Meadow Run Trail

The Meadow Run Trail loop is one of Ohiopyle State Park's most varied and rewarding routes, combining creek-side travel, natural waterslides, a spectacular waterfall, and ridge-top forest into a single satisfying outing. The trail descends alongside Meadow Run, a clear sandstone-bedded stream, passing the park's famous natural waterslides — smooth, glacier-polished rock chutes where the creek drops through a series of sculpted grooves. On warm summer days these natural slides draw crowds of swimmers and children who launch themselves down the slick rock faces into deep pools below. Downstream, Cucumber Falls plunges 30 feet over a shale ledge into a mossy grotto, one of the most picturesque waterfalls in southwestern Pennsylvania. The trail then climbs steeply onto the surrounding plateau through oak and hickory forest before looping back along the ridge. Wildflowers are exceptional in spring along the creek corridor, with trout lily, bloodroot, and spring beauty carpeting the forest floor before the canopy leafs out. The trail connects to the Youghiogheny River Trail, allowing extension into the town of Ohiopyle for refreshments. Creek crossings can be challenging after heavy rainfall, and the waterslide rocks are dangerously slippery outside swimming season when algae accumulate on the polished surfaces.