Valley Girl Views: Seven Sights, Without A Hike

Whether taking along an elderly family member, or recovering from knee surgery - there are just days where walking straight up the side of the mountain to see a waterfall is simply not ideal. That's ok - in this valley, we have options! There are many great mostly flat and easy trips available too.
Here are a few of the easiest trips we have taken:

1. Adams Falls at Ricketts Glen. When we think of Ricketts Glen, we tend to think of the large loop hike, with over 20 spectacular waterfalls. But one of my favorite waterfalls is just down a small hill (with stairs), from a parking lot! If you want a little more of a walk, you can cross the road and hike up the bottom of the falls trail. This is a pretty easy hike, unlike the rest of the trail, it's not overly steep. You can see three waterfalls from the bottom to the Waters Meet area. (The loop trail is actually more of a Q - this bottom part is the tail of the Q) https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2012/08/adams-falls-at-ricketts-glen.html

2. Lions & Tigers & Bears - Oh My! Visit T&D's Cats Of The World wildlife refuge. Nestled into the woods near Penns Creek is a wildlife refuge, where you can get amazingly close to live tigers and bears. This is a nice walk - flat surfaces, very much like a zoo. Admission is $10 a person, and when we visited, they did not accept credit cards. They have limited hours, so be sure to check their website before visiting. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2014/09/t-ds-cats-of-world.html

3. A Waterfall You Can See From Your Car. Dry Run falls, which never actually seems to be dry, is one of the prettiest waterfalls we've visited - and you can see if from your car. There is a picnic area at the top, and those who don't mind a scramble down the bank can stand in the water at the bottom of the falls. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/06/dry-run-waterfall.html If you are looking for more things to do while in the area, here are some more ideas - https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/06/waterfalls-overlooks-geocaches-ice.html

4. Walk around the abandoned bunkers in the game lands near Elimsport Pa. A series of nice flat trails will take you past the many bunkers leftover from the TNT plant built here for the war effort. If you don't want to walk at all, you can park right beside several of the bunkers. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-alvira-bunkers.html

5. Mill Creek Falls on the Loyalsock. Located about 30 minutes north of Montoursville, in Sullivan County Pa, this is a very easy to get to waterfall just a short walk (around 1/4 of a mile) from the parking area. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/06/mill-creek-falls-on-loyalsock.html

6. The Pennsylvania Geyser. You can drive right up to, and park beside, this Pennsylvania Oddity near Ashland Pa. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-pennsylvania-geyser.html

7.Have Dinner With A Bobcat. The Union County Sportsmans Club, located near Weikert PA, is a true hidden gem in our area. They have a mini zoo, a beautiful walking path down along the creek, mini golf, and some of the cheapest meals around. (You can visit, and eat, even if you are not a member) On Sunday nights last summer they had a burger and fries special for $1.25! After walking around the wildlife refuge, you can continue your walk down the path by the creek. It's a beautiful, flat, walk. https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/06/dinner-with-bear-bobcat-for-under-125.html

#8 - I know, I said 7... call this a bonus! The Mount Pisgah Altare, open from dusk to dawn, is a beautiful overlook on Shade Mountain, outside of New Berlin Pa. Owner Robert Cryan said that on a clear day, you can view 8 counties from here.

https://susquehannavalley.blogspot.com/2019/07/he-mt-pisgah-altare-in-new-berlin-pa.html

Road Trip!
These places are a bit more of a drive, but will still be a fairly easy to access -

Hear The Rocks Sing at Ringing Rocks Park. Although walking across the top of the rocks can be a bit challenging here, the walk to the rocks, and to the waterfall here, is mostly flat and easy. This is a bit of a road trip, located in Bucks County Pa.

A Waterfall With Fire! The Eternal Flame Waterfall in upstate new york is unique, in that there is a small cave with a fire burning behind it. Almost all of this trail is wide, flat, and easy - but to get to the waterfall you will need to walk along, or in, the creek a bit, and while still pretty easy, you may need to walk on slippery wet rocks to see the flame.

Nay Aug Falls, near Scranton PA, is a waterfall in a park. There's a wide, mostly flat, less than half a mile, walking path to the falls.

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