On The New York Border Is Canada's Charming Town With Beaches, Niagara Falls Proximity, And A Historic Fort

While the city of Buffalo, New York, offers one of the prime gateways to the Niagara Falls region on the American side of the border, there's something a little quieter and more charming just opposite on the Canadian side. Enter Fort Erie. Butting up to the northeastern tip of Lake Erie, it's a smaller, more relaxed stepping stone to the bucket-list cataracts with a few other aces up its proverbial sleeve. For example, under 40,000 people call this town home, compared to Buffalo's 274,000.

Fort Erie oozes history. It's an officially designated National Historic Site of Canada, and its namesake structure dates back to the early 1800s. Today, you can go there to unravel stories of major battles during the American Revolution and delve into hands-on exhibits at the adjoining welcome center. On top of that, beaches abound around this town's lakeshore. When the time comes to kick back and take a dip, there are long runs of cotton-tinged sand washed by clear freshwater just down the road.

The closest airports to this historic Niagara town are actually over on the U.S. side of the water. The Buffalo Niagara International Airport is just a touch over a 20-minute drive to the east, while the Niagara Falls International Airport is roughly half an hour drive north. It's easy to cross from one nation to the other, because the Peace Bridge goes straight from Buffalo to Fort Erie itself. Those sticking to the Canada side can cruise down Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto's big airport in around 1.5 hours.

If you only have time to do one thing in Fort Erie, make it the fort itself. Known as Old Fort Erie, it's now the southernmost piece of land that's protected and managed by the Niagara Parks Commission. You'll find it perched right on the edge of the lake, a few minutes' drive southeast of the town center. There's free parking on site for fort visitors.

The history here goes all the way back to the 1760s, when the British raised the first fort they ever built in Ontario, close to the water's edge. That was later replaced by a second, much larger fort, which is the one you can see today looming large at the site. It has been reconstructed to what it looked like during the War of 1812, a seminal time in the history of this landmark, since it was when the infamous Siege of Fort Erie, one of the bloodiest engagements of the whole conflict, took place, per Canada History.

The muskets continue to fire during the annual reenactment of the great siege. It's a big event that takes two full days in August and is free to public spectators. If you visit outside of the reenactments, you can still enjoy immersive tours around the whole site that even include artillery firing demonstrations. Just keep watch for ghosts and ghouls, for this fort is notoriously haunted.

Fort done and dusted? Look north, and you realize that Fort Erie is a prime gateway to one of the greatest natural wonders in Canada and the U.S. combined. The Niagara Falls are accessible in just a 30-minute drive from this town, plus the trip there promises to be a real doozy, since it takes you straight up the Niagara Parkway, a scenic road that hugs the Niagara River as it dips in and out of historic towns and vineyards.

You can drive right up to the Table Rock Centre, a top starting point for exploring Canada's side of the roaring waterfalls, mainly because it has some of the most stunning views of Horseshoe Falls. Table Rock is also the place to go for the Journey Behind the Falls experience, which involves venturing behind the walls of water through tunnels carved into the rock.

For Lake Erie beaches, you'll want to turn away from the famous falls. Niagara's South Coast region is hailed as "Ontario's unofficial beach capital," stretching west from Fort Erie through a string of sand-fringed shoreline towns. Crystal Beach sits just about 8 miles away, touting family-friendly stretches with watersports aplenty. Keep going for Nickel Beach, a windsurfing hotspot that's also got an inflatable aqua park for the little ones.