Ricketts Glen State Park Waterfall PhotographyÂ
At my own expense, I offer all of this to you: a humble tribute to Mother Gaia. It is my hope that you will spread my art and message to others, uplifting and inspiring their souls.
May my works guide photographers illuminating their path toward creating stunning and impactful images that show the raw beauty and essence of life in all its transcendent glory. —Pamela Goodyer
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RICKETTS GLEN WATERFALLS BASICS
Our job is to locate and share some of planet Earth’s most fantastic photography locations with you and the best place to stay. Ricketts Glenn State Park is a very well-known waterfall photography location. This waterfall is very publicized and on many lists, but we can tell you it is a TOP 10 location on the East Coast of the USA. And when we go to this location, we only stay at The Pine Barn Inn.
A CHALLENGING HIKE
Ricketts Glen State Park is a challenging hike with thousands of stairs down and then up. It can be slippery. They have some easy trails, but we don’t think they run along the waterfalls. It’s about a mile and a half downhill, then a mile and a half up the hill on the shortest waterfall route.
We arrived at 7 a.m. and walked out at 4:45 p.m. We have to admit we did skip a section. We had been photographing for hours and were just plain old, running out of steam. Doing every single waterfall as we were doing takes many hours of climbing over rocks, going up and down stairs, and weaseling our way into the best part of the water for the shots to get the proper perspective.
WHERE TO BEGIN PHOTOGRAPHING
We started at the Rose Lake Parking lot and went down the waterfall trail. We took a left to go back to the top instead of going down the one path at the bottom and returning up the same trail before going back up. It was about 5 hours into the hike. You can start at either end and do the circle. If you start with the one-mile walk to the falls trail, you don’t have to do it at the end. We like the falls on the Rose Parking lot side best. There were some falls; we just took one picture and kept going. You can tell which falls make good photography if you have the eye, as most of us do.
NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTERSÂ
DO NOT go here without your Neutral Density Filters! We highly suggest buying Promaster Neutral Density Filters. The ten-stop has no color cast at all! See our STORE for our favorites. If you are uncertain how to photograph waterfalls, you can take a zoom class with Pamela Goodyear. She’ll explain it all to you. Please don’t waste your whole day not knowing how to do it right.
WATERFALLÂ PHOTOGRAPHY MAP
MAPS OF RICKETTS GLEN S.P.:
Be sure to stop by the office and get a map or print one to bring with you. We needed it. At one point, we went the wrong way—good thing we had my map. We set off on the wrong trail from the parking lot, then, with a map, we got back on track.
Glens Natural Area Enlargement Map
PA. Government website for park information
Ricketts Glen State Park
ADDRESS:Â
695 PA-487, Benton, PA 17814, USAPHONE +1 570-477-5675
WEBÂ Visit website
ONEIDA FALLS: A PHOTOGRAPHER’S FAVORITE
Oneida Falls, one of the park’s smaller but still stunning waterfalls, stands at 13 feet. The cascading water gracefully flows over the ledge and continues downstream. To fully appreciate its beauty, you can admire it from the side or venture downstream for a different perspective.
This is a perfect spot to settle in, camera in hand, and capture the falls from various angles. Don’t hesitate to shift your position and explore different viewpoints. Let your lens click away, taking countless shots of this picturesque location. Â
We did not name each of the falls as we went along. We focused on the photography. Maybe on our next trip, we will go by the map and label all the falls. A few fall foliage shots are mixed in with our summer photos from another one of our trips here. This will give you a good idea of which season you would like to do, or do what we did!! Do them all.
IT’S NOT ONLY ABOUT THE WATERFALLS
Be sure to stop along the way. Keep looking. Keep seeing. Look all around for different angles, for different things. Don’t always go where everybody goes. Do something different. See something different, find something different. That’s what Pamela Goodyer does.
You can also turn your photography into art. Some examples are here. Pam also painted some of these images onto canvas.
TUSCARORA FALLS
Named after the nearby tribal village, Tuscarora Falls stands tall at 47 feet and is one of the highest waterfalls in Ganoga Glen. It may not be as impressive as Ganoga Falls, which measures 94 feet, but it has charm and beauty. With cascading drops and a split on its final descent, this waterfall is a picturesque spot and my favorite in the park. While the rocks at the bottom provide a great view, they can be tricky to navigate when the water levels are high.
RICKETTS GLEN STATE PARK INFORMATION
The Waterfall Route is on Falls Trail: 7.2 miles, the most challenging hiking trail.
Lake Rose Parking Lot is the closest access to the Falls Trail. We started here. The entire loop of this trail is 7.2 miles if hiking both the upper and lower sections. The partial trail is a 3.2-mile loop and can be taken by going on the Highland Trail and the Glen Leigh and Ganoga Glen sides of the trail.
We took the 3.2-mile circuit and took 9 hours to photograph correctly. We took probably fifteen long exposures of each waterfall, so judge the timing based on how much you photograph. You will do it much quicker if you take one or two shots of each.
PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE
You must be in good physical condition and take several precautions to participate in this waterfall day.
- Always wear proper hiking boots. If you want to bring along water shoes to stand in the water for your shots, be prepared to take them off and put your hiking boots back on. Sandals and water shoes will cause a fall on these slippery rocks you will encounter.
- Bring water or a survival water pump and food. You will be out all day, so eat right before you go.
- Check the weather before you go, and make sure you plan to get out before dark.
- Let someone know where you are hiking and when you should return. We asked the Park Ranger. They are not allowed to leave at the end of the day if a car is in the parking lot and a person is unaccounted for.
