Onondaga 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 Onondaga Falls, bear left at the junction and follow the Highland Trail for about eight-tenths of a mile to the Glen Leigh Cut-off, then head right and downhill towards Kitchen Creek to the main Glen Leigh trail. Turn left and continue just a few hundred feet upstream to a footbridge below the falls.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. Onondaga Falls is the uppermost waterfall along the Glen Leigh branch of Kitchen Creek. The falls cascade over layered bedrock, with a partial overhang in the upper third of the falls creating a free-falling veil type effect for part of the falls. The park maps officially recognize this waterfall as 15 feet tall, our measurements in May of 2018 showed it to be slightly taller at 19 feet. The drainage area for the Glen Leigh branch of Kitchen Creek covers about 2 square miles upstream of Onondaga Falls, and includes a small lake and several marshy areas which retain ground water throughout the year. 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.