Ricketts Glen State Park

[mute]

Wondering if anyones ever been to this state park for hiking and stream fishing purposes and how they enjoyed it.

 

[pcray1231]

Been there, enjoyed it very much. It's a well worn hiking trail and you won't get away from other people in that canyon, but its not super easy, be ready to climb a lot of rock. But amazing scenery and big waterfalls. Definitely have yourself a good camera along.

Can't fish in the park. Wish you could, there were lots of brookies in those big plunge pools, you could see em. There are plenty of places just out of the park to fish, but I did not take part when I was there.

 

[bikerfish]

it's the gem of our state park system. pcray is right, no fishing the streams in the park, which is a bummer, but the hike and the waterfalls are well worth it! the campground can get crowded and noisy, if your looking for solitude, forget this time of year. still a beautiful place though!
there is a lake which probably holds bass and bgills, it's right near the campground.
a little fact, the property was originally given to the us gov by the owners for it to become a natl park, but ww2 kinda got in the way so the us gov gave it to pa to become a state park.

 

[redrockgrizzly]

you can fish below 118. lots of brookies in there. there are many small brook trout streams around. just got to do some looking on maps. the water is pretty low up there so it might be tough fishing. kitchen creek down by pattersons grove is stocked and has a few natives in it. i think its sgl 206 out rt 118 east has a bunch of small streams. huntington creek goes through there. find a map and start looking.

back when i was a kid, early teenage years, 13 or 14, a buddy and i made the trip up the falls and did some fishing. there are some big brookies up there. there are plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives up there. we grabbed the worms, small ultra lights and the running shoes and we took a hike up the mountain. we did it during a bad rain storm in the spring and we didnt see one person. we caught tons of fish. we kept our 8 fish limit. most of the fish we kept were 10 to 12 inches. every big fish we caught we must of caught 8 to 10 small ones. it was a one time thing. we did it just to say we did it. ah, brings back memories.

 

[bikerfish]

you had one heck of a backyard to play in!!!

 

[troutbert]

redrockgrizzly wrote:

there are plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives up there.

If there are plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in that stream, why aren't there plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in other PA freestone streams?

On another topic, the falls are really spectacular and anyone who hasn't seen them owes it to themselves to go see them.

But go when there is good flow. A falls is spectacular when there is plenty of water. When there is just a trickle coming over it's not so impressive.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

If there are plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in that stream, why aren't there plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in other PA freestone streams?

Because you cant fish for them ;-)

 

[pcray1231]

If there are plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in that stream, why aren't there plenty of 10 to 12 inch natives in other PA freestone streams?

There are.

Kitchen Creek is very large for a brookie stream, and has extraordinary habitat in the form of big, deep plunge pools. Given that habitat, having some 10+ inchers, mixed in with the smaller fish, is the norm, not the exception.

Of course, a wild brook trout stream having that kind of habitat is the exception, not the norm.

 

[fritz]

Yes--really nice park and well worth the trip. If you hike the falls trail, consider starting at the lower parking area off rt 118 so you can see the very old and large hemlocks.

As others said--good brookie fishing nearby.

 

[redrockgrizzly]

there are some very deep holes up there on the falls plus some very cold water then add that to the fact that fishing isnt allowed -- there are some big fish up there. (by pa native brookie standards of course)

 

[redrockgrizzly]

i did have a fun backyard to play in. when i was a kid, i used to fish kitchen creek and huntington creek alot. huntington creek has some surprisingly big brownies in it but always tough to catch though.
nowadays, im lucky to fish kitchen creek once a year. maybe ill head up there as soon as the water comes up.

 

[riverwhy]

How is the water very cold? Doesn't it come off an overflow dam with a little campground effluent mixed in?
Jay P

 

[redrockgrizzly]

trust me, its cold. some of the water does come from lake jean, but there are a few small streams that enter into it. plus going through that deep valley covered by huge hemlocks, it stays cold all year long.

 

[Chaz]

I agree with TB, I was in Idaho back in the 90's and went to Shosone Falls with the advise, it's bigger than Niagra Falls. What they didn't tell me was that the water was turned off at the dam just above the falls, only a thin thread of water was going over the falls. A huge disappointment.
As for rain there hasn't been any in the Northern tier recently.