We are planning a weekend trip to Niagara Falls from Columbus OH and are a little confused on the best way to get there. We plan on taking I-71 to Cleveland but are not sure which way to connect to I-90. We are looking for the fastest way.

Also which bridge to take to get to the Canadian side the quickest.

Thanks

Katie7,
I'm originally from Niagara Falls and went to school at Ohio State, so have done this drive many times. Take I-71 to I-271 to I-90 - most direct route. If I remember correctly, it should take about 6 hours.

As far as crossing into Canada, there is the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, which takes you into Fort Erie, Ontario. I still think the best route is to drive into Niagara Falls, NY and cross the Rainbow Bridge into Niagara Falls, Ont. Hope this helps!

As far as the bridges to Canada go, it depends on what time of day you're crossing! The shortest route from the I-90 is to follow the signs to downtown Buffalo and cross the Peace Bridge. The exit for the Peace Bridge is only about 1 mile past downtown. I think it's the easist way to cross over to Canada (direction wise)However, it's probably the busiest bridge. Again, it all depends on the day and time. For the most part, it's harder to cross back into the U.S. than it is to get into Canada over the Peace Bridge.

The Rainbow Bridge is the shortest bridge (and probably less busy), but you have to bypass or circle around Buffalo to get there.

Hope this helps!

Take your passport with you just in case you need it to get back into the U.S. Just last month while we were in Maine my brother had to scrap his plans to drive up to Nova Scotia when he learned that he couldn't get back into the U.S. without a birth certificate or a passport. I don't know if Customs is less strict at Niagra Falls, but I wouldn't leave it to chance...

Everyone:

Thanks for the help.

Katie

Customs is the same at Niagara. We had to have proof that our dog had his shots, before coming back into the USA! lucky that I had checked this out before leaving ARKANSAS!!!