The Tunnel at Niagara Falls
The Tunnel at the Niagara Parks Power Station: the 180 ft glass elevator, the 2,200 ft tailrace tunnel, the platform at the river, day or night, and how it differs from Journey Behind the Falls (Oct 2026).
The Tunnel at Niagara Falls is the old tailrace of the Niagara Parks Power Station: a glass elevator takes you 180 feet down, you walk 2,200 feet through the tunnel that once carried the station’s spent water, and you come out on a platform at the river’s edge with the Horseshoe Falls upstream. It is included with admission to the station, and Niagara Parks’ own ticket is from US$23 a person on GetYourGuide (checked October 2026), with free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
The descent
The visit starts in the generator hall. From there a glass-panelled elevator drops 180 feet down the station’s wheelpit, the deep shaft where the turbines sat, to the level of the tunnel. Niagara Parks’ history pages give the shaft as nearly 200 feet below the ground floor; the elevator’s 180 feet is the figure on its attraction page.
The tunnel itself
The Tunnel is 2,200 feet long, about 670 m. It is the tailrace: once the river’s water had turned the turbines, it fell into this tunnel and ran out under the parkway to the river below the falls. Crews dug it from 1901 at the same time as the wheelpit and the forebay, starting from a vertical shaft halfway along and working towards the plant and the river at once, with rudimentary dynamite, pickaxes, shovels and lanterns. It opened to visitors on 1 July 2022. It can get chilly down there, so bring a light jacket; there are benches along the way.
The platform at the river
The tunnel ends at its exit portal, where the water once rejoined the river, on a platform that reaches out over the Niagara River with panoramic views of the falls and the lower gorge, the Horseshoe and the American Falls both in sight. Expect spray: Niagara Parks says to expect to get wet, and the GetYourGuide ticket lists a poncho for the deck. Access to the platform may be limited in bad weather.
How long, and who can go
Niagara Parks suggests planning about two hours if you want to explore The Tunnel as well as the hall. The Tunnel and the viewing platform are fully accessible, and a wheelchair is available at the station, first come, first served. You do not need to book a time for general admission, but a ticket is good for one entry, so see the hall and the tunnel in the same visit.
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Day or night in The Tunnel
The tunnel is open on both tickets. By day the platform gives you the falls and the gorge in daylight; on the Power Station at Night ticket, the tunnel and the falls are lit and the Currents show runs in the hall. If you are choosing one, go by day for the view of the gorge and at night for the lights. The power station at night has the evening hours.
Not to be confused with Journey Behind the Falls
“The tunnel” at Niagara Falls can mean two things. Journey Behind the Falls, at Table Rock Centre about 500 m north, takes you down 125 feet into tunnels about 130 years old that open onto portals behind the falling water of the Horseshoe Falls. The Tunnel at the power station is newer to visitors, longer, and ends in front of the falls rather than behind them. They are separate tickets; many visitors do both. behind-the-falls-niagara.com covers Journey Behind the Falls, and the Power Station, Journey Behind the Falls and the boat plans the day.
A guided tunnel tour
The Tunnel is self-guided on the standard ticket, with the audio guide. If you want a person telling the story, the Skylon Tower and Power Station guided walk (Walks Canada) spends an hour in the station and an hour in the tunnel, from US$71 a person (checked October 2026).
The elevator, tunnel length, wheelpit depth, platform, opening date, construction method, clothing advice, accessibility, booking and single-entry rules are from niagaraparks.com (the Power Station and The Tunnel pages, its history of building the power station and the 2022 news release on The Tunnel). The GetYourGuide prices, ratings and inclusions are from the listings, read in US dollars on 30 October 2026. All read in October 2026. The distance to Table Rock Centre is measured on the map.
The Power Station and Tunnel Ticket
Niagara Parks' own admission: the generator hall, the glass elevator, the 2,200 ft tunnel and the platform at the river, at your own pace. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before, as listed in October 2026.
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