Ricketts Glen State Park

Geobox Protected Area
name = Ricketts Glen State Park
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category_local = Pennsylvania State Park
category_iucn = II


image_caption = One of the many waterfalls at Ricketts Glen State Park
etymology_type = Named for
etymology = Robert Bruce Ricketts
country = United States
state = Pennsylvania
region_type = Counties
region = Columbia
region1 = Luzerne
region2 = Sullivan
district_type =
district =
city =
city1 =
location =
lat_d = 41
lat_m = 19
lat_s = 34
lat_NS = N
long_d = 76
long_m = 16
long_s = 46
long_EW = W
location_note = cite web | url=Gnis3|1199942 | title="Ricketts Glen State Park" | date = August 2 1979 | work=Geographic Names Information System | publisher=United States Geological Survey | accessdate=2007-12-20]
elevation_imperial = 2198
elevation_round = 1
elevation_note =
area_unit = acre
area_imperial = 13050
area_note =
area_round = 1
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lowest =
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geology =
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established_type =
established = 1942
established_note =
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management_body = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
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free_type = Nearest city
free = Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
free1_type =
free1 =


map_caption = Location of Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania
map_locator = Pennsylvania
map_first =
website = [http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/STATEPARKS/PARKS/rickettsglen.aspx Ricketts Glen State Park]

Ricketts Glen State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on convert|13050|acre|km2|2 in Sugarloaf Township in Columbia County, Fairmount and Ross townships in Luzerne County, and Colley and Davidson townships in Sullivan County, 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 and kayaking on convert|245|acre|km2|2|sing=on Lake Jean, as well as cross-country skiing and ice fishing in the winter.

The park contains the Glens Natural Area, a National Natural Landmark; the Falls Trail passes twenty-two named waterfalls, the highest being convert|94|ft|m|1 Ganoga Falls. Ricketts Glen State Park is one of twenty-one chosen by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Parks for its "Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks" list. [cite web| url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/twenty/20parks.aspx | title = Twenty Must-See Pennsylvania State Parks | accessdate = 2007-08-08| publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources "Note: Despite the title, there are twenty-one parks in the list, with Colton Point and Leonard Harrison State Parks treated as one."]

History

Robert Bruce Ricketts was a veteran of the American Civil War. Colonel Ricketts at one time owned outright or controlled over convert|80000|acre|km2|2 of land in this area. His heirs, through the Central Penn Lumber Company, sold convert|48000|acre|km2|2 to the Pennsylvania Game Commission from 1920-24. This left them with over convert|12000|acre|km2|2 surrounding the Ganoga Lake, Lake Jean and Glens area.cite web
url =http://www.rootsweb.com/~pasulliv/sullivancountyfolk/scf3/Ricketts.htm
title = Ricketts family history and photographs
accessdate = 2005-07-01
publisher = Robert E. Sweeney]

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 convert|1261|acre|km2|2, 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 convert|4|ft|m|1 are common, and many trees tower to convert|100|ft|m|0 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.cite web
url = http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/rickettsglen.aspx
title = Ricketts Glen State Park
accessdate = 2005-07-01
publisher = Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources]

A series of trails, covering a total of convert|5|mi|km|0 parallels the streams as they course down the Glens. Glen Leigh features eight waterfalls. Ganoga Glen has ten named falls, including the convert|94|ft|m|0|adj=on Ganoga Fall, plus another good-sized unnamed waterfall on a side tributary. Ricketts Glen has three waterfalls just below Waters Meet, and two more convert|2|mi|km|0 farther downstream at PA route 118. One of these two, Kitchen Creek Fall, 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 convert|0.1|mi|km|1 south of Pennsylvania Route 118, via an easy stroll along a trail from the parking lot.

The Glen hikes described here also include the convert|1|mi|km|1 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 convert|7|mi|km|0 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 convert|3|mi|km|0. An optional side trip from Waters Meet along the three falls in the top of Ricketts Glen, then back to Waters Meet, adds convert|0.5|mi|km|1.

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.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks are within convert|30|mi|km|0 of Ricketts Glen State Park: [cite map |scale = 1:65,000| publisher= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/columbia_GHSN.pdf| title= 2007 General Highway Map Columbia County Pennsylvania | accessdate= 2007-07-27 "Note: shows Ricketts Glen State Park"] cite web
last = Michels
first = Chris
year = 1997
url = http://www2.nau.edu/~cvm/latlongdist.html
title = "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculation"
publisher = Northern Arizona University
accessdate = 2008-04-23] [cite map |scale = 1:65,000| publisher= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/luzerne_GHSN.pdf| title= 2007 General Highway Map Luzerne County Pennsylvania | accessdate= 2007-07-27 "Note: shows Ricketts Glen State Park"] [cite map |scale = 1:65,000| publisher= Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Planning and Research, Geographic Information Division | url= ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/pdf/BPR_pdf_files/Maps/GHS/Roadnames/sullivan_GHSN.pdf| title= 2007 General Highway Map Sullivan County Pennsylvania | accessdate= 2007-07-27 "Note: shows Ricketts Glen State Park"]
*Frances Slocum State Park (Luzerne County)
*Nescopeck State Park (Luzerne County)
*Worlds End State Park (Sullivan County)

References

External links

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