"Waterfalls in your Back Yard" by Mark Lloyd - March 1 Kiwanis Program

Madison lawyer, naturalist and photographer Mark Lloyd presented an outstanding digital slideshow featuring waterfalls you can visit in a “day trip”. The above photo shows Mark (left) being introduced at the Kiwanis meeting by his father, David Lloyd.

Mark described named and unnamed waterfalls. First were Silver Thread Falls (80 ft. high) and nearby Dingmans Falls which are both in Dingmans Ferry area, just off of PA route 209 at milepost 14. These two falls are an easy, pleasant walk from an NPS Visitor’s Center.

Next, he showed Raymondskill Falls, which is off of 209, north of Dingmans Falls and closer to the rt. 206 bridge to New Jersey. He hiked on a treacherous, washed-out trail to view and photograph the falls, which is the highest (208 ft.) in Pennsylvania. He showed a photo of the deep pool of water which feeds the falls.

Next, he showed Tillmans Ravine, which is in Sussex County, New Jersey just off of Rt. 206.

He told the audience about a beautiful New Jersey secret, Buttermilk Falls (see above photo), which is located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Walpack. Mark mentioned the recent Star-Ledger article about “ghost town” Walpack Center, NJ.

Mark showed photos from Shawangunk Mountain Ridge (The Gunks). This is a beautiful area in New York State, about 10 miles west of New Paltz, exit 18 on Interstate 87. The Minnewaska State Park Preserve has 5 lakes, like pools trapped in an uneven asphalt road. Mark showed the Awosting creek on the mossy glen trail and Rainbow Falls. There is some difficult hiking (and wading) to see a number of waterfalls between more easily traveled carriageways in the park.


The former George W Childs State Park in Pennsylvania is a few miles upstream from Dingmans Falls. Mark showed photos of a few of the many waterfalls in this area. The park is now called the George W. Childs Recreation Site and it is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Ricketts Glen State Park is in Pennsylvania, exit 236 on rt 80 and then north on 487. A park ranger told Mark that this place was one of the most spectacular places he had seen. Mark and David traveled there during peak leaf season and they agree it is a special place. The park was once owned by lumber magnet, who thought it was so nice he never harvested the trees and now the forest is very old. Rickets left his property to the state of Pennsylvania. There are 23 named waterfalls and Genoga Falls is the largest, about 90 ft high.

After introducing scenic areas and falls, Mark showed photos of the attractions in different seasons and from different viewpoints. He gave anecdotes and showed the rivers feeding and leaving the waterfalls.

Mark ended the show with icy winter photos of Dingmans Falls (see photo below), Raymondskill Falls, and Awosting Falls, which is in Minnewaska Park.