Water spreads into a thin veil over layered bedrock at Onondaga Falls, a 15-foot drop on Glen Leigh Branch in Ricketts Glen State Park, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.
The falls
An overhang above the ledge breaks the flow into a partial veil. A tape measurement in 2018 read 19 feet, but a one-meter lidar analysis supports about 15 to 16 feet, and the fall is listed at 15 feet. The lake-fed branch runs year-round and is usually lowest from late July through September.
Getting there
From Lake Rose, the Highland Trail runs about 0.8 mile to the Glen Leigh cutoff; the falls sit a few hundred feet upstream of that junction, with a footbridge just below it. The park is open daily from sunrise to sunset, and day-use areas close at dusk. Pennsylvania state parks charge no entrance or day-use fee.
When to go
Flow is usually lowest from late July through September. The Falls Trail is steep, rocky and slippery, and it is closed in winter except to properly equipped ice climbers and hikers.
On site
The shorter option for reaching the park's major falls runs about 3.2 miles, and the complete Falls Trail loop covers 7.2 miles; both are rated in the park's most-difficult category. Swimming is allowed only at the park's designated beach, not at the waterfalls along the Falls Trail. An accessible viewpoint and any Onondaga-specific accident record are not documented.
History and name
Onondaga Falls is the uppermost named fall in Glen Leigh.
Nearby
Shawnee Falls is about 0.2 mile away, Huron Falls about 0.3 mile, Ozone Falls about 0.4 mile, and R B Ricketts Falls about 0.5 mile, all on the same branch.
Distances are straight-line.