Ricketts Glen State Park - Pennsylvania
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N 41° 17.964 W 076° 16.494
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Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania State Park on 13,050 acres (52.81 km²) in Sugarloaf Townships in Columbia County, Fairmount and Ross townships in Luzerne County, and Colley and Davidson townships in Sullivan County counties in northeastern Pennsylvania in the United States. The park is near Benton and offers hiking, camping (one of the two camping areas is on a peninsula extending into the lake), horseback riding (horses not provided in the park), hunting, swimming, fishing, canoeing
Waymark Code: WM22E0
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 08/23/2007
Views: 87
History
Robert Bruce Ricketts was a veteran of the American Civil War. Colonel Ricketts at one time owned outright or controlled over 80,000 acres (323.75 km²) of land in this area. His heirs, through the Central Penn Lumber Company, sold 48,000 acres (194.25 km²) to the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1920-24. This left them with over 12,000 acres (48.56 km²) surrounding the Ganoga Lake, Lake Jean and Glens area.
Ricketts and the other settlers living in the area were not aware of the glens and their many waterfalls until the 1890s. At that time, a house guest of the Ricketts went fishing and wandered down Kitchen Creek, discovering the many waterfalls and the reason why no fish came up the stream.
Although the area was approved as a national park site in the 1930s, World War II brought an end to this plan for development and in 1942 the heirs sold 1,261 acres (5.1 km²), the Falls and Glens area, to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for a state park. Additional purchases eventually brought the park to its present size. Recreational facilities first opened in 1944.
The Glens Natural Area
The Glens Natural Area, a registered National Natural Landmark since October 12, 1969, is the main scenic attraction in the park. Among giant pines, hemlocks, and oaks, two branches of Kitchen Creek cut through the deep gorges of Ganoga Glen and Glen Leigh and unite at "Waters Meet"; then flow through Ricketts Glen. Many of the magnificent trees in this area are over 500 years old, and ring counts on fallen trees have revealed ages as high as 900 years. Diameters of almost 4 feet (1.2 m) are common, and many trees tower to 100 feet (30 m) in height. The area is the meeting ground of the southern and northern hardwood types, creating an extensive variety of trees. In 1993, the Glens Natural Area became a State Park Natural Area and will be protected and maintained in a natural state.
Waterfall in the Glens Natural AreaA series of trails, covering a total of 5 miles (8 km) parallels the streams as they course down the Glens. Glen Leigh features eight waterfalls. Ganoga Glen has ten named falls, including 94 feet (29 m) Ganoga Fall, plus another good-sized unnamed waterfall on a side tributary. Ricketts Glen has three waterfalls just below Waters Meet, and two more 2 miles (3 km) farther downstream at PA route 118. One of these two is directly below the highway bridge, which obscures much of the view. The farthest downstream, Adams Fall, is one of the most scenic falls in the park, and is just 0.1 miles (0.2 km) south of Pennsylvania Route 118, via an easy stroll along a trail from the parking lot.
The Glen hikes described here also include the 1 mile (1.6 km) Highland Trail, which connects the top ends of Glens Ganoga and Leigh to form a triangle; this trail features the "Midway Crevasse," a formation of large rocks. A map is available at the park office near the lake.
Hiking the entire Glens area beginning and ending at PA 118 yields a 7 miles (11 km) hike that includes the Highland Trail. For a shorter hike, one may park at Lake Rose, near the junction of Ganoga Glen and the Highland Trail. It is possible to see all of the waterfalls except the two near the highway by hiking around the triangular area: Highland Trail / Glen Leigh / Ganoga Glen. The distance around the triangle is 3 miles (5 km). An optional side trip from Waters Meet along the three falls in the top of Ricketts Glen, then back to Waters Meet, adds 0.5 miles (0.8 km).
In addition to the above, for those wishing an easy walk to the largest fall, there is a longer but more gradual side trail that leads from the bridge at the top of Ganoga Glen on a winding path through the woods to a point near 94-foot Ganoga fall. There are other hiking trails along the lake and nearby in the forest, and several more trails pass through more isolated areas of the park.
Like all Pennsylvania state parks, Ricketts Glen charges no admission fee.
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