PA Grand Canyon Trip

The first stop on your scenic journey across Pennsylvania is Ricketts Glen State Park. Ricketts Glen is known for its spellbinding, free-flowing waterfalls, each tumbling through clefts in a hillside. Ganoga Falls is the highest of the 22 waterfalls, coming in at 94 feet. To check out all of the waterfalls, make sure to take a hike on the 7.2-mile Falls Trail; it’s not exactly a quick and easy hike, but definitely worth the work. For those who would like a more low-key hike, the park has a variety of relaxing paths, including the Beach Trail, which takes you right up to Lake Jean.

Located in the valley of Loyalsock Creek, Worlds End State Park is another gem to check out on your trip. The 780-acre park is surrounded by Loyalsock State Forest, offering beautiful photo opportunities of the mountainous and tree-lined landscape. The park boasts a small swimming area formed by a mountain stream, which is a popular place to cool off after a long hike during the summer. Loyalsock Creek is also known for its whitewater boating opportunities, which are at their peak between March and May. The park’s photo ops range from High Knob Vista to the Endless Mountains. Don’t forget to pack your camera!

Known as the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, Pine Creek Gorge is a must-see. The canyon runs 47 miles across Pennsylvania, and reaches a depth of 1,450 feet. For those looking to hike along it, the Turkey Path at Leonard Harrison State Park takes you past cascading waterfalls and breathtaking panoramic views. The trail descends down into the bottom of the canyon, so you can see a beautiful view of the gorge from both above and below. The Gorge is also a popular destination during the wintertime, as the surrounding state forest has over 177 miles of snowmobiling trails.

For a totally different view of Pennsylvania, head to Kinzua Bridge State Park. The main feature of the park is the skywalk, an old railroad trestle bridge turned epic trail. The trestle, which was once the tallest and longest railroad structure at 2,053 feet long and 301 feet tall, had been abandoned for years, then suffered further damage from a tornado in 2003. It’s been rebuilt as the totally awesome skywalk. Visitors can walk along the rebuilt bridge and take in the sweeping views of the Kinzua Gorge, and, if you’re brave enough, peer down below from the partial glass platform at the end of the skywalk.