Checked against the operators' pages, the International Joint Commission and news reports on October 22, 2026. We update this page when either operator publishes anything for 2027.
People search for 'Maid of the Mist 2027 season' and 'Niagara City Cruises 2027 season' months before either company has said anything. This page keeps one honest answer in one place: what each operator has published for 2027, what the first and last days were in past seasons, and how to tell when the news arrives. It sits under our guide to Niagara Falls boat tours, and each operator has its own page: Maid of the Mist and Niagara City Cruises. We have not ridden either boat. Every date below comes from an operator page, a news report or a public agency, and where we could not find one the table says 'Not verified'.
What is and is not published for 2027
We checked on October 22, 2026 and found no 2027 opening date, no 2027 hours and no 2027 prices from either boat operator. The only 2027 wording is Maid of the Mist's note that it is closed until 'Opening Day 2027', with no date attached. Neither operator's own pages contain a date you can plan around.
| Item | Status on October 22, 2026 | What the operator's page says |
|---|---|---|
| Maid of the Mist 2027 opening day | Not published | The schedule page[1] lists 'November 9 until Opening Day 2027' as 'Closed for the 2026 Season'. The state park page[8] says the spring opening date depends on lake ice in Lake Erie. |
| Maid of the Mist 2027 hours | Not published | Only the 2026 hours are shown. The page says rates and schedules are subject to change without notice. |
| Maid of the Mist 2027 prices | Not published | The page still shows the 2026 fares (US$30.25 adult, US$19.75 child 6 to 12). Online tickets are described as valid any day of the 2026 season. |
| Maid of the Mist news | Nothing for 2027 | The news page[3] has no item dated after May 4, 2026. |
| Niagara City Cruises 2027 opening day | Not published | The ticket page[13] says '2026 tickets on-sale now' and that earlier dates 'may become available, weather permitting'. |
| Niagara City Cruises 2026 closing date | Not published | The same page says only that the December sailing schedule is weather permitting. |
| Niagara City Cruises booking calendar | Not readable by us | The calendar is a script-driven page that did not display for our check, so we cannot say which future dates it offers. |
| Niagara Parks fireworks 2027 schedule | Not published | The 2026 series ended Oct 12, 2026. See our night and fireworks cruise guide. |
Maid of the Mist 2027 season
The operator has said the 2026 season runs through Sunday, November 8, and that the boats stay closed from November 9 until Opening Day 2027. That is the whole announcement. The season releases we found were dated from the opening day itself (2019, 2025) to 28 days before it (2024), so a date may not appear until spring.
Niagara City Cruises 2027 season
Niagara City Cruises has no published 2027 date and no published 2026 closing date. Its ticket page is the place a date will most likely appear first. The company was known as Hornblower Niagara Cruises until a rebrand that listings date to 2021; our explainer on the name change covers why older pages and news items use the old name.
We do not give an estimated 2027 date. Past years (below) show a wide spread, and any single guess would read as a promise.
Opening and closing dates by year
These are the first and last days we could source for each season. 'Announced' means the date comes from a pre-opening announcement and we did not read an opening-day report. 'Not verified' means we found no source for that cell. Both operators say schedules can change for weather, so a published date is a plan, not a guarantee.
