Ricketts Glen State Park

We spent three nights in Ricketts Glen State Park.  The park had been highly recommended for the hiking next to the 29 falls to be found here.  we found nice secluded campsite – #59.  Reservations were unneeded on a Monday in October, but we did have to check in with the office on Tuesday morning to extend our stay by two more nights.Day 1: Drove from Rydal — about 3 hours.  The trees were beginning to change as we climbed to slightly higher elevations.Day 2: After a visit to the camp office, we drove to the trailhead for our hike.  The loop can be done in either direction but we listened to the ranger who suggested a clockwise direction.  The beginning of the walk in that direction is a lovely mostly level stroll through a hardwood forest. Eventually at a right hand turn, a short cut that causes you to miss two of the falls, the 700 foot descent into the glen begins.  I kept thinking: we should not be doing this.  The steepest parts have stone steps which are irregular and have no handrails.  After a while, I chose to go down those on the seat of my pants.  Most of the walk along the lower part of the glen was quite reasonable — slate “pavers” and slight up’s and down’s.  Then we began the hike up.  The trail was similar to the route down with stone steps, but many very steep places with no steps.  As usual, the walk up, though perhaps more rugged, was easier on my knees.  There were a few places where the steps were so high I needed a hand up.This trail is rated hard or rugged.  The state site says extremely hard.  One of our fellow hikers suggested it should be marked with a skull and crossbones.  Others called it a “black diamond” trail.  It took us 5 hours to complete the 3.2 mile loop.After our walk, we sat outside for a while, but the predicted rain began soon.  This was the first rain the area had had since August — 5 weeks with no rain.Day 3: Very wet and a bit of drizzle remained after the inch of rain overnight.  The temperature had dropped from the 70s to the 50s and the wind was blustery.  In the afternoon we took a pleasant 2 mile hike (RT) to the lake beach. A beautiful sandy beach with a beach house and pavilion, but no swimming permitted —. Just wading.

-- Janet (text) and David (photos)