PHOTOGRAPHY INFORMATION
GEAR:
The gear for this hike is more than just camera gear. If you choose to do it this way, it would be an all-day event, so be prepared. Bring your widest-angle lens. The most important thing to bring is your set of Neutral Density Filters. If you don’t have them, don’t go. Buy them first. Here is the link to purchase our favorite filters and the ones we used with our pictures above. A good, sturdy, light tripod to carry all day is a must. Bring extra batteries. We recommend you have three camera batteries if you are doing the 3.2-mile loop or the entire loop. You will be shooting in live view mode all day, and nothing drains the battery as fast as live view. Do not run out of memory cards. Shoot this raw to remove blaring white highlights if the sun pops out. Raw takes up way more room to bring extra cards. Bring them in a waterproof carrying case, just in case.
Bring water and food. A light backpack is good to have on. Thank you to my new friend for saving the day. We were out of snacks and starving when we met fellow photographers Brian Kerr and Voila. He offered us power bars, which got us through to 4:45. The story’s moral: Don’t forget your power bars!! He’s a super cool guy who saved the day!
WHEN TO GO:Â
The most important things to know: Bright sunshine is not our friend when doing waterfall photography, and even the slightest drizzle will make the rocks as slippery as can be here—Timing. We got it right — cloudy skies with occasional sunshine and zero precipitation. We watched the weather and left the night before. We saw perfect conditions. The park is closed for the winter except for those with the proper ice shoes. Be sure to check the exact details with the park on that. Please do not do this on a holiday weekend; that is the best time to do it mid-week. There was barely anyone else there at 7 a.m.
SETTING UP YOUR CAMERA:
1. TRIPOD:
You will need to put your camera on a tripod and expose the image using a remote shutter release. If you don’t have a remote shutter release, you can also use the camera’s 2-second self-timer. However, this will only work if you use a tripod, so if you are new to this, please know that a tripod is an absolute must.
2. LIVE VIEW MODE:
You can use the live view mode we suggest for this location. The mirror automatically locks up when using this mode. Shooting from a lower angle does make more dynamic images.
3. NEUTRAL DENSITY FILTER:
Put your neutral density filter on your camera. Even on a cloudy day, you will want to use an ND filter. It’s like sunglasses for your camera. You can do a more prolonged exposure, which is what makes the milky effect of the water movement. The darker the ND Filter, the longer you can expose it. See how to use a neutral density filter and which ones we suggest.Â
 4. CAMERA SETTINGS:
Set your camera to manual mode, then set the aperture to the smallest one (most will be f/22, some will be f/29). Set your ISO to 100, or the lowest it will go on your camera. Looking through the camera, roll the shutter speed so the exposure level indicator goes to ‘0’ on the exposure scale. Without a filter, you may not get lower than 1/15th sec. or even that low on a sunny day. Â This is why a neutral density filter is so important. We have a 3.0 filter. We can do a 30-second exposure at noon in bright sunshine with that bad boy.
5. 2-SECOND TIMER:
Set your camera on a 2-second timer or use your shutter release to expose the image. Evaluate the image. If your idea has hot spots (areas of overexposed spots), slow your shutter speed down to a stop and test again until it is just right. Remember, the darker the filter, the longer the exposure.
6. EXPOSING PROPERLY:
Check each image as you go so you do not blow out the highlights of the white water. It is better to underexpose your shot than overexpose. You can fix an image that is too dark, but you cannot fix blown-out highlights.
PINE BARN INN
This was our obvious choice of where to stay. There aren’t many places close to the park. Some places are about 15 minutes closer, but this is well worth the extra time to get there. The hotel will provide an outstanding experience from start to finish, and food that is out of this world! From booking through checkout, you will experience nothing but exceptional service. The Pine Barn Inn thrives on hospitality in the tradition of early innkeeping. Plan to stay here on your Rickett’s Glen Waterfall Adventure.
Pleasant lodgings, a rustic tavern, and various cheerful dining rooms combine with a standard for delicious food and excellent service. The Pine Barn Inn is the premier full-service hotel in the Danville, PA, area. The exposed stone walls, antique posts, and beams in the Pine Barn Inn’s dining rooms date back to the 19th century when this typical German bank barn was built on one of Danville’s earliest farms. We picked this hotel due to its fantastic atmosphere.
PINE BARN INN RESTAURANT
Plan on eating here as part of your Waterfall Adventure.
When you finish your waterfall photography in the park, head back to the hotel restaurant to end the day just the right way. The seafood platter is to die for, by the way.
The Pine Barn Inn offers Old-world service—the kind that pampers the patron—and awaits the hungry photographer who ventures into its dining rooms. The menu has just the right options, and the prices are excellent.
The Pine Barn Inn offers an elegant full-course dining experience or casual fare in their tavern. The inn staff will exceed your expectations. Our waitress could not stop smiling, and Jon, who served the table next to ours, had everyone laughing. We had excellent service and food at this beautiful restaurant. We chose fine dining. On our way out to our room, we could hear the live band playing on the patio dining area. Dust in the Wind was playing as we strolled to our building, full bellies and all — what a great feeling at the end of a great photography day.
CAMPING NEAR RICKETTS GLEN
Ricketts Glen State Park –Â Visit the website here.
Red Rock Mountain Campground is just down the street from the State Park.
NEW FREINDS AT RICKETTS GLEN STATE PARK
Here are our new friends, Chris and Melissa McGonigle, whom we met on the trail. We had them hold their breath since they mentioned getting the water to blur in the background, and we did a two-second exposure. The sun was not our friend here, but we didn’t want to make them wait for a cloud. Thanks for letting us take your picture, Chris and Melissa. We hope you had a great hike, too!
We are compiling a master list of all waterfalls and hope you will share your list with us, as many generous photographers have already helped by emailing us their list of falls. We thank you for that! We believe we should all share our information with incredible places to have better subject matter, which helps us to be better photographers. That is why we do what we do. Share your waterfall list here.>> Link to Submit Page