Maid of the Mist (US side), 2019 to 2026
| Season | First day | Last day | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Apr 24 | Nov 8 | 141st season. Operator release dated Apr 22, 2026[2]; the schedule page[1] shows the same dates. |
| 2025 | May 1 | Nov 2 | 140th season. Operator release dated May 1, 2025[4]. News 4 Buffalo (WIVB) described a delayed start because of ice buildup on the lower Niagara River. |
| 2024 | Apr 4 | Nov 3 | 139th season. Operator release dated Mar 7, 2024[5] said a mild winter allowed an early start. |
| 2023 | Apr 15 | Not verified | 138th season. Operator release dated Apr 12, 2023[6]. No closing date on that page. |
| 2022 | Apr 29 | Nov 6 | Buffalo News report dated Apr 29, 2022: the boats opened that Friday and ran until Nov 6 per the company website. |
| 2021 | Apr 29 (announced) | Not verified | Spectrum News 13, Apr 22, 2021: the electric boats 'will hit the water on April 29'. We did not find an opening-day report. |
| 2020 | Jun 26 | Not verified | Rochester First (WROC), posted Jun 19, 2020: tours begin 'next Friday, June 26'. The pandemic year. |
| 2019 | May 24 | Nov 3 | Operator release dated May 24, 2019[7]: the boats opened that Friday and 'the season runs through Nov. 3'. |
Niagara City Cruises, formerly Hornblower Niagara Cruises (Canadian side), 2014 to 2026
The Canadian-side operator began in 2014 and has changed names since, so the source pages for older rows use the Hornblower name.
| Season | First day | Last day | Notes and source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | May 1 | Not published | Clifton Hill announcement[14]: heavy Lake Erie ice delayed the usual March start. The ticket page[13] says December sailings are weather permitting. |
| 2025 | May 8 (announced) | Not verified | Clifton Hill post titled 'Voyage to the Falls 2025 Season Launch May 8th'. Travel Industry Today reported a delayed start after ice build-up on Lake Erie. We found no opening-day report. |
| 2024 | Mar 28 | Not verified | ITTN, Apr 5, 2024: the tour 'began its 2024 season on March 28'. |
| 2023 | Mar 16 | Not verified | ABC News, Mar 15, 2023: opening 'on Thursday', described as the earliest the company had opened. BlogTO gave Mar 14, so one source conflicts. |
| 2022 | May 6 (limited) | Not verified | Operator release posted Apr 28, 2022[19]: a condensed Friday to Monday schedule from May 6; 'regular daily service will return in June'. |
| 2021 | Jul 1 | Not verified | Operator release dated Jul 1, 2021[20]: restart daily 10 am to 6 pm under Ontario's reopening plan. |
| 2020 | Jul 1 (announced) | Not verified | Release of Mar 14, 2020[21] postponed a Mar 28 opening to a tentative Apr 6 because of COVID-19. Niagara Falls Review, Jun 18, 2020: plan to resume Jul 1; federal rules barred the tours before then. |
| 2019 | May 15 | Dec 1 (last date in the published schedule) | Operator release posted May 14, 2019[23]. The schedule table ran to Dec 1. This is a scheduled date, not a report of the last sailing. |
| 2018 | May 5 | Dec 2 (extension announced) | Release of Apr 26, 2018[24] (fifth season). The Apr 27 preview[25] blamed lake and river ice. A Nov 8, 2018 post[26] extended the season 'until Sunday, December 2nd'. |
| 2017 | Apr 1 | Nov 30 | Mar 2, 2017 post[27]: 'April 1, weather permitting'. The Dec 2017 release[28]: 'On November 30, Hornblower's 2017 operating season ended.' |
| 2016 | Apr 1 | Nov 30 (scheduled) | Sept 19, 2016 post[29]: opened April 1; 'Our boats will be going into the Mist until November 30th, 2016.' |
| 2015 | Apr 30 | Not verified | Operator post dated Apr 30, 2015[30]: opened for its second season, first tour at 9:30 am. |
| 2014 | May 15 | Not verified | Operator post dated May 23, 2014[31]: ribbon cutting May 14, public opening May 15. First season. |
A third-party tour seller announced December sailings through December 31, 2025 for Niagara City Cruises. We did not find that on an operator page, so the 2025 closing cell stays 'Not verified'. For the background to these operators, see the history of Niagara Falls boat tours.
