ricketts glen state park

Wow ! Waterfalls galore! Get there early in the warmer months to avoid the crowds on the trails. Wear good hiking shoes and probably not a bad idea to bring some hiking sticks. A photographers paradise for waterfalls. Fall is absolutely beautiful with the changing leaves. Plan for a full day adventure. Pack a lunch, start the hike at the top and then have your lunch halfway thru at Waters Meet. Afterwards, start the trek back up to the top again! Watch the stone stairs as they get very slippery.

Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania treasure. Easy to find on PA 118 between Dallas and Williamsport, near Harvey's Lake. Kitchen Creek with sources out of Lake Jean and Lake Rose on top of the mountain (believe it is South Mountain) come down the mountain side in a number of cascading falls in two glens that come together towards the bottom. For those that enjoy a somewhat strenuous hike, going up Ganoga Glen will get you to Ganoga Falls, a 94 foot cascade. But you will be rewarded with a number of other beautiful falls and also old growth trees. The trails are well marked though can be tricky for those with poor balance. Hiking boots are recommended. If you don't want to hike the glens, parking in the 118 area gets you access to the lower gorge just south of the highway. There are some amazing falls there within easy walking and climbing distance. Good wooden stairs are there to help you. The park extends to the top of the mountain where the lakes are with beaches and camping sites available. Lake Jean is picturesque. Lake Rose is somewhat swampy, at least the last time I visited, however, it offers the closest walk to the major waterfalls in the glen, coming from the top.

You don't want to miss this place if you are planning for all three i have mentioned in title. You have easy to medium trek.. great fall colors and even more great waterfalls. I never expected to see 10+ waterfalls within this short trek distance of 4 miles. Don't forget to take your cameras because you will get to see many picturesque views. Not to be missed if you are a lovers of trek, waterfalls or just be in the wild.

I have been to Ricketts Glen several times and have stayed in the campground and hiked the trails. The campground offers no electric service, but otherwise is a very nice campground with easy access to the lake. As for the trails, well, the waterfalls are simply NOT to be missed. Where else can you see 21 waterfalls in just 5 miles!!! That said, be prepared for a rigorous hike. Start early, wear proper hiking boots and bring along lots of water if it is warm. The falls trail gets very busy in the summer and I have seen many unprepared hikers. The elevation change is substantial, so make sure that you are prepared for a strenuous hike and take your time, otherwise you won’t enjoy yourself. The other trails are less traveled, but still enjoyable. If you hit the fire tower trail in the early summer, you will be greeted with an explosion of blueberries Put this one on your bucket list, Ricketts Glen is simply not to be missed!!!

We have done this hike many times. The falls are spectacular. It is about a 7 mile hike but well worth your time and effort. Make sure you take your camera because there will be a lot to take pictures of. We are hoping to hike this trail again in the spring.

We enjoyed hiking most of the park during our two and a half day stay. We stayed at a close by B&B since it was late October and the weather was rainy and cold. It was actually a great time to visit the park, no crowds only saw about six people all day when we hike the beautiful waterfalls. The trails are well maintained and the park is clean. We thought about kayaking but it was just too cold and windy. We'll return to do that someday but not in 2015 since they will be draining the lake to do repairs. We saw some nice new cabins being built along the lake during one of our hikes.

Loved this state park! Took a 3+ hour hike and saw 19 different waterfalls on a cool Autumn day. Definitely worth the drive!

Hubbie and I visited this park a couple weeks ago after seeing a write up in our local paper, and I was ever so happy that we did. A couple points that I would like to make that might help the next traveler:*We parked at Lake Rose because we knew we wanted to hike a portion of the Falls trail to see most of the waterfalls, it is a 3.2-mile loop that can be taken by going on Highland Trail and the Glen Leigh and Ganoga Glen sides of the trail. You start right off the parking lot to take the Highland trail (note: it is not clearly marked at first, hint: look for the orange triangles). This is probably the only flat part of the trail and will take you to a fork in the path for the glens, start your hike by going left on the path (sorry cannot remember what glen it was) - trust me, a group of hikers gave us this piece of advice and it was the best advice we got!*Make sure that you have sturdy hiking boots, a walking stick would also help (we did not have one, but saw quite a few who did and wished we did), you are going over rough terrain, rocks, roots, manmade steps, stone steps, hillsides, and nothing to hold onto except whatever outcrops that nature has provided. Some of the steps are quite steep, both going down and back up, be forwarned, this is no hike for little children, you are sometimes, heck most times at the edge of the waterfalls.*A lot of hikers had their dogs, and they are allowed if leased, I did not see any issues with this but just wanted to let you know.*Bring water bottles and maybe some light snacks, at least water. The 3.2 mile loop took my husband and I about 2 hours to complete, a lot longer than we thought and we are both in pretty good shape physically and did not stop except to take pictures. You are going down, down, down one side of the glen and then up the other side, literally. Along the way you pass back and forth over the water in a series of man made walkng bridges.I think that is about it, except for the fact that each waterfall is uniqiue and each one is absolutely beautiful. Enjoy!

