first survey of the riverbank was completed by Augustus Jones in 1786, which set aside a one-chain reserve — about 20 metres — for military purposes. In 1791 the Land Board ordered settlers' fences removed so the reserve could serve as a public road, and the Niagara Road quickly became the main route between Fort Erie and Fort George. That importance grew during the War of 1812, when the road carried militia and supplies along one of the war's key frontiers. When the First Welland Canal opened in 1829, the road even doubled as a towpath, with oxen hauling boats against the Niagara's current. The Niagara Parks Commission took over the reserve in 1891 and began building the modern ornamental parkway in 1908, completing the full Lake Erie to Lake Ontario route in 1931.

The parkway's most famous endorsement came in August 1943. Winston Churchill travelled to Canada for the secret Quebec Conference, where Allied leaders planned the invasion of France that would become D-Day. Between meetings with Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, Churchill visited Niagara Falls and was driven the length of the parkway. Afterward he described it as "the prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world" — a line the route has carried proudly ever since. More than 80 years later the description still holds up. The drive strings together river views, the brink of Horseshoe Falls, the churning Whirlpool, the Niagara Escarpment at Queenston, and the genteel streets of Niagara-on-the-Lake, all on one continuous road. Whether you drive it end to end in an afternoon or stop at the gardens and lookouts along the way, it remains one of the best free things to do in the region.

Allow at least half a day if you want to stop, and a full day if you plan to walk into the major attractions. The drive works in either direction, but heading south to north — Fort Erie to Niagara-on-the-Lake — builds nicely toward the wine country and historic streets at the northern end. Drive slowly: the 60 km/h limit is generous given how much there is to look at, and the tourist core near the falls drops to 40 km/h. Parking is available at Niagara Parks lots near the major sights, though spaces near the falls fill quickly in summer. Because the parkway shadows the river the entire way, you are never far from a pull-off, a picnic spot, or a view. If you would rather travel under your own power, the same corridor is paralleled by the Niagara River Recreation Trail, a paved path used by walkers and cyclists for much of the parkway's length.