Launched in 1846, the first Maid of the Mist was a woode-hulled, coal-fired steamboat. Today four all-steel, diesel-powered boasts chug from Niagrara Falls State Park at the base of Prospect Point past American and Bridal Veil falls to bob at the tumultuous base of Horseshoe Falls. Visitors are given plastic hooded rain ponchos to protect them from the fantastic spray.