After spending the night in a Walmart parking lot, we thanked management by stocking up on supplies before heading about an hour northeast for a day of Ricketts Glen State Park hiking, which turned out to be one of the most beautiful surprises of my summer road trip.
I had no idea this corner of Pennsylvania held a place like this, tucked into the hills with waterfalls, steep forest trails, and enough rock and rushing water to make you forget the highway altogether. My husband had visited Ricketts Glen State Park years earlier and wanted to go back to photograph the falls, so day two became a day of waterfall chasing.
A little history behind Ricketts Glen
The park is named for Colonel R. Bruce Ricketts, who began buying land in the area in 1868. What started as timber land became something more when fishermen exploring Kitchen Creek discovered the waterfalls hidden in the glens. Ricketts built trails into the gorge, opening up the area that would later become one of Pennsylvania’s best-known waterfall destinations. The Commonwealth purchased the Falls and Glens area in 1942, and the park opened for recreation in 1944.
There is also a bit of Civil War history woven into the name. At the outbreak of the war in 1861, Ricketts enlisted in the U.S. Army, fought with the Army of the Potomac, and led Battery F at the Battle of Gettysburg before eventually being discharged as a colonel. That made our stop here feel like an interesting bit of foreshadowing, since I didn’t know that Gettysburg would eventually be part of our journey too.
Why the Falls Trail is so famous
Ricketts Glen is best known for the Falls Trail System, one of the most memorable of the Ricketts Glen State Park hiking trails. The full loop is 7.2 miles, and it passes through the Glens Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark with 21 named waterfalls. The falls range from 11 feet to 94 feet, with Ganoga Falls as the tallest. Officially, this is rated the park’s most difficult hiking, and that felt very believable once we started down.
The waterfalls spill over ancient sandstone, shale, and siltstone, where harder ledges hold their shape while softer layers wear away below, helping create the steep drops, plunge pools, and rocky beauty that make Ricketts Glen so memorable.
Shortly before our visit, flooding had made part of the route impassable, turning sections of the usual loop into more of an out-and-back hike. That meant even more climbing and retracing your steps.
Ricketts Glen State Park Hiking Trail Map
Beautiful, yes. Easy, absolutely not.
After carefully picking our way down rock stairs and steep, uneven paths, I only hiked a couple miles in before I knew I needed to be honest with myself.
At that point, I was still recovering from a decade-long battle with chronic Lyme and had not rebuilt my hiking chops. Going down into a gorge is one thing. Climbing back up out of it on rubbery legs is another. I knew my limits, so I turned around and headed back while my husband continued on to see a few more waterfalls before meeting me later in the parking lot.
This is not a hike for someone who hasn’t hiked much recently or isn’t prepared for steep, slippery terrain. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go. It just means you should go in with respect for the trail, plenty of water, good shoes, and enough humility to turn around when your body says it’s time.
For travelers who want a gentler taste of the park, Adams Falls at Ricketts Glen is a much easier option. It’s reached by the Evergreen Trail, an easy one-mile loop, and Adams Falls is considered the park’s 22nd named waterfall.
Why waterfalls never get old
As much as I’d like to say, “Once you’ve seen one waterfall, you’ve seen them all,” I can’t.
I will hike for waterfalls every time.
What makes them so irresistible? Maybe it’s the way they throw themselves over cliffs with wild abandon, showing off the white underbelly of the wilderness. Maybe it’s because water is the most basic of our needs, and some part of us is always drawn to it. Maybe it’s the roar, the motion, the reminder that even something that often moves quietly can also be wildly powerful.
Or maybe waterfalls simply refuse to be ordinary.
Finding a place to recover from Ricketts Glen State Park Hiking Trails
Our legs needed a home base after that hike, and after plenty of searching, we finally found somewhere to stay for the night. Most campgrounds were booked, and the place we landed had potential but not enough for me to recommend it in good faith. So that’s one stop on this trip that won’t be making the highlight reel.
Still, we had what we needed most: a place to rest before the long drive east the next morning.
Toward New York State from Ricketts Glen State Park Hiking Trails
We got an early start, made a few supply stops, and continued east. Along the way, we stopped to stretch our legs at Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management Area in Narrowsburg, then took a slight detour to Hawk’s Nest on New York Route 97. Perched above the Upper Delaware River Valley, it’s one of those overlooks that makes you pull over, stand still, and quietly admit the detour was worth it.
That night we stayed at a Hampton Inn in Newburgh, New York, because finding an available campsite last minute was just too overwhelming.
Our next stop in the series is the setting of a very popular movie from 1988 and will cover Things to do in Mystic, CT.
