Nightly Falls Illumination (365 Days a Year), Summer Fireworks & Winter Festival of Lights

The show at Niagara Falls does not end when the sun goes down: thanks to the bi-national Niagara Falls Illumination Board (funded jointly by Canada and the United States since 1925), all three waterfalls are illuminated in vivid colours every single night of the year (365 nights a year) beginning at dusk, supplemented from May to October by Canada's longest-running free fireworks series.

1. The Nightly Illumination Schedule & 'Illumination Tower' (You Can Control the Lights Yourself)

Following a major upgrade to programmable LED lighting banks installed in three locations along the Canadian gorge wall (inside the Illumination Tower next to Queen Victoria Place, on the roof of Table Rock Centre, and deep inside the gorge opposite the American Falls), the lights turn on automatically at dusk every evening and stay on until well after midnight:

• The 'Inspired by Nature' Light Show (Every 30 Minutes): at the top and bottom of every hour after dark, a choreographed 5-minute light sequence sweeps across the falls mimicking sunrise, the Aurora Borealis, rainbows and sunset.
• Secret Experience, Control the Waterfall Lights Yourself at the Illumination Tower: very few visitors know that you can book the 'Illumination Tower Experience' through Niagara Parks: you step inside the control room beside Queen Victoria Place with the lighting operator and push the buttons to paint the real waterfalls in your own custom colours (leaving with an official certificate).

2. The Summer Fireworks Series (Mid-May to Mid-October + Winter Weekends)

Every night after dark from the Victoria Day weekend in mid-May right through Canadian Thanksgiving in mid-October (plus Friday and Saturday evenings during the November to January Winter Festival of Lights, when 3 million twinkling lights and 75 giant illuminated animal displays line 8 km of the Niagara Parkway), fireworks launch directly from the gorge. Check the official seasonal schedule for exact display times. Best Free Viewing Spots: stand along the Queen Victoria Park stone wall between Clifton Hill and Table Rock, on the Rainbow Bridge walkway, or from the outdoor deck of Skylon Tower.