Wildcat Falls is a three-drop waterfall on Wildcat Run in York County, Pennsylvania, near the Susquehanna River, with a lidar-estimated total height of about 45 feet. The falls sit on private property and are closed to public access.
The falls
Lidar data suggests the fall descends in three steps totaling approximately 45 feet on Wildcat Run, also called Wildcat Creek; no tallest-single-drop figure has been published. The stream rises in wetlands, turns north and forms cascades before reaching the Susquehanna River. A local-history account puts the broader descent from the gorge to the river at about 150 feet, a different measurement from the three-drop figure above. The neighboring preserve sits on Cambrian-age Chickies Formation bedrock, predominantly quartzite.
Getting there
Wildcat Falls is on private property with no lawful public trail; the falls remain closed to public access, and no landowner reopening notice has been published. Lancaster Conservancy manages the adjoining Robert A. Kinsley Nature Preserve but states plainly that the falls sit outside the preserve on private land. Preserve parking near the falls, at Furnace Road and Chimney Rock Road and at Furnace Road and River Drive for the Mason-Dixon Trail, does not provide access to the waterfall itself.
When to go
No public visiting season applies, since the waterfall is closed to public access.
On site
No base or top access is authorized; the falls sit behind a private residential lot. Visitors using the adjoining preserve are asked to respect property boundaries and avoid blocking roads. Swimming, dog rules and any incident history at the falls are not documented.
History and name
Wildcat Falls is the historical name for the site. Wildcat Run and nearby Dugan Run once fed the Marietta Gravity Water Company through dammed reservoirs; the Columbia Water Company later removed the dams, before Lancaster Conservancy began acquiring nearby land in 2017. A hotel and the Wildcat Falls Club once stood in the area — the club formed in 1906, and the hotel closed in 1924.
Nearby
Conewago Falls is about 7.8 miles away, Kellys Run Falls about 20.1 miles, and Muddy Falls about 23.8 miles.
Distances are straight-line.