Ricketts Glen Waterfalls

You can find more information and photos of each of the waterfalls at Ricketts Glen in Issue #118 Page 1 of Photograph America Newsletter.

In northeastern Pennsylvania, on the southern edge of the Appalachian Plateau, mountain streams have cut deep gorges through old-growth forests of pine, oaks, and hemlock  Fast-flowing cascades, (like the Delaware Falls above) drop a thousand feet down the Allegheny front in a series of dramatic waterfalls before they unite at the bottom and flow into the Susquehanna River. There, at Ricketts Glen State Park, is an overabundance of dramatic waterfalls, some as tall as ninety feet. In late April, most of this forest’s deciduous hardwoods have no foliage to block your view of the waterfalls. The vistas are not all monochromatic. Spring color is provided by ferns and moss growing on the walls of the glens and the many large evergreens–pines and hemlocks. In early spring, the streams are at their fullest and the falls are most dramatic. A loud and constant roar is heard. Through the middle of Summer, the bugs are at their worst and the trails are filled with tourists. The campgrounds are open and rental cabins are available for visitors. By Autumn, the summer crowds have gone, the falls have almost dried up, and the constant roar heard in the spring is gone. That’s when a 4-stop (1.2) neutral density filter is useful. With much longer exposures, a few small trickles multiply to give the appearance of more water flowing over the falls. The peak of autumn color usually arrives in this park around the middle of October on the birch, beech, cherry, maples, and oaks. The park is open through the Winter for cross country skiers, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and winter camping. The Falls Trail is closed by snow and ice through the winter.