A Hike On The Quiet And Remote Cherry Springs Loop Trail in Ricketts Glen State Park

It’s been almost a year since I last hiked in Ricketts Glen State Park, another one of the beautiful State Parks near my home in Luzerne County. I decided to return on Saturday and explore a new trail in the 13, 000 acre park located at the edge of the Allegheny Plateau in Columbia, Luzerne and Sullivan Counties.

The park, established in 1944 is a National Natural Landmark because of its 24 waterfalls and old growth forests. I wasn’t going to hike down the waterfalls trail, it gets too crowded on weekends. I decided on the Cherry Springs trail which was described as muddy , wet and remote. Perfect for finding some edible mushrooms and maybe a black bear. After parking near the Falls Trail I first walked down to Lake Jean. It was a sunny morning with cool temperature.   It was quiet aloin the scenic lake.  There was just an elderly couple walking there dog and this mallard duck swimming on the lake.

I walked back to the parking lot and begin my hike on the Falls Trail.  Usually I see dozens of folks on this trail that leads to the beautiful waterfalls for which Ricketts Glen is famous.

There was no one on the trail early Saturday morning. In fact, I would see only one other person, a hiker, on the next 6 miles of trails.

It was about a mile Dalkon  a wide trail  under a mostly hemlock woodland until I left the Falls Trail. There was little wildlife or bird activity on the trail. I heard a few red-eyed vireos in the tree  tops   but didn’t see or hear any other birds.   I followed the a more rocky and overgrown trail down a hillside, into the rising sun,

and came to the ruins of the   Lake Leigh Dam.  This dam was built in 1907 for a hydroelectric project that failed.

The Cherry Springs Trail begins here and I followed it up a ridge , on , I believe,  an old railroad right of way associated with the  timber industry over 150 years ago.

The trail was a little rocky and took me through a woodland of mostly second growth hemlock trees with some large black cherry trees that survived the logging operations. There were many stumps which I believe were oak trees,

and oak stumps are great, not for the poor oak trees, but for mushroom foragers like me. I  soon found rhe first of five chicken of the woods mushrooms growing on an oak stump,

and I also found one growing on an ancient black cherry tree, These mushrooms are edible,   delicious, and easy to identify. Both of these were a little too old to harvest.

There were also some platterful mushrooms growing in the shade of the hemlock and  black cherry trees.

There wer no wildflowers blooming along the trail but their were many ferns and mosses including, intermediate wood ferns,

hay-scented ferns ,

cinnamon ferns ,

shining club moss,

and flat-branched tree clubmoss.

I continued  on the trail, which became rocky and muddy in spots, for about two miles.

with the black cheery trees , for which the trail was named towering over the second growth hemlock trees.

There was still very little wildlife or bird activity in the mostly hemlock woodlands, but I did see a few downy or  hairy woodpeckers high in the tree tops, and a flock of black-capped chickadees.

There were a few red efts, the land stage of the eastern( red-spotted ) newts, crawling along the trail.

The trail took me to a fork and split   into  the Little Cherry Run Trail and the Mountain Spring Trail.  I followed the Mountain Springs Trail  ,

which took me along the  Cherry Spring creek. .

It was a nice trail along the creek. I loved the sound of the water flowing along the trail and over some small waterfalls.

Large boulders were now scattered along the ravine along trail.

I walked along the creek over a narrow trail which kept taking me deeper into  a ravine.

As the sides of the ravine became steeper I knew I was eventually going to have a steep hike back up the trail.

There were still a lot of hemlock trees along the trail but also some more oak, beech , birch and black cherry trees. In addition to the ferns and mosses I saw e few wood asters blooming along the trail. .

 Partridge berry,

fan club-moss,

wood sorrel

and painted trillium plants. I rarely see these painted trillium flowers anymore. They are beautiful in early Spring and I may hike down here next Spring just to see them.

Although there was no wildlife along the creek I enjoyed the sounds of the flowing water and the solitude of the trail.The trail took me to a bridge that crossed  the creek.

I followed the other side of the creek a short distance, when it left left the creek .  I hiked about a mile along the stream. I now  began the two mile hike back to Leigh Lake. The trail split here again and one fork in the split followed the Mountain Springs Trail out to a dried up former lake. I followed the trail back to Lake Leigh

The trail was not as steep as I had anticipated. It followed a series  cutbacks  as it looped up the hillside.

The cutbacks in the loop were steep but there were long flat stretches of trail to recover from the steep climbs.

Along the way I heard a few red-eyed vireos and saw a flock of dark eyed juncos. It was difficult to photograph the birds in the dense, mostly hemlock forest, 

As the trail continued up the ridge it became rocky and muddy in spots. It has been a dry month and I would imagine the trail would get very  wet  if we had some rain.

There were some oaks trees and oak stumps  in these wet conditions along the trail   Here  I found this young chicken mushroom. which was perfect for eating for I harvested it.

I also  saw these oak loving collyria mushrooms and

this red mouth bolete mushroom growing along the trail.

I still had only seen only one other person on the six miles I had hiked as I approached Lake Leigh.

Near the ruins I saw a few more late Summer wildflowers in bloom including these invasive bull thistles,

and oxeye daisies,

and this native daisy fleabane flower.  Here is a link to  gallery on my blog website with some more photos of the flowers, ferns and mushrooms I saw on my 7 mile hike. Ricketts Glen plants and mushrooms August 23 2025. 

I had hiked 6 miles when I reached Lake Leigh and the end of the Cherry Springs Trail loop. I had seen only 3 people, the two walking their dog and the backpacker on the trail.Returning to the Falls trail I encountered a steady stream of people in the trail hiking toward the 24 beautiful waterfalls.

There were solo hikers, young and old couples, families with children and grandchildren,, and large groups of young folks. I probably walked past over 50 people on the mile trail back to the parking lot. I was glad to see so many people enjoying the beauty of nature.

I walked back down to Lake Jean and saw a changed scene here too. There was a dozen folks enjoying the beach along the scenic lake and a lot of young folks, I think they were local college students, playing volleyball or hanging picnic lunches. It was nice to see these folks enjoying the beauty of this State Park, and , although I saw little wildlife , I was glad to enjoy the solitude on my hike on the remote Cherry Springs Trail in  beautiful Ricketts Glen State Park.Here is a link to  gallery on my blog website with some more photos from   my 7 mile hike. Ricketts Glen  State Park August 23 2025.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” — Robert Frost