Niagara Falls Illumination
Enjoy the Niagara Falls Illumination Board's enhanced falls illumination!
The illumination of Niagara Falls was first made permanent in 1925 with 24 carbon arc searchlights. In 1974, a major enhancement replaced the lights with a new Xenon system, which received minor updates in 1997. Now almost 20 years later, the Niagara Falls Illumination Board is excited to showcase the new LED lights. The $4-million revitalization project uses the latest technology to light the Horseshoe and American Falls. This new lighting will provide over twice the current brightness and a wider range of colours allowing for a full palette of colour combinations that wasn't available in the past. The new, energy-efficient system will also use 82% less power than the previous Xenon lights.
Every evening beginning at dusk the Falls are lit in the colours of the rainbow - don't miss the unmatched beauty of the Falls at night!
Illumination of the Falls has been Financed and Operated by The Niagara Falls Illumination Board since 1925.
Niagara Falls Illumination Schedule Calendar
| January 1 – January 31 | 5 PM – 1 AM | ||||||||
| February 1 – March 11 | 5:30 PM – 1 AM | ||||||||
| March 12 – March 31 | 7:30 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| April 1- May 14 | 8:00 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| May 15 – July 31 | 8:30 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| August 1 - August 15 | 8:00 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| August 16 - August 31 | 7:30 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| September 1 - 19 | 7:00 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| September 20 - 30 | 6:30 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| October 1 - 15 | 6:15 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| October 16 - October 31 | 6:00 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
| November 1 - December 31 | 4:30 PM – 2 AM | ||||||||
The Niagara Falls Illumination Board offers special illuminations for charitable and not-for-profit organizations. These groups can submit requests here.
| DATE | TIME | EVENT | COLORS |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 20 | 10–10:15 p.m. | World Refugee Day | Blue |
| June 20 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Brain Injury Awareness Month | Blue, Green |
| June 21 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Move4Migraine | Purple |
| June 21 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | National Indigenous Peoples Day/Indigenous History Month | Orange |
| June 22 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Sisterhood of Marine Moms | Red, White, Blue |
| June 22 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Inti Raymi Andean New Year | Teal, Orange, White |
| June 23 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| June 23 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | XLH Awareness Day | Purple, White |
| June 24 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Pink, White, Light Blue |
| June 25 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| June 25 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | World Vitiligo Day | Purple |
| June 26 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Pink, White, Light Blue |
| June 26 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Scoliosis Awareness Month | Green |
| June 27 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| June 27 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Ontario Police Suicide Memorial | Blue |
| June 28 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Pride Month | Pink, White, Light Blue |
| June 28 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Over The Edge for The Arc Erie County New York | Orange |
| June 29 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Scleroderma Matters | Teal |
| June 29 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Pride Month | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| June 29 | 10:30–10:45 p.m. | World Scleroderma Day | Blue, Teal, White |
| June 30 | Top of Every Hour for 15 Minutes | Pride Month | Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple |
| June 30 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Pride Month | Pink, White, Light Blue |
| July 1 | Top of Every Hour for 15 Minutes | Canada Day | Red, White |
| July 4 | Top of Every Hour for 15 Minutes | Independence Day | Red, White, Blue |
| July 5 | 10–10:15 p.m. | National Injury Prevention Day | Green |
| July 5 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Independence Day of Venezuela | Yellow, Blue, Red |
| July 9 | 10–10:15 p.m. | We are NATO / NATO 75 | Blue, White |
| July 9 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | 50 Days to the Paralympic Games: IGNITE Canada | Purple, Red, White |
| July 10 | 10–10:15 p.m. | The Bahamas Independence Day Celebrations | Blue, Yellow |
| July 10 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Nikola Tesla's Birthday | Red, Blue, White |
| July 10 | 10:30–10:45 p.m. | Chronic Disease Day | Orange, White |
| July 11 | 10–10:15 p.m. | National Day of Mongolia | Red, Blue |
| July 13 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Nikola Tesla Day Festival | Red, Blue, White |
| July 14 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Bastille Day | Blue, White, Red |
| July 19 | 10:15–10:30 p.m. | Remembering First Responders | Red, White, Black, Yellow |
| July 20 | 10–10:15 p.m. | Independence Day of Columbia | Red, Blue, Yellow |
NOTE: Illumination times are approximate and subject to change according to light conditions.
History Of The Illumination Of Niagara Falls
Lighting the Falls to allow visitors to enjoy the beauty of the mighty Niagara even at night, was first attempted more than 140 years ago. In 1860, a spectacular illumination of the Falls celebrated a visit by the Prince of Wales. About 200 coloured and white calcium, volcanic and torpedo lights were placed along the banks above and below the American Falls, on the road down the bank of the Canadian side of the gorge and behind the water of the Horseshoe Falls. The lights were called Bengal lights and were the kind used at sea to signal for help or give warning.
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