The Cheapest Way to Get Above Niagara, and the Warmest
The Niagara SkyWheel is the 175-foot observation wheel that turns above the middle of Clifton Hill, and it has been the tallest thing on that street since 2006. It is not the highest view in Niagara Falls, the Skylon Tower has it beaten by six hundred feet, but it is the one you can ride on a whim for the price of a sandwich, at eleven o'clock at night, in the middle of February, without booking a table or queuing for a lift.
There are 42 gondolas and each takes six people. They are fully enclosed and climate controlled, which on Clifton Hill is not a luxury but the difference between a pleasant ten minutes and a miserable one: heated through the winter, air-conditioned through the summer. The ride runs eight to twelve minutes depending on loading, which is usually three or four full revolutions rather than a single lap.
What you see from the top is Clifton Hill turned into a pattern of neon beneath you, the Fallsview hotel towers on the ridge, the Niagara River running north through the gorge, and the falls themselves in the middle distance with their mist column rising. After dark, when the falls are lit in rotating colour and the whole street below is blazing, it is one of the better ten-minute purchases in the town.
Above Clifton Hill
Day and night
Niagara Falls, ON
42 gondolas
Three or four laps
Kids $7 CAD
✨ Why the SkyWheel Is Worth Ten Minutes
What Riding the SkyWheel Is Actually Like
From the queue on Clifton Hill to stepping back out again, and where to sit for the view you actually want.
Hours, Prices & Visitor Information
| Spring & autumn, daily | 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
| July & August, daily | Extended hours |
| Winter, daily | 10:00 AM – 11:00 PM |
| Public holidays | Open |
Open every day of the year including holidays. Summer hours run later than the posted times. Check on the day in very high wind.
Admission Prices - and When the Fun Pass Beats Them
SkyWheel admission is cheap enough that the real question is not whether to ride it but whether you are doing anything else on Clifton Hill. If you are, the six-attraction Fun Pass works out better before you have even bought a third ticket.
| Ticket / Option | Who | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
SkyWheel Admission - Adult |
Age 13+ |
$15.00 CAD |
Taxes not included |
SkyWheel Admission - Child |
Age 12 and under |
$7.00 CAD |
Taxes not included |
Infant |
Under 3 |
Free |
On a lap |
Clifton Hill Fun Pass (SkyWheel + 5 more) |
From $35 |
Better from 3 attractions | |
The SkyWheel and Clifton Hill in Pictures
Photographs show the SkyWheel and the Clifton Hill district. Views from the gondolas vary with weather and time of day.
Nine Things Worth Knowing Before You Ride
What Visitors Are Saying
"Do it after dark, that is the whole tip. We rode it at two in the afternoon on our first day and thought it was fine. Went back at ten on the last night and it was a completely different thing, the falls lit up in the distance and the whole of Clifton Hill glowing underneath us. Same ticket price. I would skip the daytime ride entirely."
"Went in January with two small children when everything outdoors was punishing. The gondola was properly heated and we stayed up there for four laps quite happily. For the price it saved an afternoon. Just understand that the falls are some distance away, this is a view over the town rather than over the water."
"We bought SkyWheel tickets and then ended up doing the wax museum and the mini golf as well, and worked out afterwards we should have bought the Fun Pass. Learn from us. The wheel itself was lovely, especially the bit where you look straight down at the street."
"Queued about twenty-five minutes at eight in the evening in July, which was the only downside. Book ahead and go later. Ten minutes, three or four times round, gondola to ourselves. My father is eighty-one and stepped straight in without any trouble, which is more than can be said for most things here."
