For us Canadians, it was Victoria Day Weekend. This holiday celebrates the person who inspired the Victorian Era worldwide and is also the unofficial start of summer. Naturally, I had made plans for this celebratory festivity.
Falling Head Over Heals for Waterfalls was the trip I designed to celebrate the fullness of spring and the coming summer. It also featured the first attraction we sought when we started travelling – waterfalls. The main attraction for this long weekend excursion was Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania.
I know we Canadians are celebrating something very Canadian in a country that is not Canada, which can seem a bit odd, but where else can we find 22 named waterfalls, dozens of minor falls, rapids, and incredible scenery all crammed into a short distance? Ricketts Glen, of course!
A glen is a narrow valley, and a couple of rivers run in this valley, powering the waterfalls. When I was planning this trip, the park had not opened to visitors yet. This previous season was a proper winter, with lots of snow and cold, and getting the trail ready for hikers and waterfall admirers took a lot of work. The work paid off, and no issues hindered our journey; besides the path to see the falls, it was considered “Most Difficult.”
The trail itself is about as wide as a typical sidewalk. This is great because it allows room for people to pass others and gives better clearance of obstacles. The “Most Difficult” rating comes from the steepness of sections, narrow areas, rocks, roots, mud, flowing water, and plenty of sharp drops.
We came prepared for this trip. We had excellent, gripping hiking shoes that performed well in wet areas and stuck to rocks like glue, allowing us to walk a challenging trail like this one confidently. We even had water backpacks, which we wanted to test for our big summer trip, where we would need lots of water in the summer desert heat.
Knowing that the parking lot is small and fills up quickly, I planned on this destination being the first of the day. The website describes Falls Trail as 7.5 miles, and I figured we would take about four hours to complete it. From the parking lot, the path is easy and wide. We encounter our first waterfall only after a few minutes of walking. It was impressive and set the mood that we chose the right day and time of year to visit this very popular hiking trail.
As we moved through the trail in the glen, there was never a lack of water features or sights. The entire setting was busy with rushing water flowing down the river and water coming out of the rocks. The cliffs on either side sprouted tiny waterfalls as they released the rain from the previous night. It was as close to a magical setting as there could be.
The Falls Trail has three sections. The first park leads from the parking lot down to where the rivers merge. After the merge, there is the next section, where there are three falls to see that it is well worth the trek, and then the return part to the parking lot. It is this return part that I found to be the most difficult.
The first part was in a downward direction. The final part was all uphill. The steeper sections were steeper than previously, and the stone staircases maintained by the park were narrower and almost like ladders in spots. The falls are equally impressive on this side, but the danger element felt stronger on this side than when we were coming down. Add that I was getting tired by this point. This was our first major hike of the season, and we had not had a big hike like this for a couple of years. I began to feel it.
I felt it in a bad way.
Years ago, I needed surgery to repair an unwanted side effect from a different surgery. All the lifting, climbing and straining on this path had caused me to experience a level of pain that was a little too much to handle. I became fearful that I had catastrophically ruptured the repair – in a way that might be a medical emergency.
As a typical man, I whined about the pain and was able to complete the most strenuous sections but kept the fearful part of the source of my pain to myself. The Highland Trail was level and easy-peasy compared to what we had just trekked. Still, each step was hard, and I found it increasingly difficult to lift my leg. Getting into the car required me to lift my leg. After getting to the next campground (hours away and after several more stops), I could finally check out my previous surgery. I was relieved that the meshing did not fail and that I was in no medical emergency. I was just out of shape and seriously overworked my muscles.
The only bad part about this entire hike was some concerning muscle strain, but that made it all worth it because it was a stunning, beautiful display of nature that we had not seen in a very long time. A few hours away, Watkins Glen State Park is the only other place that can rival Ricketts Glen State Park.
- Ricketts Glen State Park has free parking, and it is free to explore Falls Trail and the other trails they have.
- Expect a physically challenging trail, and be mindful of each step. If you are going to look at something, stop!
- Check out All The Places We Have Been to find this location and many others we have travelled to.
