Hamilton and Burlington: Waterfalls, Royal Botanical Gardens and Art

Hamilton and Burlington sit at the western end of Lake Ontario, and the Niagara Escarpment runs through both. Hamilton has the waterfalls, the gallery and the old castle. Burlington has the lakefront, the Royal Botanical Gardens' main garden and a quieter pace. A Hamilton airport limo gets you to either in a short drive from Mount Hope, and a chauffeur from Pearson gets you here when the flight you wanted lands in Toronto. This guide treats the two cities as one weekend.

You will find rules and dates for the waterfalls this autumn (including a reservation system that affects how chauffeured trips work), hours and ticket prices for the gardens and the gallery, honest comparisons of transport, and sample itineraries.

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How do you get from Hamilton airport to downtown Hamilton or Burlington?

The airport is at 9300 Airport Road. It lists two taxi companies, Blue Line Transportation and Hamilton Cab, picking up curbside outside the Arrivals doors. Lyft and Uber use a zone at the west end of the sidewalk, past the taxi zone. For public transit, the HSR A-Line Express (Route 20) links the airport to downtown Hamilton, the Hamilton GO Transit Centre and Mohawk College's Fennell Campus. Shuttles and limos are not regularly scheduled, and the airport tells passengers to book directly with the provider, which is what you do with us.

At roughly 15 km and 30 km, both trips are covered by the minimum transfer, before tax and gratuity. In either case an Executive Sedan is $145 to $175, a Luxury SUV is $180 to $220 and an Executive Sprinter is $295 to $355.

Neither distance is published by the airport, so both are estimates; the booker prices your exact address. International arrivals get a free 60-minute wait and domestic arrivals 30. The arrivals-hall name board is $100 to $150, and child seats cost nothing if requested.

If you land at Pearson instead

Many Hamilton and Burlington visitors fly into Toronto Pearson because it has far more flights. A chauffeur from Pearson to downtown Burlington is about 55 km and typically 45 to 60 minutes outside the rush hour; to downtown Hamilton it is about 70 km and 55 to 75 minutes. These distances and times are approximate. Fares scale with the distance, with tolls such as the 407 ETR extra if you choose that route.

Our Pearson airport limo page and the Toronto airport limo page cover the terminal logistics, and the Toronto limo page is the place to start if you want a city itinerary first and Hamilton second. If you are making a longer trip, our Toronto luxury weekend guide is a good companion.

Hamilton and Burlington airport transport compared

If you are alone with a small bag and your hotel is near downtown Hamilton, the A-Line Express is the cheapest option and works well. A chauffeur is better for groups, golf bags, young children, late arrivals or a plan that includes Burlington, which the A-Line route does not list.

The waterfalls and the Spencer Gorge reservation system

Tourism Hamilton states that Hamilton has more than 150 waterfalls along the Niagara Escarpment. Its list of favourites includes Webster Falls, described as the largest waterfall in the region; Tew Falls; Albion Falls; and Devil's Punchbowl. The advice is to stay on marked trails, obey closure signs, park only in designated areas and never cross active rail tracks.

For autumn 2026, the Hamilton Conservation Authority requires a reservation to visit Spencer Gorge from September 26 to November 8. The rules, from its reservations page, are:

1. Reservations are online only. You can book up to 9 days ahead and no later than midnight the day before; there are no walk-up, drive-up or same-day bookings.
2. Slots are 2 hours at Dundas Peak and Tew Falls (590 Harvest Road, Dundas), 2 hours at Webster Falls (28 Fallsview Road, Dundas), or 4 hours for both.
3. Non-members pay an $11 vehicle fee, $5.50 per passenger and a $10 reservation fee. The 4-hour experience adds an $11 parking fee.
4. Reservations are rain or shine, location-specific and not transferable.
5. Tour operators, buses and other businesses cannot book. Only personal bookings are allowed.

This matters for chauffeured travel. The reservation is a personal one that you make yourself, and the conservation authority's page does not say whether a chauffeured drop-off counts as a visit or affects the fees. If you plan to be dropped off, contact the conservation authority through its reservations page before you book the car. Outside the reservation period, check the authority's page for the rules that apply.

Royal Botanical Gardens

Royal Botanical Gardens has two main sites. Hendrie Park and the RBG Centre are at 680 Plains Road West in Burlington; the Rock Garden is at 1185 York Boulevard in Hamilton. The 2026 hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Hendrie Park is open from April 18 to January 3 and is closed on October 2 and November 16 to 25, while the Rock Garden is open daily from May 4 to October 31 and Thursday to Sunday from November 1 to January 3. The trails are open year-round from 8 a.m. to dusk.

