About this place
Inventing Niagara: Beauty, Power, and Lies
Ginger Strand · 2009
Explains how much of what you see at Niagara, including the flow over the brink, is engineered and managed.
Canada · Great Lakes
Horseshoe Falls
Canadian Falls
The larger and more powerful of Niagara's two main falls curves in a broad crescent on the Canadian side, carrying nearly nine-tenths of the river's total flow. The Journey Behind the Falls tunnel brings visitors to portals cut into the rock directly behind the sheet of water.
Carries about 90% of the Niagara River's total flow Essentials guide
Checked September 2026 by David Bussell
Part of Niagara Falls
Horseshoe Falls is one section of Niagara Falls. Activities, prices, where to stay and how to visit are all in the full Niagara Falls guide; this page covers Horseshoe Falls on its own.
Horseshoe Falls drops 57 metres (187 ft) across a face roughly 790 metres wide on the Niagara, inside Niagara Parks. It is a block-type fall, and the nearest base for a visit is Niagara Falls, Ontario, with YYZ the closest airport. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy.
Horseshoe Falls is number 9 on our list of the widest waterfalls in the world. As a block waterfall, a wide sheet of water falling from a broad river.
What you can do here
Planning one of these? Check your travel insurance covers adventure activities — SafetyWing is one option.
Also good forBoat cruisesHikingPhotography
When to go
Carries about 90% of the Niagara River's flow year-round; illuminated nightly.
Entry: Viewing free; Journey Behind the Falls extra ~$25 USD
Getting there
- Base town Niagara Falls, Ontario
- Airport YYZ
- Country Canada
- Region Great Lakes, Northern North America, North America
- Access Easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint
How it compares
This waterfall
Horseshoe Falls
Canada
Height57 mWidth790 m
Most similar
Shoshone Falls
United States
Height65 mWidth274 m
Also a block waterfall, of similar height and in the United States
Largest curtain
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe · Zambia
Height108 mWidth1,708 m
Largest single sheet of falling water
Tallest on earth
Angel Falls
Venezuela
Height979 mWidth—
Widest on earth
Khone Phapheng Falls
Laos
Height21 mWidth10,783 m
Measured across the whole multi-channel system
57 m
65 m
108 m
330 m
979 m
Horseshoe FallsShoshone FallsVictoria FallsEiffel TowerAngel Falls
Khone Phapheng Falls
10,783 m
Victoria Falls
1,708 m
Horseshoe Falls
790 m
Shoshone Falls
274 m
Angel Falls is 17× taller than Horseshoe Falls. Victoria Falls is 1.9× taller and 2.2× wider. Khone Phapheng Falls is 14× wider. Tallest · widest lists.
Watch and read
Videos from Horseshoe Falls
2:13
2:00
30:44
Chosen from YouTube; videos belong to their creators and play from YouTube's privacy-enhanced player.
Books worth packing
About this place
Niagara: A History of the Falls
Pierre Berton · 2002
Berton's lively history of the falls: daredevils, tightrope walkers, power barons and the tourist trade on both banks.
Waterfalls of OntarioMark Harris and George…
Walking guide
Waterfalls of Ontario
Mark Harris and George Fischer · 2022
Directory of hundreds of Ontario falls with directions, for extending a Niagara trip to quieter cascades across the province.
Moon Toronto & Ontario: With Niagara Falls…Carolyn B. Heller
Guidebook
Moon Toronto & Ontario: With Niagara Falls, Ottawa & Georgian Bay
Carolyn B. Heller · 2019
Ontario guide with a dedicated Niagara Falls section on lodging, the Canadian-side attractions and wine country nearby.
On the map
43.0799, -79.077
Quick answers
Where is Horseshoe Falls?
Horseshoe Falls is in Canada (Great Lakes), inside Niagara Parks. The nearest base is Niagara Falls, Ontario and the closest airport is YYZ. Its coordinates are 43.0799, -79.0770.
How tall is Horseshoe Falls?
Horseshoe Falls drops 57 metres (187 feet), across a face about 790 metres wide. It is a block-type waterfall on the Niagara.
When is the best time to visit Horseshoe Falls?
Peak flow is June to September. Carries about 90% of the Niagara River's flow year-round; illuminated nightly.
What can you do at Horseshoe Falls?
Beyond the viewpoints: helicopter flights, zip lines, boat cruises, hiking and photography. Access to the main viewpoint is rated easy — a short walk or roadside viewpoint.
How do you get to Horseshoe Falls?
The usual base is Niagara Falls, Ontario, and the closest airport is YYZ. A short walk or roadside viewpoint from there. Viewing free; Journey Behind the Falls extra ~$25 USD.
Nearby
Closest to Horseshoe Falls
Full guide Niagara Falls
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Highest flow rate of any waterfall in North America
Helicopter flightsJet boat+1
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