Ricketts Glen State Park is located in northeastern Pennsylvania. This is one of the best waterfall destinations in the eastern United States, with 22 named waterfalls ranging in heights from 10 to 94 feet. Many of the falls are quite impressive, but some are rather minor. In fact you might walk past a couple of them without realizing it if you are not paying careful attention. A 3 mile loop hike takes you past 18 of the waterfalls.

The park also includes a campground, a large lake with a swimming area, horse back trails, and lots more, but the main attraction is the Glens Natural Area and its waterfalls.

The park land was once owned by R. Bruce Ricketts, and he was the person who first saw the tourist potential of the glen and its falls. He was respsonsible for naming the falls, giving them Native American names, or naming them after friends and family. In my opinion he was a bit generous in his naming, as some of the named falls are pretty minor.

There are three glens in the park, all created by Kitchen Creek. The western branch of Kitchen Creek is responsible for Ganoga Glen, where the 94' Ganoga Falls can be found. The eastern branch forms Glen Leigh. Below where the two branches meet up is Ricketts Glen proper. Kitchen Creek drops just shy of 1000' in about 2.5 miles. The variety in the styles and sizes of the falls is interesting considering it is more or less the same rock formation and waterflow throughout.

The three main access points are at the top of Ganoga Glen, the top of Glen Leigh, or at the bottom of Rickets Glen on Highway 118. If you start at the top of either Ganoga Glen, or Glen Leigh, a 3 mile round hike will take you past all the falls except for the 4 in Ricketts Glen. An additional mile hike, a half mile into Ricketts Glen and the half mile back, will take you past 3 more of the falls. The last falls, Adams Falls is all the way on the far side of Highway 118. It is a 7.5 mile hike to see all the falls in one round trip, no matter where you start.

From the top of Glen Leigh, you will encounter these falls: Onondaga, F.L. Ricketts, Shawneee, Huron, Ozone, R.B. Ricketts, B.Reynolds and Wyandot.

Onondaga Falls is a single drop of 15'. F.L. Ricketts Falls is a steep 38' slide. The falls is named for Frank L. Ricketts, the younger brother of R. Bruce Ricketts. Shawnee Falls is a 30' drop.

Huron Falls is a curving slide followed by some smaller drops with a total drop of 41. Ozone Falls, the second tallest falls in the park, is a steep 60' cascade Ozone Falls was named after the Ozone Hiking Club. R.B. Ricketts Falls is a complicated two tiered falls, plus a side falls where a small stream joins Kitchen Creek. The falls is named for R. Bruce Ricketts. He must have been a thoughtful brother, as this falls is much less impressive than the one he named after his brother.

B. Reynolds is listed as a 40' falls, but the one distinctive drop is only 15' high. They must be including the cascades below the drop. The falls is named for Benjamin Reynolds, a brother of Bruce Ricketts wife. Wyandot, the final falls in Glen Leigh is a 15' drop.

From the top of Ganoga Glen you will encounter these falls: Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Ganoga, Seneca, Delaware, Mohican, Conestoga, Tuscarora, and Erie. Ganoga Glen contains the more impressive waterfalls in my opinion, but it also contains some of the least impressive. Conestoga Falls was so unremarkable that I failed to take a picture of it, as I did not notice it.

Mohawk Falls is listed as a 27' falls, but the only distinctive drop is about 10', followed by a long slide. There is no good vantage point from which to see the whole thing. Oneida Falls is a very picturesque 13' plunge. Cayuga is another pretty 11' segmented drop.

Next up is the 94' Ganoga Falls. This is by far the tallest and most impressive waterfall in the glen, and is very popular. Lots of people apparently hike the half mile from the Lake Rose parking lot to Ganoga Falls and back, without bothering to visit any of the other falls. The very minor Seneca is .2 miles beyond Ganoga Falls, and the complicated but not scenic Delaware Falls is just beyond that. Delaware Falls is listed as a 37' falls, but it is really a series of small drops none of which are particulary noteworthy.

Mohican Falls 39'

Tuscarora Falls 47'

Erie Falls 47'

Harrison Wright Falls 27'

Sheldon Reynolds Falls 36'

Murray Reynolds Falls 16'

Adams Falls 36'

Lower drop of Adams Falls

Falls under bridge

Just to the east of the park a number of other gorges and wild waterfalls can be found. If you are looking for something a lot more adventurous than marked and maintained trails, try looking for the 25' Big Falls or the 36' Sullivan Falls.