Ganoga Falls

The main entrance to Ricketts Glen State Park at Lake Jean is located along PA Route 487 between the towns of Lopez and Red Rock, about 25 west-northwest of Wilkes-Barre, or 37 miles east of Williamsport (as the crow flies). From the park entrance, cross the Lake Jean dam and then turn right where signs point to the Lake Rose Trailhead, and follow the road to the large parking area at its end. Additional Parking is available at Beach Lot #2 Trailhead, and at the Route 118 Trailhead (starting at Lake Rose is the shortest approach to the waterfalls). From the Lake Rose Trailhead, follow the Falls Trail to the first junction in about two-tenths of a mile. If you plan on hiking the full loop, this is your return point. We recommend hiking the loop clockwise. To reach the bottom of Ganoga Falls, bear right at the junction and continue for another tenth of a mile to the next junction just after crossing Kitchen Creek on a footbridge, then turn left and begin down the Ganoga Glen Trail. Continue downstream along Ganoga Glen for another 1/2-mile to where the trail reaches the base of the falls. A view of the upper part of the falls can also be had from a ledge part way down the trail as it descends past the falls at a switchback.Ricketts Glen State Park is as close to a Waterfall Mecca as it gets within the United States. Within the confines of the park are 24 named waterfalls and dozens of small scenic cascades in between, all but one of which can be seen via a relatively easy hike in one day. All of the waterfalls occur within the Kitchen Creek drainage, split roughly in half between two branches of the stream which originate in different lakes and marshes on the plateau above the glens, and 5 of the falls found downstream of the confluence of the two branches. Ganoga Falls is the fourth waterfall along the Ganoga Glen branch of Kitchen Creek, as well as the tallest waterfall in Ricketts Glen State Park, and probably one of the top five tallest waterfalls in the state of Pennsylvania – determining exactly where it places will require accurate surveying of several other waterfalls. The falls drop 89 feet in two distinct steps, first tumbling down a stairstep ledge for 48 feet, veiling outward as it falls, and then after a very quick pause on a shelf, plunging an additional 41 feet in a broad curtain form over the second half of its descent. The park literature cites Ganoga Falls as dropping 94 feet, our measurements came in slightly under that figure during our survey in May of 2018, but are close enough to be within the margin of error. This discrepancy in height however may knock it down a place or two in the list of Pennsylvania’s tallest waterfalls, though it should end up no lower than 5th tallest in the state when all is said and done, if not higher (though even at 94 feet, it may be no better than 3rd place). The drainage area for the Ganoga Glen branch of Kitchen Creek covers about 4 square miles upstream of Mohawk Falls at the top of Ganoga Glen, and includes several lakes and areas of marsh which retain ground water well even in dry periods. Though the basin is of moderate size, the volume of water in the creek can vary substantially as the seasons progress, or as severe weather moves through. In general the streamflow will be at its lowest from late July through the end of September, but water will be present year round.Ricketts Glen was named for members of the Ricketts family who settled near Lake Ganoga in the mid-1850s and built a small hunting lodge and tavern on the shore of the lake. The family was not aware of the presence of the waterfalls on Kitchen Creek until 1865 when guests of the hotel wandered down the creek to go fishing. After serving in the Union Army during the Civil War, Robert Bruce Ricketts purchased most of the land which now makes up the park, expanded the hotel, built a lumber mill, and developed trails in the area to allow the waterfalls to be visited as attractions. In 1913 the area was opened to the public, and operated as a private park until it reverted to state control after the Ricketts family sold the land and opened as a state park in 1943. A plan was in place in 1935 to convert Ricketts Glen to a National Park, however funding was sidetracked and thanks to financial hardships of the Great Depression and World War 2, and the National Park never came to fruition. Twenty-two of the named waterfalls in the park were thought to be given their titles by Robert Bruce Ricketts. More than a dozen of the waterfalls were given Native American names, and several others bear the names of members or friends of the Ricketts family. Ganoga is a word from the Seneca dialect meaning roughly "water on the mountain". The falls were at one time, long ago, once also known as Bridal Veil Falls - likely before Ricketts named most of the falls along the branches of Kitchen Creek.