Thank you guys!
I definitely encourage people to visit this park. Some interesting tidbits I've learned about the place since my visit....
The Ricketts family originally owned most of the land that the park sits on today, starting with Elijah and his brother Clemuel purchasing 5,000 acres around Long Pond (now Ganoga Lake) in 1851. Eventually, over 80,000 acres were owned by the Ricketts family in what are now Sullivan, Luzerne, and Columbia counties, and included the as-yet-unknown glens. The glens and waterfalls were not discovered until 1865, 14 years after the original purchase, when two of the Ricketts' guests decided to hike down Kitchen Creek to do some fishing. Can you imagine their surprise?
Elijah's son, Robert Bruce Ricketts, was a colonel in the Civil War. He returned to the area when the war ended, and began purchasing the land from his father. He renamed Long Pond as Ganoga Lake, and named the falls after Native American tribes, family, and friends. Colonel Ricketts died in 1918, and his heirs sold 48,000 acres of land to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. This eventually became most of what is now a game management area west of the park. In 1942, R.B.'s heirs sold a 1,260 acre parcel surrounding the glens to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and Ricketts Glen State Park was opened in 1944. Through various land transactions with the family and nearby landowners, the park today is 13,050 acres in size. 10,000 of those acres originally belonged to the Ricketts family.
(summarized from various online sources, including Wikipedia and Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources)
I also noticed in the Wikipedia article that they list "Kitchen Creek [Falls]" and "Shingle Cabin Falls" as two of the park's 24 named falls. We saw Kitchen Creek Falls as well, but didn't count it because it wasn't one of the named falls. That brings our stats to 23 falls, adding 9 feet to the ascent and descent totals. I took some shots but they came out horrible. The falls is actually under Rte 118 and required crawling under the bridge to view it. It is directly above Adams Falls, and is not labeled on the park brochure maps. Nor is Shingle Cabin Falls, however Shingle Cabin Creek is. I can only assume that those falls are on that creek. There are several off trail tributaries that look like they may hold more falls based on topo maps. I think it'd be worth exploring those as well.
Ok, I'm done rambling....
Pennsylvania Waterfalls
- Matt
- President
- Posts: 13374
- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
- Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
- Location: Rochester, NY
- Contact:
wow...
Maybe when I finish with all the waterfalls in NYState....
PAFalls.com available?
Maybe when I finish with all the waterfalls in NYState....
PAFalls.com available?
-
- Rookie
- Posts: 14
- Joined: Sun Sep 27, 2009 3:33 pm
- Camera Model: Canon EOS 40D
- Location: Lebanon, Pa
I was just at Ricketts Glen a week ago. I didn't do the whole park, I just hiked up the last section of the gorge, the one I usually skip (it only has 3 falls in it). Normally I don't get out to falls during July or August because they are mostly dried up in PA when the summer sets in, but there was a line of severe storms moving through last Sunday morning that dumped about 2 inches of rain. By the time I got there at 2 in the afternoon, the rain had moved out and surprisingly nice flow for summer was my reward for chancing it:
Harrison Wright Falls:
Murray Reynolds Falls:
Adams Falls:
I have some shots of Sheldon Reynolds Falls but the water was an ugly murky brown, not transparent at all, at the base of the falls and I decided to pass on those shots haha
Harrison Wright Falls:
Murray Reynolds Falls:
Adams Falls:
I have some shots of Sheldon Reynolds Falls but the water was an ugly murky brown, not transparent at all, at the base of the falls and I decided to pass on those shots haha
- Kelly
- Editor
- Posts: 5601
- Joined: Sun Jun 08, 2008 9:23 am
- Camera Model: Canon EOS 50D, EOS 7D Mi & ii, Rebel t3i, Canon M50
- Location: West Henrietta, NY
- Contact:
Just gorgeous!
I am strong, because I've been weak.
I am fearless, because I've been afraid.
I am wise, because I've been foolish.
- Unknown
My NYFalls.com Team Page
Scenes from a Public Market
New York Historic
I am fearless, because I've been afraid.
I am wise, because I've been foolish.
- Unknown
My NYFalls.com Team Page
Scenes from a Public Market
New York Historic
- hobkyl
- Moderator
- Posts: 2671
- Joined: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:55 am
- Camera Model: Pentax K30
- Location: Victor, NY
- Matt
- President
- Posts: 13374
- Joined: Sun Apr 23, 2006 5:01 pm
- Camera Model: Olympus OMD EM-1 m1, m2; Panasonic GM5, Osmo Pocket
- Location: Rochester, NY
- Contact:
very nice
- HaloGirl
- Veteran Board Expert
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:16 am
- Camera Model: Canon PowerShot SX10 IS & Applie iPhone
- Location: Ashburn, VA
- Contact:
Great shots, Daimon!