FROZEN FALLS ATTRACTS VISITORS DESPITE COLD

The pictures you see of Niagara Falls in magazines aren't the ones from the coldest days of winters, like right now. The trees sparkle with ice, and everything (except the Falls themselves) is frozen over.

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – Even though the cold has kept many people from enjoying the outdoors, Niagara Falls continues to get flooded with visitors who want to see the ice-covered wonder it has become.

The pictures you see of Niagara Falls in magazines aren't the ones from the coldest days of winters, like right now. The trees sparkle with ice, and everything is white.

“We come to see the wonders of nature, and the beauty of winter, really. The beauty also comes with a lot of cold right now,” said visitor Kevin McGowan.

McGowan grew up in Buffalo but lives in Florida now. He was excited to share to lesser-known version of Niagara Falls with his family.

"A lot of people see it in the summer, beautiful, but this is another kind of beauty.

Then, while we tend to leave Western New York for areas south this time of year, Craig Brien left his Australian summer to come see what Niagara Falls is all about.

“Freezing,” Brien, of Brisbane, Australia, said. “It's like...in Australia, the lowest temperature we get in generally -5 degrees, and here it's -24.”

Celsius, that is.

"It's a lot better in real life than it is in a National Geographic book,” Brien said.

A group of smiling girls came to Niagara Falls on a bus tour from California.

"We didn't know what to expect, but it's beautiful,” one of the girls said.

Nate Kimbler, who grew up near Rochester, but also lives in California says there's no place like home.

"It's just really neat. It's surreal to see the ice on everything. Just enjoying the environment, the snow on the trees...it's just amazing,” Kimbler said.

Kimbler said he lives near Death Valley, where it's always hot, and he enjoyed the escape to the cold he remembers and misses.

Niagara Falls State Park is that it's one of the only state parks in the country opened 24/7, 365 days a year, so if you don't love this subzero weather, there are 364 other days to go check out the beauty in our backyard!