1. Home
  2. Cities & Towns
  3. Detroit

Detroit Getaways: Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours in Niagara on the Lake

Ride Through the Rapids on a Boat Tour

By , About.com Guide

Jun 24 2008

Niagara-on-the-Lake is home to the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour, a unique rapids ride that takes you up the Niagara River toward the Falls. The boat tour consists of several passes through Devil's Hole, a section of class IV rapids, and then through the whirlpool. The jet boats have a flat bottom that allows them to stay in place against the flow of the rapids. When traveling through and with the rapid, the ride is like a roller coaster, but it is the 360-degree turns the guides do for the fun at various places along the river that make you really soar.

There are two tour options available: open and closed. You’ll get plenty wet on the open-boat ride. In fact, you might as well jump in the river than ride in the boat. To guard against the chill, the tour provides you with a wool sweater, jumpsuit and poncho –- and not the flimsy thing provided for the Maid-of-the-Mist Tour. While you stay dry on the closed-boat tour, you miss out on the experience of a true rapids ride. As the boat dives beneath a rapid, the resulting wave of water flows over you rather than the closed dome of the closed boat.

The ride is well worth the $56 per person.

Explore Detroit

About.com Special Features

New Year's Eve in NYC

Not up to watching the ball drop in Times Square? Choose from this list of party picks instead. More >

Ring in 2010 in LA

Check out a sampling of many New Year's Eve events around town. More >

  1. Home
  2. Cities & Towns
  3. Detroit
  4. Arts & Entertainment
  5. Getaways and Vacations
  6. Whirlpool Jet Tour in Niagara on the Lake - Detroit Getaways: Whirlpool Jet Tour in Niagara on the Lake

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.