We visited with our young son and hiked the whole trail. It is breathtaking and so unique. I really couldn't get over how well maintained the trails were. Even to get to some parts would be tricky. We started out too late in the day not really knowing how long the trail is. And keep in mind once your are in you want to keep going. It could really be too hard for some inexperienced hiking people or very small children. There's drop offs and steep inclines. It's not an easy trail. But like I said it's well maintained and if you allow plenty of time it's better. And very cool, one of a kind in PA !

You can see over a dozen waterfalls in a 4 mile loop--and more if you want to walk more. It's a beautiful park, in the middle of rural PA. Bring your lunch -there aren't a lot of places to eat near the park. There's a small exhibit area at the nature center.

Our family seeks out waterfalls wherever we go and Rickett's Glen is now amongst one of our favorite waterfall hikes ever! We had originally planned to make a weekend of it to see the falls and enjoy some downtime as a family, staying at the campgrounds. Five weeks out, I discovered the only two campsites available were right next to the bathrooms…scratch that! We found a lovely home to rent for the weekend about 25 minutes away on Harvey's Lake. It was the perfect option for our family of five, with the optimal campground sites being already taken. After we experienced Rickett's Glen after 4:30pm without a campfire and the insect infestation we were very grateful for our alternate housing choice. Prior to 4:30pm, there wasn't a sign of any mosquitoes or flies….4:31…Unbearable. That was the only con we found here at Rickett's Glen. The falls were amazing…there are so many "real" waterfalls, that you actually start to take them for granted along the hike. The hike mainly stays along the stream, cascading with an abundance of waterfalls of all sizes and flow styles. There are falls you can walk behind, falls you can swim under, falls you cannot even reach. So so lovely! The hike is approximately 3.5 miles downhill and 3.5 miles up hill with a connecting trail at the top to take you back to your starting point. We spent about 4-5 hours taking our time enjoying the falls, having a picnic at one scenic waterfall, and playing on rocks wherever we could. The trail is strenuous at parts, but you will find many small children (a lot of families from other countries as well) along the paths, surprisingly for the variance in terrain. Trails are well maintained with natural stone steps at the steepest parts, and several bridges crossing back and forth across the path. Make sure you have your camera - you won't want to miss all of the photo opportunities.

Well maintained Falls Trail has amazing views of the many waterfalls. Went during the week & missed out on the crowds. Numerous photo ops.

My husband and I went to this park yesterday and also last October. Ricketts Glen State Park is absolutely beautiful in the Fall! There are many waterfalls and great photo opportunities. My husband enjoys photography and was able to take some amazing photos of the waterfalls! This is definitely a park to go to in PA!

What a great place to hike and see waterfalls. The photographic opportunities are wonderful. Great for autumn colour.

This is a really good place to go for hiking for a day. There are like three trails and you can choose which one you would like depending upon the difficulty. The shortest trail has the best waterfalls. I am also attaching a picture that I took. Like all my review will break it in pro's and con's.Pros:- Good for 1 day family vacation- Good for hiking and different choices of trails depending on your will to hike- Different ranges of waterfalls - During fall time one of the best places to be- Trails are laid out properlyCons (well not cons but things to watch out for :) ):- No restroom once you have entered the trail- No drinking water available so be sure to bring your own.- Also make sure you have some snacks as the trail is going to take about 3 to 6 hours.- Be sure to have your hiking shoes on or else it is tough to navigate through some of the slippery spots. Overall, best place to be in fall time. Make sure to keep an eye on the fall-age rate. You want to travel when the rate is about 70-80% for best color experience.