The second day of our Niagara on the Lake vacation started with a leisurely breakfast at our rented home before we bid goodbye to our first day’s house guests and planned to go for a long hike prior to welcoming our next guests. We drove to the
Niagara Glen Nature Reserve, located on the Niagara Parkway just south-west of the Botanical Gardens and Flower Clock. Situated in the Niagara Gorge, the glen has 4 kilometers of short hiking trail loops and paths that lead down steep, rocky terrains, through Carolinian forests and past varying flora and fauna towards the Niagara River whose waters pick up speed as you get closer to the Whirlpool. As we walked along the top of the Glen, we could look down upon the gorge, across the blue-green waters of the Niagara River to see the cliffs on the American side.
To get down to the hiking trails, we had to descend a steep set of metal stairs with multiple landings where you could look directly down through the metal grates to see the bottom. Note to self .. don’t do this if you are not fond of heights! Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, we could follow the
Cliffside Trail, marked by yellow plaques with the image of a mollusk shell, perhaps representing fossils that might be found in the rock-faces. As indicated by its name, this trail took us past overhanging cliffs, prehistoric geological formations, ledges and crevices, and down large stone steps that challenged the strength of my knees. I was thankful that I had prepared for this trek by wearing my hiking boots and bringing my walking poles. The grip on my footwear kept me from slipping on the uneven steps and I used one of my poles to help support me as I descended the steep-rising steps, not designed for people with short legs.
This trail eventually connected with the
River Trail (marked by aquamarine plaques with the image of waves), which would follow the Niagara River as it descended towards the water’s edge. The terrain on the River Trail changed dramatically as the rock climbing ceased and we were now hiking through woodlands from which we could first only glimpse and then clearly see the river getting closer and closer to us until eventually we reached the bottom. We had wisely followed the trail in the direction away from the whirlpool, so the water was calm and clear and warm to the touch. There was a trail going the other way towards the whirlpool, but we had been warned that it was considered “difficult” while the trails we were on were merely “moderate”. It did not help that the symbol on the plaques for the whirlpool trail was also a “black diamond” which sounded scary and reminded me of the ski hill that I once accidentally arrived atop of. We had already spent 3 hours at the Glen so we decided against trying the Whirlpool trail on this hike. The next time we come back, we will consider taking the Whirlpool Trail first while we are not yet tired, and also try some of the other interior trails that have more cool rock formations on them.
We retraced the steps of the River Trail to head back towards our starting point, and continued closer towards the Whirlpool, watching as the currents picked up speed. As we did so, we continually spotted the
Whirlpool Jet Boats that we saw the
previous day , moored at their launching point at the northern point of Niagara on the Lake. It was fun watching the jet boats motor through the rapids, doing quick violent spins to deliberately cause waves to crash onto the boat as it lurched precariously. I suppose this was fun for the occupants of the boat as well or they would not have paid for this experience, but I was happy to witness it from my nice dry perch.
Following this terrific hike, we stopped by The
Pie Plate in Virgil to pick up some sandwiches for lunch and a blueberry-cherry pie that we planned to share with Dave and Virginia, our house guests for the second night. While waiting for them to arrive, we ate our sandwiches in the lovely backyard of our rental home. Our plan was to tour the
historic downtown of Niagara on the Lake and originally we considered walking the 45 minutes (and back!) from our home. But after the exertion spent in the morning, we decided it would be preferable to drive. We wanted to get a closer look at
Fort Mississauga, which we quickly cycled past the day before and spotted what reminded me of “lawn roombas”—remote controlled lawn mowers roaming up and down a mini slope.
Walking west on
Queen Street, we had the southern edge of the golf course on one side and beautiful houses on the other. One gated mansion had Doric columns leading up to a pediment in the front, two levels of large verandas on the side, and a giant water fountain topped by a sculpture of a woman pouring water out of an urn, all surrounded by a gorgeous array of pink hydrangea flowers. Other homes were more in the Gingerbread style with the ornate wood trims and the wicker furniture on the porch, making me imagine that little Winthrop from the Music Man would come running out at any minute.
Walking along the boardwalk that borders the northern boundaries of the Niagara on the Lake Golf Club, we spotted a gigantic fish that seemed to be dead since it was bobbing just below the surface of the water near the rocky shore. But after watching it for a while we saw its tail flick as it swam away, so possibly it was feeding on something under water. We arrived at the remnants of
Fort Mississauga, the former barracks, guard room and cells of a fort built around 1815 as a replacement for Fort George. Its strategic location allowed it to serve as defense against any actions from the American Fort Niagara located directly across the river. A square brick defensive tower with star-shaped earthwork, it was manned until 1870 and is the last remaining example of this type of fortification in Canada.
Just off the main drag of historic Niagara on the Lake, we visited the
Voices of Freedom memorial which opened in November 2018 to commemorate the town’s Black history and celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Act Against Slavery law of 1793 which made it illegal to bring enslaved people into Upper Canada. The memorial includes a long “Freedom Pathway” leading to a “Communal Circle” comprised of metal cutouts representing Black men, women and children who endured slavery and strived for freedom. Two large curved steel panels flanking the Freedom Path are etched with the names “
Solomon Moseby” and “
Chloe Cooley”. Moseby was a Kentucky slave in 1837 who stole his master’s horse and fled to Niagara on the Lake in Ontario to live as a free man. When his owner tracked him down and tried to retrieve him, a riot broke out allowing him to escape again. Chloe Cooley was a slave held in Fort Erie, Ontario who was beaten and tied to a boat which carried her across the Niagara River to be sold in the United States. Witnesses to this incident petitioned the Executive Council of Upper Canada, leading eventually to passing of the Act Against Slavery law. The
website for the Voices of Freedom memorial includes a historic Niagara on the Lake Black History Walking Tour.
After our tour of downtown Niagara on the Lake, we returned to the house to dress for our dinner at the
Peller Estates Winery and Restaurant. We had wanted to dine at a winery restaurant as part of our trip after a previously successful meal at the Trius Winery Restaurant. Peller is known for its beautiful setting and elegant restaurant with chandeliers that aptly looked like a bunch of grapes.
The outdoor patio overlooked the lovely property but would have been chilly as the evening set, so we chose a table inside. Trying to fill out the COVID survey was a bit of a challenge as there was a glitch in their app that required the hostess to intervene each time, causing a bit of a backlog as diners waited to enter.
Rich and I found the food to be good but nothing special, especially having dined
the night before at
Ruffino's Italian Restaurant and Pasta Bar which we really enjoyed for its fresh, locally sourced ingredients. For example we had a version of the tomato salad both nights and the tomatoes and cheese from Ruffino’s won hands down. It might have been a matter of pre-conceived expectations which were non-existent for Ruffino’s so we were pleasantly surprised, but were extremely high before coming to Peller. At Peller, I had their signature dish of Lobster linguini with black truffle, handmade pasta, icewine poached lobster, smoked backon and chardonnay cream. It was tasty but needed more sauce for my taste (although I almost always would like more sauce), and for the price, it could have had more lobster. Rich had the wild salmon with asparagus, garden peas, yellow beets, chanterelles, wheat berries and a Chardonnay Soubise (onion-based sauce) and I coveted all the vegetables that he got with his meal. Rich and our friends enjoyed a nice bottle of Riesling with their meals. For dessert, we had an ice wine chocolate ganache bar with ginger shortbread, a raspberry compote and candied chili.
This ended our mini two-night stay at Niagara on the Lake. We would check out of our rental home the next day and head back to Toronto, with two interesting stops along the way.
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