The Maid of the Mist is a boat tour of Niagara Falls . (The actual boats used are each named Maid of the Mist, followed by a different Roman numeral in each case.) The boat starts off at a calm part of the Niagara River , near the Rainbow Bridge , and takes its passengers past the American and Bridal Veil Falls , then into the dense mist of spray inside the curve of the Horseshoe Falls . The tour is available starting from either the Canadian or U.S. side of the river, returning to the starting point in each case.

Man and woman on Canadian side of Niagara Falls, circa 1858

All passengers wear a blue Maid of the Mist poncho.

History

The first Maid of the Mist was launched in 1846 as a ferry service between the Canadian and American sides, pre-dating by two years the construction of the first suspension bridge at the site. However, with the opening of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge further downriver in 1848, the ferry service lost business, and by 1854, became a tourist attraction instead with the launch of a more luxurious boat.

Financial difficulties and the impending American Civil War forced the boat to be sold to a Montreal firm in 1860, and formal service was not restored until 1893, when two new boats were constructed and launched under a new partnership, Maid of the Mist Steamboat Company. These boats sailed the lower river until April 22, 1955 , when they burned in a pre-season accident. Later that year, they would be replaced by the type and style of boat still seen today.

The Maid of the Mist is well known for its role in the July 9, 1960 rescue of Roger Woodward, a seven-year old boy who became the first person to survive a plunge over the Horseshoe Falls with nothing but a life jacket. The boat involved in the rescue (known as Maid II) was retired from service in 1983 and relocated to the Amazon River , where it served as a missionary ship for years after.

Access to the river-level attraction was provided by the Maid of the Mist Incline Railway, a funicular railway, between 1894 and 1991 to travel between street level and the boat dock. As this service proved increasingly inadequate in transporting the growing passenger base of the 1990s, four high-speed elevators replaced the railway by the start of the 1991 tourist season.

Distinguished passengers

* 1860, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII)

* 1901, Theodore Roosevelt (later the 26th President of the United States )

* 1949, Jawaharlal Nehru (Prime Minister of India )

* 1952, Marilyn Monroe (American actress)

* 1991, Princess Diana, Prince William, and Prince Harry