1

While Niagara Falls is an exceptional site, but after three or four hours, what are you going to do. I feel you really have many more options in the New England states, especially since you say you are an amateur photographer and are into nature.

2

And here we have the perfect encapsulation of this persistent bad meme. It can be cured only by the extreme step of looking at an actual friggin' map. Or, to steal and augment a post that bazooka joe has oft stolen and augmented from zelda's dad: go to
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/distances.html?n=179 , find NiagaraFalls halfway down that page, and look at all the destinations above it (thus closer) on the same page.

To be clear,OP, the intended target of my scorn is your friends, not you.

Areas within NewEngland I'd recommend: NorthernVermont (GreenMountains or towns along LakeChamplain), northern New.Hampshire (White Mountains), M.aine.coast. There are some great old ski resorts in the mountains that have been restored and I'd expect would be good, romantic deals in spring or summer. Also consider N.Y's FingerLakes and Penn.sylvania's Laurel Highlands.

Edited by: tiltedflipcurves to de-spam-bot

3

To steal and augment a post from poster zeldasdad:
General consensus:
If you feel you absolutely must go, then go.
If you are on your way to xToronto, go.
If you are making a random side trip to see it because it is there, you're crazy.

(I highlighted one in particular this time. That's because it's a xNew England location.)

The xFinger Lakes, xMaine coast and xVermont/xNew Hamphire mountains are great choices, and all are closer and/or more worthwhile than xNiagara Falls (which I've been to multiple times, ftr).
However, if you really want "off the beaten path," I'd go with upstate xMaine. It's farther, but you'll really get away from people.

Btw, "MN" is xMinnesota. xMaine is "ME."

4

You can get your waterfall fix and go off the beaten track here. The northern New England region gives you more options than Niagara--sea coast, islands, mountains, lakes, small picturesque villages, etc. (Oh, and also waterfalls.) In May, most of the region except for Boston is quiet and untouristed. (Check on university and college graduations, however, as those can fill all lodging in the area of a small town.)

5

I would probably also pick New England for the variety of natural beauty as well as romantic spots over Niagara, as the posters above have said. Just for balance, if you choose Niagara Falls, there are other nice spots nearby: Niagara-On-The-Lake (ON), Lewiston and Youngstown and Fort Niagara (all NY). You can climb down into the gorge at Devil's Hole. Touristy, and not sure when the season starts, but formal gardens and butterfly thing in ON. If you drove, instead of flying into Buffalo, you could add the Finger Lakes region, as Bzookaj said, or Elicottville NY.

6

Burlington, Vermont
then drive east on route 302 to Portland Maine
can't beat it.

7

tiltedflipcurves & bzookaj: My thoughts exactly! I thought it'd only make sense to visit Niagara if I'm actually visiting Toronto...

Btw, "MN" is xMinnesota. xMaine is "ME."

Woops! Thanks for that, still trying to get the hang of these two-letter abbreviations lol.

Thank you so much everyone for the awesome suggestions! I'll explore these ideas and focus my effort on researching New England. :)