This small waterfall in the Allegheny National Forest is a fun hike in any season, but we found it to be especially magical in winter! It can be found just outside of Sheffield, PA. Take Rt 6 to Ludlow and drive about 3 miles along decently maintained roads, used mostly for gas interests, to arrive at the small parking area for Hector Falls. It can be accessed year-round; my daughter and I visited in February, on a snowy day, in our Toyota Prius. The GPS coordinates were accurate, but as reinforcement, a large HF was spray-painted on a roadside tree in the parking area.
From the parking area, the trail is wide and clear. It travels through a forested area of mostly Beech and Hemlock trees. The walk is about 1 mile from the parking area to the falls.
The trail descends in elevation until it meets a small stream. This stream eventually meets with a branch of the Tionesta Creek. Once you get to this small stream, turn right. The trail follows the stream for just a short bit before arriving at the top of Hector Falls.
It is neat to peer over the top of the falls, but the better views are from below. Continue your descent around some large boulders and the water fall appears through cracks in the rocks.
It is easy, in our cold and grey winters, to hide indoors. It is almost too easy to not venture out, to blame a sedentary nature on foul weather or difficult travel. I invite you to change your perspective. By looking at this waterfall through a different lens, so to speak, I was able to capture a beautiful moment in nature and share it with my daughter. I hope to have many more of these moments and I will not take them for granted.
This was a hike that we had taken before, in spring. I thought it was a neat waterfall then, but the pictures I have from that earlier trip just do not inspire quite the same awe as it did in February. So again, get out there and change your lens, or you could be missing out on something truly beautiful!