Garden admission from September 21 to December 31 is $19.50 for adults, $16.50 for seniors and youth, $11.50 for children aged 3 to 12, and free for children under three. A Rock Garden-only ticket is $10 for ages three and up. Prices are subject to HST and a $2 online service fee. The Turner Pavilion Teahouse is open Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with reservations required. The Great Pumpkin Trail runs October 15 to 18 and 23 to 25, and an adult-only RBG After Dark pumpkin trail is on October 22.

Art Gallery of Hamilton and downtown

The Art Gallery of Hamilton, at 123 King Street West, is open Thursday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Monday to Wednesday it accepts pre-booked tours only. Current exhibitions, on Gallery Level 1 from June 26, 2026 to January 3, 2027, are Camille Turner: Hometown Queen and Made in Hamilton: The Glen Faulman Collection. Admission applies, and the gallery's page notes that the Summers Lane door is not accessible from October 7 to 9, so use the King Street West entrance.

Tourism Hamilton also lists Dundurn National Historic Site, a mid-19th-century castle overlooking the bay, and the Hamilton Farmers' Market, with more than 60 vendors. We could not confirm the dates of the James Street North art crawl, so check the tourism board's events page rather than relying on a remembered date.

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Burlington: the lakefront and the escarpment

Discover Burlington runs the visitor centre at 414 Locust Street and describes the Niagara Escarpment as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve about thirty minutes from downtown, where the land drops off a limestone cliff. Its tagline is "Find Balance in Burlington." Burlington is also the city of Hendrie Park, the main RBG site.

Burlington is a quieter counterpart to Hamilton, and a lakeside hotel here is a reasonable base if your business is in the western Toronto area. GO Transit serves the city with free rides for children aged 12 and under, which is a practical option for solo day trips to Toronto.

Wine, Niagara and other add-ons

Hamilton is a good gateway to Niagara. Our Niagara-on-the-Lake wine tour guide describes a chauffeured tasting day, and the Niagara Icewine Festival guide covers January. For the falls themselves, see our Niagara Falls day trip guide. For the wider network, see the airports overview and the Hamilton airport limo page.

A sample weekend plan

• Friday: arrive at Hamilton or Pearson, check in at a downtown Hamilton or Burlington hotel, and have dinner nearby.
• Saturday morning: Spencer Gorge, if you have secured a reservation, or the Royal Botanical Gardens' Rock Garden, which is open daily until October 31.
• Saturday afternoon: the Art Gallery of Hamilton on King Street West, then Dundurn National Historic Site or the Hamilton Farmers' Market, depending on the day.
• Sunday: Hendrie Park in Burlington and a lakefront walk, with an afternoon return to Hamilton airport or Pearson.

The two airports give you a choice. If you fly into Mount Hope, the whole weekend is within about 30 km of the terminal. If you fly via Pearson, the extra drive adds the fares in the table above, but the number of flights usually gives you cheaper or more convenient tickets. Compare the total cost of the airfare and the ground transport before you decide, because the cheapest ticket is not always the cheapest trip.

Where your driver can wait

• Spencer Gorge: only with your own reservation, at the parking lots listed above.
• Royal Botanical Gardens: parking is across the street from the Rock Garden; Hendrie Park has its own entrance. A driver can drop you and return.
• Art Gallery of Hamilton: King Street West entrance this week.
• Burlington lakefront: easy drop-offs along the waterfront streets.
• Airport: your driver messages the meeting point once you land.

Weather, seasons and what to wear

Check the reservation calendar before you plan around the waterfalls in autumn. Winter ice can make escarpment trails slippery, so wear proper footwear or skip them. Burlington's lakefront is breezy even in summer. Layers are the answer all year.

Families, groups and accessibility

Child seats cost nothing if you ask for them. A Luxury SUV suits families, and the Executive Sprinter seats 12 to 14, which is useful for a wedding party or a corporate garden event. See the fleet page and the limo rates page for the hourly rates. An Executive Sedan is $135 to $165 per hour with a two-hour minimum, so a four-hour garden and gallery afternoon is $540 to $660 before tax. For an accessible vehicle, mention it at booking so we can confirm availability.

For current details, see Hamilton airport transportation, the Spencer Gorge reservations page, Royal Botanical Gardens, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Tourism Hamilton's waterfalls page and Discover Burlington.