Why the dates move: ice on Lake Erie
Neither boat can sail until the river is clear. The Lake Erie to Niagara River ice boom is installed each winter, and the International Joint Commission says it is typically removed by April 1 or when ice coverage in the eastern basin of Lake Erie falls below 650 square kilometres (250 square miles). In 2026 the commission announced removal from April 6, but it noted a significant amount of ice remained in the lower Niagara River. The state park page for Maid of the Mist says the spring opening date depends on lake ice in Lake Erie.
| Season | Ice boom (International Joint Commission and news) | Maid of the Mist opened | Niagara City Cruises opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Removal planned from Apr 6, delayed by ice and wind; reported removed as of Apr 23 | Apr 24 | May 1 |
| 2025 | Removal phased because of heavy ice; reported removed as of Apr 30 | May 1 | May 8 (announced) |
| 2023 | Removal began Mar 2 (ABC News); completion date not verified | Apr 15 | Mar 16 |
In 2025 and 2026 the sailings began on or after the day the boom was reported removed, and Niagara City Cruises started a week later than Maid of the Mist both times. Two years is an observation, not a rule, and we do not know each operator's internal steps. The Clifton Hill announcement for 2026 and the 2025 trade report both tie Niagara City Cruises' delayed starts to Lake Erie ice.
What the history shows
| Question | What the rows above show |
|---|---|
| Maid of the Mist first day | Six of the eight seasons from 2019 opened between Apr 4 and May 1. The exceptions were 2019 (May 24) and 2020 (Jun 26, the pandemic year). |
| Maid of the Mist last day | Five seasons have a verified closing date: Nov 3 (2019), Nov 6 (2022), Nov 3 (2024), Nov 2 (2025) and Nov 8 (2026). That is a spread of Nov 2 to Nov 8. |
| Niagara City Cruises first day | Thirteen seasons, 2014 to 2026. Earliest: Mar 16, 2023. Latest: Jul 1 in 2020 and 2021, both pandemic years. Outside those two years the latest was May 15 (2014 and 2019). |
| Which boat opened first | Niagara City Cruises in 2019, 2023 and 2024. Maid of the Mist in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2025 and 2026. There is no fixed order. |
| Both running by May 8 | True in each of the five seasons from 2022 to 2026. In every season since 2019 except 2020, at least one of the two was running by May 24. |
| How early the news came | Maid of the Mist releases we found: 28 days before opening (2024), 3 days (2023), 2 days (2026) and on the day itself (2019, 2025). Niagara City Cruises: 9 days (2018), 8 days (2022), 1 day (2019 and 2023). These are the dates of the releases we found, not proof of the earliest public notice. |
These are patterns in past years, not a forecast. A mild winter produced the March 2023 and March 2024 openings, and heavy ice produced May starts for Niagara City Cruises in 2025 and 2026. Which kind of winter 2026 to 2027 will be is not something we can know.
What changed in 2026
- Niagara City Cruises opened May 1, 2026, after heavy Lake Erie ice delayed the usual March start. That is more than a month later than its March 28, 2024 and March 16, 2023 openings.
- Maid of the Mist opened April 24, its 141st season, and its closing date of November 8 is the latest of the five closing dates we could verify.
- The ice boom came out later than planned. Removal was set to begin April 6 and was delayed by ice and wind; the International Joint Commission lists it as removed as of April 23.
- Maid of the Mist added a wait-time feature to its website for 2026, according to its season release.
- No closing date for Niagara City Cruises. Its page says December sailings depend on weather, so the end of the 2026 season may only show up on its booking calendar.
How to check yourself
You do not need to wait for us. These are the places a 2027 date would appear, in the order we would look.
- 1Maid of the Mist schedule pageOpen maidofthemist.com/schedule-pricing[1]. When the 'until Opening Day 2027' line is replaced by a date, 2027 has started. Its news page[3] carries the season release.
- 2Niagara City Cruises ticket pageOpen the Voyage to the Falls ticket page[13] and look at the booking calendar for the month you want. If no date is selectable, nothing is on sale for it.
- 3State park listingThe Niagara Falls State Park page for Maid of the Mist[8] repeats the season wording.
- 4Ice boom statusThe International Joint Commission ice boom page[32] reports when the boom comes out. Removal is a signal that opening is near, not an announcement.
- 5Our season checkerThe Niagara Falls boat season checker shows the published 2026 dates and hours for any date. It has no 2027 data until an operator publishes it.
