Getting There

Since the area is not part of a formal park, it isn’t maintained as such.  There are no markings as to where the falls are, and the trail that leads to them feels like it’s just a trail made by foot traffic, nothing formally built.  Perhaps this was why I liked the area so much; it wasn’t crowded at all with others.
Brandon and I were the only two there when we arrived.  However, the lack of formality makes it a bit difficult to find.  Since it wasn’t marked I felt a bit unsure as to whether or not I was in the right spot.

There is a small gravel pull off across the street from the trail entrance to the falls.  This area can fit maybe three cars at the most, if everyone was parking with others’ in consideration.  It could easily be taken up by one car if someone wasn’t paying attention.  The falls are located off Bigley Road, and the parking GPS coordinates are: 41.23609, -79.38505

Luckily Google Maps is pretty smart, so you can simply type Rapp Run Falls near Clarion PA and it should take you to where you need to be. Just note, if you’re coming from Clarion, you will pass the parking spot on your left and have to make a U-turn on a small rural road.

The area around the falls is very rustic. The trail kind of disappears as you head down towards the water and the falls. Just pay attention to where you step as the hillsides can be a bit steep in places.

It appears that the flowing water has carved a little gorge into the earth.  I feel that calling it a gorge is a bit of an overstatement, and I’m not sure if there is a word for a small hill cut into the earth by a flowing body of water much smaller than a gorge, but that’s what this was.   I counted somewhere around 5 or so falls within a 5-minute walk.  The tallest one was around 10-12 feet high. Unfortunately, our visit was during the late summer month of August, and this particular late summer hadn’t had a lot of rain. This caused the falls to not flow as much as they sometimes do, but I feel that I still encountered an amazing set of waterfalls.

I found the contrast of the brown forest floor against the green moss and leaves of the trees to be quite pleasing, even relaxing.  It was a sunny day, but inside the woods, near the water, it was cool and shaded.  Quite dark actually.  The combination of hearing no road-noise, along with the sounds of the flowing water, and us being the only two humans around, made this area very relaxing to me.

We spent nearly two hours hiking around the water, seeing if we could catch different falls, and capture different angles of the falls.  As I made my way back to the car, I had a feeling of calmness, and a genuine feeling of tranquility and relaxation overcome me.  Perhaps this is why I feel that it has been my favorite waterfalls spot in Western Pennsylvania that I’ve been to yet.

The Gallery

Published: January 31, 2021