Nestled in Benton, PA, is Ricketts Glen State Park! This state park is described as one of the most scenic areas in Pennsylvania. For years, I’ve wanted to visit Ricketts Glen State Park to see the waterfalls it’s well-known for! I was taken by surprise to hear of how many waterfalls were on the Falls Trail. On the Falls Trail, you will see 23 beautiful waterfalls, one of which that is a 94-foot waterfall – Ganoga Falls (Ricketts Glen, 2021). On my hiking excursion, we ended up heading in the wrong direction for the trail head. We ended up heading towards the visitor’s center, but the trail head is along Route 118! It was a bit confusing to figure out so click here to get directions! From this trail head, the trail heads uphill and splits into two trails that follow that complete the Falls Trail loop. The trails reconnect at the first waterfall, the 16-foot Murray Reynolds Fall, setting you in awe for the 22 other falls you will see!
The Falls Trail was approximately a 7-mile hike and one of the most difficult hiking trails found within Ricketts Glen’s 13,193 acres of forestry (Ricketts Glen, 2021). The hike adds up to be around 8.5 miles as the first waterfall is 1.5 miles from the Route 118 parking lot (Ricketts Glen, 2021). The trail is a flat terrain to begin, but I suggest investing in proper hiking shoes if you wish to hike this trail as it becomes a rocky terrain. There are stairs chiseled into the rocks and are often steep, slippery, and contain drop-offs. I have a fear of heights and it does get quite steep around some waterfalls like Ganoga and Glen Leigh sides (Hiking at Ricketts Glen, 2021), but the views of the waterfalls are well worth it! The Falls Trail is described as difficult, and I personally am not a very fit person and did not find this hike to be that much of a struggle, just be very careful!
I ended up bringing my pup, Callie, along for the hike! At the time, she had just turned 11 months old, so she had TONS of energy. When descending the trail, she started to get tired out and would just stop and lay down in the middle of the trail. This wasn’t a good thing as we visited on a summer weekend, so there were hundreds of people around. She held up very well on the hike. Callie loves being outdoors so it was just as fun of an adventure for her as it was for me and my friend, Dylan, both who are pictured above.
This hike inspired me to get out more and find the beauty that isn’t too far from home and is free!! After hiking Ricketts Glen, I decided to make a hiking bucket list of hikes in Pennsylvania – a few of which will appear in future posts! I strongly recommend a visit to Ricketts Glen to view the falls! It’s a beautiful way to get out there and see the beauty created by nature itself. #hikingbeauty
Citation:
Hiking at Ricketts Glen State Park. (2021). Hiking at Ricketts Glen State Park. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/RickettsGlenStatePark/Pages/Hiking.aspx.
Ricketts Glen State Park. (2021). Ricketts Glen State Park. Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/StateParks/FindAPark/RickettsGlenStatePark/Pages/default.aspx