Ricketts Glen and the North Branch
39 waterfalls · Luzerne County, Sullivan County, Wyoming County, Lackawanna County, and Tioga County
The glens on the southern edge of the North Mountain plateau hold Pennsylvania's greatest concentration of falls. In Ricketts Glen State Park, which straddles Luzerne and Sullivan counties, two branches of Kitchen Creek descend through old-growth hemlock forest in a long series of named falls connected by the Falls Trail, a steep, rocky route with dozens of stone steps. The Laporte area of Sullivan County adds more remote falls in state forest land. To the east, Nay Aug Falls in Scranton is an urban gorge falls with observation decks, and Wyoming and Tioga counties add scattered falls in the plateau's deep valleys.
Start with: Nay Aug Falls, Dry Run Falls, Dutchman Falls, Fallbrook Falls, Buttermilk Falls
Poconos and the Delaware Water Gap
33 waterfalls · Pike County, Monroe County, Wayne County, Carbon County, and Schuylkill County
Tributaries of the Delaware River drop off the Pocono Plateau in a series of short, steep ravines. Within the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Dingmans Falls, described as 130 feet high, and nearby Silverthread Falls are reached by a boardwalk trail, and Raymondskill Falls descends in three tiers near Milford. Bushkill Falls, the state's most reviewed waterfall, is a privately owned park with eight falls and a network of trails and bridges. Around East Stroudsburg and Mountainhome, Monroe County adds more, while Hawk Falls in Hickory Run State Park in Carbon County is reached on a short forest trail.
Start with: Bushkill Falls, Dingmans Falls, Hawk Falls, Raymondskill Falls, Marshalls Falls
Laurel Highlands
10 waterfalls · Fayette County, Somerset County, Westmoreland County, and Cambria County
Southwestern Pennsylvania's falls are set on the high ridges of Laurel Hill and Chestnut Ridge and in the gorges that cut through them. At Ohiopyle State Park, Ohiopyle Falls spans the Youghiogheny River, a broad drop known for marking the start of the river's whitewater runs, and Cucumber Falls nearby can be viewed from above or reached by stairs to its base. Cole Run Falls in Somerset County and Adams Falls in Linn Run State Park in Westmoreland County are smaller, shaded falls in forest settings. Cambria County adds small falls on steep tributary streams near Johnstown.
Start with: Cucumber Falls, Ohiopyle Falls, Cole Run Falls, Adams Falls, Creek Falls
Western Pennsylvania Gorges
8 waterfalls · Lawrence County, Beaver County, Mercer County, Crawford County, and Erie County
Northwestern Pennsylvania was glaciated, and meltwater carved steep gorges into the sandstone of the region. In Lawrence County, McConnells Mill State Park protects the gorge of Slippery Rock Creek, and Hells Hollow Falls is a small, pretty fall reached by a short trail in the same park. Quakertown Falls is another Lawrence County site. Beaver, Mercer and Crawford counties add scattered falls along creek valleys, and Erie County's single named fall lies near the Lake Erie shore, where small streams cut ravines through layered shale on their way to the lake.
Start with: Hells Hollow Falls, Quakertown Falls, Springfield Falls, Howard Falls, Grant City Falls
