Waterfall Record

This is a portion of a waterfall with a rainbow.

The Waterfall Record

Alpha Falls, Pennsylvania

Alpha Falls is a 40 foot tall waterfall in McConnells Mill State Park in western Pennsylvania. There wasn't much water flowing in October 2015.
Alpha Falls in October 2015

I don’t have distinct memories of Alpha Falls. I can see why I visited the area. I flew into Pittsburgh and headed north. There aren’t as many waterfalls on the west side of the state of Pennsylvania as in eastern Pennsylvania, but there are a few. McConnells Mill State Park contains a few of them. I visited Alpha Falls and Hell’s Hollow Falls. On Google Maps, it now appears there’s at least one other named waterfall in the state park, Grindstone Falls. Hell’s Hollow is on the far east side of the park, Grindstone in the middle, and Alpha on the far right side of the park.

From photos I have, there wasn’t much water flowing at Alpha Falls in October 2015. That’s not too shocking, as fall sometimes has low flow for certain waterfalls. Interestingly, the other reason I may not have many memories of Alpha Falls is because of my rental car. The car had some tire pressure indicators, and one of the tire’s pressure kept dropping. One of the parks I visited at that time had some very narrow unpaved roads, and I’m surprised I was able to make it through the park without the tire deflating. It did deflate, but later that night. But that aside, Alpha Falls could be an interesting fall in the spring or after a good rainfall. If you can visit the other falls in the park, it could be worthwhile to visit.

Directions:

  1. McConnells Mill State Park is found north of Pittsburgh and east of Youngstown. It’s shaped like a U of sorts, so to reach the different falls, it may be easier to enter at different points.
  2. Alpha Falls is found on the northeast side of the “U”. US-422 runs east-west. In between New Castle and Butler, you’ll find one entrance to the state park.
  3. If you are headed east, you’d take a right turn onto McConnells Mill Rd. You’d be heading south on this road.
  4. Shortly after this, you’ll come to a parking area. On Google Maps, it’s called Point Parking Area. Alpha Falls (and Spillway Falls?) are found near that parking area.

Accessibility: 9/10 (easy)
Height: 40′
Length of Hike: 0.2 miles round-trip

Where in the World is Alpha Falls?

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