Hiking Guide: Bushkill Falls
The Niagara of Pennsylvania and the Dilemma of Paying for Nature
Sometimes you get nostalgic for a place and that place is not actually your home but rather an area that you visited nearly every weekend with your parents when you were growing up. I spent the formative years of my life on the Delaware River and gallivanting around the Poconos. I did nearly everything the Poconos had to offer with my parents; canoeing, camping and a few summers of whitewater rescue. However, Bushkill Falls remained elusive. I saw the roadside advertisements and heard good things from people we knew who had visited there, but my parents never took me.
So there I was one summer weekend, longing for the nostalgic hug that the Poconos is to me. I asked my son if he wanted to go some place that he has never been and, like any good four year old, he said an excited and unquestioning yes. His enthusiasm made me realize how wonderful it would be if we were to go to a place that we both had never been before. Lots of things are new the Little One, not many are new to me. My mind was set and we jumped in the car and headed to Bushkill Falls.
The Niagara of Pennsylvania
Bushkill Falls is not just one waterfall, there is one main waterfall and seven others. The entire area is 300 acres with over two miles of hiking trails (1). Some of the hiking trails are more rustic than others, but the trails in the gorge and surrounding it have walkways, bridges and staircases. It’s a big place and you could easily spend a day on the trails. It has grown a lot since Charles E Peters first opened it in 1904 with a single trail and swinging bridge over the main falls (1).
In addition to the Main Falls, there are other rather large Falls include the Bridal Veil Falls, Bridesmaid’s Falls, Lower Gorge Falls and Pennell Falls.
There are four well marked trails. The Green Trail is 15 minutes and takes you around views of the Main Falls (1). The Yellow Trail is 45 minutes and takes you around views of the Main Falls and the Upper Canyon (1). The Blue Trail is an hour and 15 minute loop that takes you to up Little Bushkill Creek to Pennell Falls and also passes the Delaware Valley Lookout (1). The Red Trail is a 2 hour and 30 minute loop that takes you to see all eight waterfalls (1). It follows the Blue Trail up Little Bushkill Creek to Pennell Falls and sets out on its own to explore Pine Run Creek, Big Bushkill Creek and the lower Gorge. You can always mix and match between the trails to get a good mix of overlooks and waterfalls. Also, this allows you to adjust for time and distance.
As for our adventure, we mostly did the Red Trail, but cut through on the Red/Blue Trail at Peter’s Corners to get to the Delaware Valley Lookout. The back half of the Red / Blue Trail is about as rustic as the trails get, however, it is still very well marked and maintained. There are some significant periods of rock scrambles where the Red Trail goes up Pine Run Creek to the Bridal Veil Falls and the Bridesmaid’s Falls. In hindsight, I would have gone this way first so the Little One was fresh when he had to tackle them. However, he still made it through without me having to carry him. Even with the stairs, climbing out of the gorge is strenuous, so make sure you allot enough time for adequate breaks. My four year old was literally running circles around me on our way out, but this is just what happens when you get old.
But wait, there’s more ….
Outside of the trails, there is a whole recreation area. Not only are there multiple large picnic area, but also a gift shop, fudge shop and concessions. There is a Bushkill Falls Mining Company Maze as well as Gemstone Mining (1).There is a lake for fishing and a playground. Unfortunately, by the time we finished the hike it was close to closing time and no children remained on the playground. The little One still had fun using the last bit of his energy before we got in the car to go home.
The Dilemma of Paying for Nature
There is an entry fee for the trails. Admission is discounted for Seniors and Children 4 years old to 10 years old (1). Children three years old and younger are free (1). If you plan on fishing, you do need to pay for a fishing permit. However, as Bushkill Falls is privately owned and funded through admission fees / sales. Everything you spend goes to maintenance or improvements or just ongoing operations that are not otherwise funded through public funds.
My parents, while being amazing naturalists who engendered in me a strong love of Nature, were, for lack of a better term, nature snobs. They would automatically shun any place that charged fees to see Nature. For this same reason, I also did not go to many Zoos when I was a child. My parents would generally tolerate fees for campgrounds and camping permits, but that was about it. Their general mentality was “Why should we pay for something that we can explore on our own for free?” There was a monetary aspect to this, as we were definitely a family of limited means, but the money itself was not the only reason. This mentality carried over to me in the form of being somewhat snobby about skiing in a “Why should I pay to fall down a mountain when I can do that on my own for free?” type of way.
However, I am not my parents in this regard. The admission fee is not an automatic deal breaker. The recreational area and the shops outside the trail head are not a turn off. What you are paying for here is access and that is something that younger me probably would not have appreciated as much as 40-year-old me. I might have needed an air lift to get out of that gorge without those stairs and navigating the miles of rock scrambles and goat paths that these trails would be without the walkways and platforms with a 4 year old would have taken the better part of a day instead of just a few hours. And, yes, there are people engaging in commerce outside the trail head, but there are many other trails that have little gift shops in their parking lots. I purchased a walking stick from a little gift shop in the parking lot immediately outside a trail head at Harriman State Park. Yes, that’s right; I paid money for a stick. I still hike with that walking stick but such a purchase would horrify my parents, yet, despite that little gift shop, they both were volunteer trail maintainers there for two decades. Such small encroachments of civilization are honestly nearly unavoidable unless you plan on spending your time in Nature way out in the back country every time you spend time in Nature.
On a larger scale, you’re not just paying for access for yourself but for ongoing access for others who otherwise may not be able to get out and enjoy the Falls without the walkways and staircases. Not everyone is in a place where they can go back country hiking for hours as their primary access to Nature. The admission fee that you pay helps to hold the door open for folks who, for whatever reason, need to engage with Nature at this level or not at all. Paying for Nature also helps to conserve and preserve it by providing a financial incentive to do so. It saves Parks and Preserves that charge fees from being easily brought up and turned into malls or condominiums. Trails and other amenities are kept as pristine as possible to attract more visitors. Also, paying for admission has the psychological effect of making patrons value their visit more, spend more time and be more mindful in doing their part to not damage the Nature that they just paid to see.
I am very personally aware that there is an inflation crisis going on in America today and budgets are tighter than they have ever been. Many folks just do not have a Nature budget. My own Nature budget is a lot more limited than it used to be. This is part of why I wanted to write this guide, specifically for the folks who may be looking at the website and polished pictures and wondering if it is worth it. Let me just say, I really did miss out by not coming here with my parents as a child. It is an amazing hiking experience. It is a hiking experience that could take up an entire day. No paid advertisement here, just my attempt to help folks whose budget may be as tight as mine is decide if this is something they would like to do. I can honestly say that I am a little sad that I did not hike this sooner and more frequently.
Citations
https://www.visitbushkillfalls.com