- 6Call the operatorMaid of the Mist lists +1 716-278-1794. For Niagara City Cruises use the contact details on its official site.
We record each change on our changelog.
If you are planning spring 2027
Use the history to decide how much risk you can take, not to pick a date. These rules assume the operators have published nothing yet.
- Travelling before April: plan as if neither boat is running. Maid of the Mist never opened before April 4 in our table, and Niagara City Cruises opened in March only in 2023 and 2024.
- Travelling in April: it can go either way. Maid of the Mist opened in April in five of the eight seasons from 2019; Niagara City Cruises opened in April in three of its 13 seasons and in March in two. Do not build a fixed plan around the boat.
- Travelling May 1 to 15: in each of 2022 to 2026 both operators were running by May 8. Past years do not promise 2027.
- The boat is the reason for the trip: choose late May or later and book refundable travel. In every season since 2019 except 2020, at least one of the two operators was running by May 24.
- Booking tickets early: the 2026 rules differ by operator. Niagara City Cruises payments were non-refundable unless Ticket Assurance was bought, and Maid of the Mist's refund policy was not published on the pages we read. Read our cancellation and refund guide and the operator's terms for 2027 before paying.
- Holding a Maid of the Mist ticket from 2026: the operator described online tickets as valid any day of the 2026 season. Ask before assuming one carries over.
- Choosing a side: because the first operator to open changes from year to year, compare both in the Maid of the Mist versus Niagara City Cruises guide and our best time for a Niagara Falls boat tour.
- Travelling from Toronto without relying on the boat: our Toronto day tour runs daily all year. The boat ride is an optional seasonal add-on that we confirm for your date; see the day tour with boat ride page.
- Winter or very early spring: the falls are worth seeing without a boat. Read Niagara Falls in winter. For the other end of the season, see the boat tour in October.
What the sources do not say
We could not find: any 2027 date, hour, fare or policy; a closing date for Maid of the Mist in 2020, 2021 and 2023; closing dates for Niagara City Cruises after 2019 other than the 2018 extension noted above; an opening-day report for the Maid of the Mist 2021 and Niagara City Cruises 2025 openings; or an operator statement of how it decides the opening day. The 2022 Maid of the Mist row relies on a Buffalo News report. Date conflicts we found are shown in the table notes. If you have an operator notice that fills one of these gaps, send it to us and we will check it.
Frequently asked questions
When does Maid of the Mist open in 2027?
Maid of the Mist has not published a 2027 opening date. On October 22, 2026 its schedule page said the boat is closed from November 9 until 'Opening Day 2027'. Since 2019 its first day has ranged from April 4 (2024) to May 24 (2019), apart from a June 26 start in 2020. Lake Erie ice sets the date.
When does Niagara City Cruises open in 2027?
Niagara City Cruises has not published 2027 dates. Its ticket page said on October 22, 2026 that 2026 tickets were on sale and that earlier dates may become available, weather permitting. Since 2022 its first day has ranged from March 16 (2023) to May 8 (2025, announced).
When did Maid of the Mist open and close in 2026?
The 2026 season, the company's 141st, opened Friday, April 24 and runs through Sunday, November 8, 2026, according to its release and schedule page. From November 1 to 8 the boats run 9 am to 4 pm. The boat then stays closed until Opening Day 2027, which has no date yet.
When does Niagara City Cruises close for the season?
No closing date has been published for 2026. The operator's ticket page says the December sailing schedule is weather permitting. In past years the last date we could source was November 30 (2016, 2017), December 1 (2019 schedule) and December 2 (2018). Check its booking calendar for the day you want.
What was the earliest the Niagara Falls boat tour has opened?
In our table, the earliest opening is Niagara City Cruises on March 16, 2023, which news coverage described as the earliest the company had opened. Maid of the Mist's earliest since 2019 was April 4, 2024. Both followed mild winters with little Lake Erie ice, so early openings are the exception.
Why do the opening dates change every year?
