Spending Time in Niagara Falls with Teens

Exploring our home state is one of my favorite ways to spend family vacations every year. As the kids have gotten older, we’ve spent more time doing road trips to visit other states and fun locations. But we always find our best times spent together are in New York. Our most loved area to spend time is Lake George, New York. However, with as many waterfalls in and around Lake George, the one that’s heads above are a bit further West! Yep, I’m talking about the mighty Niagara Falls! If you ever plan on visiting Niagara Falls with teenagers you won’t be disappointed! Come find out what there is to explore at the area with teens!

Experience Niagara Falls with Teenagers

Families that travel together can survive anything thrown at them on the daily. Even more true? Families that not only survive but enjoy road trips together can survive just about anything life throws at them. Our family has made numerous road trips throughout the years – we even drove to Sarasota, Florida with two dogs and only one overnight stop the whole way from New York to Sarasota! Surprisingly, the kids only experienced car sickness once each in all their years of traveling. The dogs? A totally different story!

New York Road Trips

Depending on where you start your journey to Niagara Falls, New York, and how much time you have for your trip, a few stopovers might be right up your alley. As great as Niagara Falls is, it doesn’t require a full week to explore. Spending some time in a few different locations on your way to Niagara, or during a day long excursion could be fun!

Perfect Stop Along the Way to The Falls to Break Up Your Western New York Road Trip

Our family starts all road trips from Long Island. We’ve gotta battle traffic, take bridges or tunnels, and fight our way off the Island. It can take a lot out of a family, so stopping over someplace fun to split the road trip up can save your sanity (and your legs). Schedule a few days in the Allegany area – there’s lot of a great activities (especially if you enjoy the outdoors), and love great food.

A Day Trip to Rochester

Once you’ve made it to Niagara Falls with teenagers, and the whole family has checked into a pretty sweet hotel with a pretty sweet casino in it for the “big kids” and an indoor pool and arcade room for the “younger kids”, you can plan a day trip to Rochester, New York! It’s a great spot for families with teenagers, offering indoor and outdoor activities teens won’t need too much convincing to participate in.

Finally, Spending Time in Niagara Falls, New York

Now that you’ve spent a few days enjoying some of the beauty Western New York has to offer, it’s time to hang out at your casino hotel right in the heart of The Falls. It might sound crazy, but staying at the Seneca Niagara Falls Resort & Casino has stuff for everyone in the family, including teenagers. You’ve got the casino for those older than 21 to gamble. There’s an indoor pool for everyone to enjoy, along with a spa that offers massages, manicures, pedicures, and even hair appointments. Like games? There’s an arcade room. If you like shopping, there’s some fun shops to check out.

And the food! You won’t go hungry, that’s for damn sure. Burgers. Buffet. Baked goods. Italian. Steak. There’s not much you won’t find right in the hotel, making Niagara Falls with teenagers even easier on everyone! There’s even a little convenience store with packaged snacks and drinks. If you really can’t find anything at the hotel, there’s plenty of places throughout the downtown area steps away from the casino hotel. If you’re lucky enough to visit when SUNY Niagara culinary school is in session, enjoy eating at Savor or La Patisserie right on Old Falls Street down the center of downtown Niagara Falls. Amazing food and fair prices.

How to Spend Time in Niagara Falls with Teenagers (New York side of The Falls)

After you’ve explored the hotel, checked out where you’ll want to eat during your stay, it’s time to check out all that you can do around Niagara Falls, New York with your teens!

If you want to venture to the Canada side of Niagara, there’s some fun stuff like zip lining, Butterfly Conservatory, and the Floral Showcase. There’s even a great set of adventure passes you can purchase to save money if you plan on spending a bit of time on the Canadian side of all the waterfalls.

Teens Won’t Get Bored in Niagara Falls, New York

When your family enjoys spending time outdoors, but also enjoys relaxing indoors in the pool or at a spa, eating great food at top tier restaurants, or at the blackjack table, you can’t go wrong in Niagara Falls. Teens will have plenty of options to keep them off their screens for large portions of family vacations so you can reconnect. Yet, they’ll also have plenty of down time to plug back in when winding down for the night. Plus, there’s a lot to walk to, so they can explore on their own without needing a car so parents can enjoy some time at the casino! And no one should miss out on seeing the most epic waterfall in the United States!