When John Lennon from the Beatles and Yoko Ono went to Niagara Falls in 1969

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Published March 6, 2023 at 10:17 am

When John Lennon and Yoko Ono stopped into Niagara Falls on June 4, 1969, their unannounced trip slipped by the attention of everyone. There was no media and few of the tourist even recognized the world famous pair. (Photos: Yoko Ono Flickr)

On June 4, 1969, a Beatle and his wife came to Niagara Falls – and no one noticed.

In fact, John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s trip to the falls was so low-key, the media missed it entirely and even visiting tourists failed to recognize the world-famous pair.

“Surprisingly, during their visit to Niagara, few fans recognized them and there were no crowds of adoring fans following them,” said one account of the visit.

“It was just a quiet and romantic visit to Niagara, on a crystal clear day in June, and Niagara performed by producing a perfect rainbow over the Falls.”

The visit came just a few months after the couple had gotten married in Gibraltar on March 20 and when they left, they flew to Amsterdam for a “Bed-In For Peace.”

Lennon, still a Beatle at the time (the band would break up in 1970), wanted to come overseas to hold a similar Bed-In in New York City but the couple weren’t allowed in the USA because of his previous cannabis conviction.

The couple instead decided to stage their bed-in for Peace at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. When the publicity didn’t seem to be materializing, they moved their bed-in to Montreal to the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. They came back to Toronto, visited Niagara Falls, hung out for a few days in TO, and then headed home to London, England.

Niagara Falls gave John Lennon and Yoko Ono a rainbow to remember the trip.


John and Yoko posing for a picture with the Falls in the background.


It doesn’t matter how famous you are, when you see the majesty of Niagara Falls, you’re humbled.

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