Polly 12 Visits Ricketts Glenn State Park

 

 

 

Ricketts Glenn State Park is located between Williamsport and Wilkes-Barre in Central Pennsylvania. The park is comprised of over 13,000 acres and is spread across three counties. This state park is like a lot of other parks. There is a lake for fishing, boating and swimming and there are a ton of trails for hiking and horseback riding. But the one thing this park in known for is waterfalls…lots and lots of waterfalls. There are actually 22 named waterfalls along Kitchen Creek. The heights of the waterfalls range from 11’ at the Cayuga Fall to 94’ at the Ganoga Fall.

 

Ricketts Glenn State Park is one of the most scenic areas in Pennsylvania. Old growth timber and diverse wildlife add to the scenic area. The park was named after Colonel Robert Bruce Ricketts from the American Civil War. At one point in time, Colonel Ricketts owned over 80,000 acres of land in this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two branches of Kitchen Creek flow through two deep gorges, the Ganoga Glenn and Glenn Leigh, before coming together at Waters Meet. Along the way, waterfalls can be found every few minutes of the hike. Everywhere you look you will see giant pines, hemlock and oak trees. In the lower Glenn area, many of the trees are over 300 years old and tower as much as 100 feet tall. The Glenns became a registered National Natural Landmark in 1969 and in 1993 became a State Park Natural area. This area will now be protected and maintained in a natural state.

Needless to say when you visit the park you will be doing a lot of hiking, or hopping in my case. The full loop of the Falls Trail is 7.2 miles long if hiking both the upper and lower sections. This trail was named the best hike in Pennsylvania in the Backpacker Magazine, January 2009 edition. A shorter 3.2 mile loop can be taken which you can still see most of the falls. There are a total of 26 miles of hiking trails and even a 12.5 mile trail loop for horseback riding.

 

Be forewarned though that Ricketts Glenn is not close to any major city. If you plan on visiting and staying over, you will have to travel about 40 minutes to get to the closest major city. The park does have camping sites available and even cabins for rent. But if you go, take food, water and all necessary supplies with you. This was our first trip to the park and we will return for sure. It is a great place for photography and to study nature. If you would like to see more pictures of the waterfalls, please come visit my site.

Tags: Polly 12