The boats cannot run until ice clears from Lake Erie and the upper Niagara River. The International Joint Commission says the ice boom is typically removed by April 1 or once Lake Erie ice drops below 650 square kilometres, but 2026 removal was delayed by ice and wind. Maid of the Mist says its spring opening depends on lake ice.
Are 2027 ticket prices published?
No. The latest fares are for 2026: Maid of the Mist US$30.25 adult and US$19.75 child (6 to 12), and Niagara City Cruises from CA$47.95 adult before 13% HST. Both operators can change fares each season. Our boat tour prices page shows the 2026 figures with the date we checked.
Will my 2026 Maid of the Mist ticket work in 2027?
Do not count on it. The operator described online tickets as vouchers valid any day of the 2026 season, to be exchanged at the booth. We found no statement that a 2026 voucher is honoured in 2027. Contact the operator before planning around one.
Is any Niagara Falls boat tour running in winter?
Maid of the Mist is closed from November 9 until Opening Day 2027. Niagara City Cruises says December sailings are weather permitting and has published nothing for January to March. Most winter visitors see the falls from the parks instead; see our Niagara Falls in winter guide.
Where will the 2027 dates appear first?
Most likely on the operators' own pages: the Maid of the Mist schedule page and news page, and the Niagara City Cruises ticket page and booking calendar. Past releases were dated from the opening day itself to 28 days before it. Our season checker updates once a date is published.
Sources
- Maid of the Mist: schedule and pricing maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: 2026 season press release maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: news page (latest item dated May 4, 2026) maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: 2025 season release (140th season) maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: 2024 season release maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: 2023 season release maidofthemist.com
- Maid of the Mist: 2019 season release maidofthemist.com
- Niagara Falls State Park: Maid of the Mist niagarafallsstatepark.com
- Buffalo News: Maid of the Mist opens 2022 season (Apr 29, 2022) buffalonews.com
- Spectrum News 13: Maid of the Mist launches 2021 season mynews13.com
- Rochester First: Maid of the Mist 2020 start (posted June 19, 2020) digital-release.rochesterfirst.com
- News 4 Buffalo: Maid of the Mist 2025 season sets sail wivb.com
- Niagara City Cruises: Voyage to the Falls niagaracitycruises.com
- Clifton Hill: Niagara City Cruises returns May 1, 2026 cliftonhill.com
- Travel Industry Today: Delayed Niagara City Cruises launches for summer travelindustrytoday.com
- ITTN: Niagara City Cruises 2024 season (Apr 5, 2024) ittn.ie
- ABC News: Niagara Falls boat tours break record for earliest opening (Mar 15, 2023) abcnews.com
- BlogTO: Niagara Falls cruise season starts earlier (Mar 15, 2023) blogto.com
- City Experiences: Niagara City Cruises open Mother's Day weekend (Apr 28, 2022) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: City Cruises in Canada to hit the water July 1 (2021) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower Niagara Cruises to postpone opening (Mar 14, 2020) cityexperiences.com
- Niagara Falls Review, June 18, 2020 (Niagara Falls Public Library catalogue entry) nfpl.historicniagara.ca
- City Experiences: Hornblower 2019 season release (May 14, 2019) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower opens fifth season May 5 (Apr 26, 2018) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower pumped up for 2018 season (Apr 27, 2018) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower extends season into December (Nov 8, 2018) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: 30 days to our 2017 season (Mar 2, 2017) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower 2017 season results (Dec 2017) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Summer memories (Sept 19, 2016) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences: Hornblower opens second season April 30 (2015) cityexperiences.com
- City Experiences blog: Hornblower Niagara Cruises opens to the public (May 23, 2014) cityexperiences.com
- International Joint Commission: Ice Boom information (2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons) ijc.org
- International Joint Commission: removal of the ice boom to begin April 6 (Apr 1, 2026) ijc.org
Facts last checked against these official sources on October 17, 2026. Operator schedules, prices and conditions change; confirm with the operator before you travel.