Ricketts Glen State Park
A Pennsylvania park with twenty-one named waterfalls on a single loop trail, in old-growth forest saved from a cancelled national park.
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The Falls Trail runs a loop of about eleven kilometres past twenty-one named waterfalls, the tallest Ganoga Falls at about thirty metres, on two branches of Kitchen Creek that meet at Waters Meet. The trail is stone steps cut beside the water for most of its length and is genuinely demanding. The glens hold old-growth hemlock, white pine and oak, some of it over five hundred years old, which survived because the Ricketts family logged around rather than through it. The area was proposed as a national park in the 1930s and the plan was dropped; the state bought it instead. The Falls Trail closes in winter - people have died on the ice - and crampons are required when it reopens conditionally.
What you actually see
- Twenty-one named waterfalls - on an eleven-kilometre loop.
- Ganoga Falls at about thirty metres - the tallest of them.
- Old-growth hemlock and pine - some over five hundred years old.
- Stone steps beside the water - most of the trail's length.
When to go
May to October; the Falls Trail closes in winter. A full day.
Honest expectations
The loop is strenuous with continuous steps - not a casual walk. Ice closes it in winter and people have died attempting it regardless. Parking fills on summer weekends. Rock is wet year round.
Nearby
Wilkes-Barre is south-east; Worlds End State Park is west.
What to pack for Ricketts Glen State Park
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
