Visiting Niagara Region with the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder
This time, we took the Pathfinder for a day trip to the Niagara Region, Canada’s tourist hotspot.
Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, two main destinations in the Peninsula can be visited from Toronto in a single day and this is exactly what we did with our guests from the USA.
2022 Nissan Pathfinder in Niagara-on-the-Lake
Departing from the Delta Hotel in Downtown Toronto, we hit the road towards our first destination, Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL). For a family with two kids plus myself and my partner, the Pathfinder was almost the ideal vehicle for a long day trip. Access to the third row was easy thanks to the second-row seats, that slide and collapse to the front with the touch of a button. The second-row captain seats in the Platinum version were supportive and comfortable. A lovely space to host guests for a full day.
On our way to the Niagara Peninsula, we and my guests enjoyed the quiet cabin, as I remembered several documentaries from the 1970s where the Nissan Patrol was part of the landscape and the wild nature. By then, the Japanese off-roader proved its robustness and durability in the most distant parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Although we did not have an off-road test by then, we are confident that while the comfort and luxury now are incomparably better, it is also as good as the model 50 years ago in terms of off-roading.
Evolution of the Nissan Pathfinder
Over the generations, the Pathfinder evolved into a more urban vehicle following the trend of “civilized off-road vehicles”. But with the current generation, the Pathfinder goes back to its roots while offering comfort and luxury also for long highway drives as well as urban use.
Niagara-on-the-Lake
After a relaxed cruising on the QEW and taking advantage of the HOV lane from Oakville to Burlington, we took Exit 89 a few kilometres after the Garden City Skyway over the Welland Canal. Following Glendon Avenue and York Road, turn left to Concession Road 6 towards Niagara-on-the-Lake. A few hundred meters down the road, we stopped at the Colaneri Winery, one of the famous wine temples in the region.
Mike Colaneri, the founder created a C-shaped beautiful building designed in Romanesque style where the “C” refers to the family name. However, it was early in the morning, so a wine tasting session at Colaneri (but at Trius) was not on the programme. We enjoyed the beautiful architecture with the arched windows allowing the sunset to beam through. We promised ourselves a late afternoon visit before the summer is over.
A winetasting break at the Trius Winery in Niagara-on-the-Lake was a nice surprise for the guests. The beautiful Loyalist town was destroyed by the American Army during the War of 1812 and was rebuilt in the early 19. Century. With its well-preserved architecture, it attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors from Canada, the USA and all over the world. The famous Shaw Theater Festival, celebrating its 60. anniversary returned this year after the involuntary two-year pandemic break.
After our midday break, followed by a tasting stop at Trius Winery, we followed the scenic Niagara Parkway that Winston Churchill defined as “the most beautiful Sunday drive on earth.” We had a short stop at the Living Water Wayside Chapel. Known as the smallest chapel (although no official record exists to verify this claim) in the world with a capacity for only six people, this tiny and beautiful place is one of the Instagrammable spots on the route to Niagara Falls. It is also a perfect location for intimate wedding ceremonies. The Niagara Falls Christian Reformed Church built the chapel. However, it is not clear who manages the church today.
Two hundred and ten years ago, after the war (aka The War of 1812) that broke out between Canada and the United States, which began with the attempt of the “young and fiery” country of America to swallow Canada or to purge it of the British, and ended in “togetherness” two years later, the Niagara River was recognized as the natural and official border between the two countries and maintained this feature to this day.
We had three more stops at Queenston Heights, the Floral Clock and the Whirlpool Rapids before we reached the town of Niagara Falls. The Rainbow Bridge and the American and Bridal Veil Falls welcomed our visitors and a few minutes later they were amazed by the majestic view of the Horseshoe Falls. In the Niagara Region, there are five border crossing points of the world’s longest border between the two countries (about 8900 kilometres).
25 kilometres to the south of NOTL, we arrived at Niagara Falls ON, the Canadian side of the namesake town Canada, the town on the American side being Niagara Falls, NY.
The Niagara River, which has a length of fifty-eight kilometres, is a vital part of the ecosystem called the Great Lakes. This majestic river connects Lake Erie and Lake Ontario and twenty percent of the world’s freshwater flows through. The 99-meter elevation difference between the two lakes reaches 55 meters at the point where the famous Horseshoe Falls are located. The amount of water falling over the biggest fall of this ecosystem consisting of Horseshoe, American and Bridal Veil Falls can fill up one million bathtubs every minute.
The main waterfall called “Horseshoe” is the largest with a width of up to 670 meters and has received this name due to its shape. The waterfalls on the American side of the river are much smaller, and to see the Horseshoe Falls from their land, the Americans built a “panorama platform” that stretches to the middle of the river.
As we returned to Toronto shortly before midnight, the average consumption of the Pathfinder was 10.7 litres, which was a respectable figure for a midsize, 3-row SUV.
For a detailed review of the 2022 Nissan Pathfinder please go to: https://www.autoandroad.com/2021/09/2022-nissan-pathfinder-platinum-4wd/
