Fort Erie is located on the Niagara River and is part of the Niagara Region of Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York Fort Erie is one of the fastest growing communities in Niagara, and has experienced a high level of residential and commercial development in the past few years. Garrison Road (Highway #3) is the town's commercial corridor, stretching east to west through Fort Erie. It is also home to a number of other commercial core areas (Bridgeburg, Ridgeway, Stevensville and Crystal Beach) as a result of the 1970 amalgamation of the latter three municipalities with Fort Erie proper. The town's beaches on Lake Erie, most notably Crystal Beach and Bay Beach, are considered the best in the area and draw many weekend recreationists from the Toronto and Buffalo areas. The land is generally flat, sloping towards Lake Erie. Fort Erie Race Track has hosted live thoroughbred racing since 1897. Widely regarded as one of North America's most picturesque tracks, it has been home to the second jewel in Canada's Triple Crown of Racing since 1959.