If you’re looking for information about visiting Childs Park in Pike County, you’re in the right place!
Childs Park is home to 3 distinctive waterfalls along Dingmans Creek as it makes its way east to the Delaware River, 3.5 miles downstream.
The park had been closed since March 2018, when two powerful winter storms caused massive damage and brought down thousands of trees, requiring extensive repairs to the man-made boardwalks and bridges in the park.
But after a nearly six and a half-year repair effort (hampered in part by COVID), the park re-opened to the public at noon on October 2, 2024.
In a press release announcing the reopening, National Park Service Superintendent Doyle Sapp said “Though there have been a few changes to the site, like the improved and expanded accessible portion of the trail and the removal and restoration of a short section of trail that was too damaged to repair, returning visitors and first-time visitors alike will be greeted by a rustic trail system with perfectly situated bridges and viewing platforms that highlight 3 scenic waterfalls and the natural environment in which they are located, similar to what was originally envisioned by George W. Childs over a century ago.”
Directions | Hours | Admission Fees
Childs Park is located near the intersection of Silver Lake Road and Park Road in Dingmans Ferry, PA 18328
If navigating by GPS, use coordinates 41.23713, -74.91937 to find the parking lot, located just off of Silver Lake Road.
Childs Park is open for hiking and nature observation from dawn to dusk daily through the fall, and there are no fees to visit the park.
A Brief History of Childs Park
In 1892, newspaper publisher George Childs purchased 53 acres along Dingmans Creek from the family of Joseph Brooks, who had built a 3 1/2 story stone woolen mill on the site in 1826, the ruins of which are still visible today after being abandoned following Brooks’ death in 1832.
After George Childs purchased the land in 1892 and built footpaths and bridges to access the waterfalls, it became a popular tourist destination, and following his death in 1894, his widow Emma donated the land to Pennsylvania in 1912 with the condition it remain a public park, a status it retained until becoming part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in 1983, where it remains today.
Viewing the Waterfalls at Childs Park
If you hike the 1.2 mile loop around Childs Park in a clockwise fashion, the first waterfall you come to is Factory Falls, named so because it is located next to the remains of the Brooks woolen mill I mentioned earlier.
Factory Falls is an 18-foot tall, three-tiered waterfall.
Continuing clockwise / downstream on Dingmans Creek, the next waterfall you’ll come to is Fulmer Falls, the tallest waterfall at Childs Park at 56-feet.
The third waterfall at Childs Park is 30-foot tall Deer Leap Falls.
From Deer Leap Falls the 1.2 mile loop is completed by hiking back upstream, along the trail and stairways, back to the parking area.
Nearby Attractions
Raymondskill Falls is billed by the National Park Service as the “tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania” at 178 feet tall.
Dingmans Falls in Pike County checks in at 130 feet tall, good enough for the title of “second tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania.”
Upper Indian Ladders Falls in Pike County is a 30 foot-tall, multi-tiered waterfall along Upper Hornbecks Creek, located within the 77,000-acre Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
Lower Indian Ladders Falls is a 25 foot-tall waterfall along Lower Hornbecks Creek, just downstream from Upper Indian Ladders Falls (but accessed via a different trail).
Hackers Falls is a 20 foot-tall, fan shaped waterfall located in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Pike County.
Sawkill and Savantine Falls are a pair of picturesque but seldom-seen waterfalls in the Delaware State Forest.
Shohola Falls, located along Route 6 in Pike County, is what I would call “almost-roadside” – a 5 minute walk from the parking area.
Be sure to check out 36 Must-See Waterfalls in the Poconos for an in-depth look at more of eastern Pennsylvania’s finest waterfalls.
And if you’re looking for the best waterfalls all across Pennsylvania, be sure to check out The Ultimate Pennsylvania Waterfalls Guide where I provide detailed directions to HUNDREDS of the most spectacular waterfalls in PA!
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