What is Cucumber Falls And Where Is It?
Cucumber Falls is a 30 foot waterfall in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It is almost a roadside waterfall located along Ohiopyle Road. It is located within the boundaries of Ohiopyle State Park in Pennsylvania.
Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle Sate Park drops down into a lush green canyon in summer that can transform into a brightly colored canyon filled with fall foliage in the summer. Like most natural areas these days, the Cucumber Falls area can be packed with visitors and parking can be a challenge particularly in the summer.
Water flow over Cucumber Falls varies dramatically. Historically the flow has been highest during the spring snow melt. As the winters have become more mild and the spring snow pack less, the spring flow has diminished. The best time to see a relatively high water flow over Cucumber Falls is after a rainstorm.
What Is It Like To Travel To And See Cucumber Falls?
Cucumber Falls is located in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Fayette County, Pennsylvania is a pretty rural area of Pennsylvania. Ohiopyle State Park is a fairly large and increasingly popular state park in Pennsylvania, The park is about 19,052 acres. It includes a number of campgrounds and is a popular spot for hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, hunting and of course photography.
The Fayette County area of Pennsylvania has lots of scenic areas that includes numerous state parks, covered bridges and ski resorts like Seven Springs Mountain Resort. There are a number of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the area including Fallingwater. If you want to go to Cucumber Falls, there are TONS of other awesome sights in the area. There are numerous options for overnight lodging in and around Ohiopyle State Park.
If you’d like to camp in the park, the Kentuck campground in the park is a great central location. There are some random cabins and niche lodging options around the park. Choice Hotels and Wyndham Hotels have some properties in the area. Those hotel chains don’t have locations right in the park but some are reasonably close. I mention them because they tend to be pretty affordable and have good rewards programs. The Hostel on Main in Rockwood, PA can be a good place to stay if you are traveling solo but with AirBnB fees the cost of a bunk is almost as much as a cheap hotel room. If you will be traveling with one or more people then a hotel room will generally end up costing less than the Hostel On Main in Rockwood, PA.
When you actually head to Cucumber Falls, you’ll be driving up or down a rather steep section of Ohiopyle Road. If you are coming down the hill you’ll want to drive pretty slowly to avoid passing the parking area or slamming on your brakes to make the turn. The parking area is fairly small so you might have to make a few passes to actually get a spot during the busy summer season.
The hike from the parking area is pretty short, about .2 miles. There are some steep steps and it is rocky if you walk right up to the falls.
What Does It Take To Get A Wall Art Quality Photo Of Cucumber Falls At Ohiopyle?
If you want to come away with a wall art quality photo of Cucumber Falls, you’ll need to determine what exactly that means. I tend to like waterfall prints when the water flow is pretty strong. Springtime can be a good time for that but with the mild winters Pennsylvania has had lately, the spring water flow isn’t necessarily all that great.
In my opinion, the best time to photograph Cucumber Falls is after or even during a heavy rainstorm. That is the one time you can pretty much guarantee, Cucumber Falls will be gushing. It can be during the lush summer season of when fall colors color the trees in the canyon where Cucumber Falls is located.
Like many other awesome photo spots in Pennsylvania and around the country, crowds have surged to Cucumber Falls. This makes is harder to get photos of Cucumber Falls without a bunch of people in the scene. If you’ll be shooting long exposures the get the silky waterfall look, then moving people will create random colorful blurs in your photos. With so many people at Cucumber Falls on many days it can take hours of waiting for the scene to clear.
Given all the above, the best time to photography Cucumber Falls is while it is raining. When a hard rain rolls through the area, Cucumber Falls gushes, people go back to their tents, cabins or hotels and the scene clears. Cloudy skies create nice even lighting conditions and you can come away with a really awesome wall art quality photo of Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle State Park.
What Is The Best Gear For Cucumber Falls At Ohiopyle State Park?
Getting a decent photo of Cucumber Falls at Ohiopyle State Park is possible with most any camera you have from a cel phone to the latest DSLR or mirrorless camera.
If you want to get a really good wall art quality photo to print, a decent DSLR or mirrorless camera with a fairly wide angle lens is a good choice. If you want the silky water look then you’ll need to keep the shutter open for a while and will want a tripod to keep the camera steady as the shutter stays open for a quarter second or so. If you are shooting during a storm as suggested above, the shutter may stay open much longer than a quarter second.
You’ll want a lens that is somewhere between 17mm and 50mm but may want more something longer than 50mm if you want to get some closeup shots or shoot from a distance. A good all around lens to take is a 24-105 or something similar to that. If you’ll be shooting during a rainstorm and using a tripod, you’ll want to use a lens hood and likely have an umbrella with you to keep water drops from hitting the front of the lens and keep the lens and the camera relatively dry.
What Formats Is This Ohiopyle Cucumber Falls Wall Art Print Available?
This Cucumber Falls wall art print is available in sizes up to 40×60 inches on paper (with or without a frame and mat), canvas, metal, acrylic and wood as well as a number of home decor items and more.
If you’ll be hanging the print in an area with lots of bright light then a canvas or paper print with a matte finish would be an excellent choice. If you plan to hang a print in an area with diffused light and not exposed light bulbs in the area then a more reflective or shiny print surface may be a the best choice. This would include metal or acrylic prints as well as glossy or metallic paper or canvas prints. The colors on the glossy or metallic prints are amazing but they do reflect a lot more light.
If you’d prefer more home decor type products, this image looks great on Sherpa fleece blankets and shower curtains. Towels and throw pillows make excellent items with Cucumber Falls on them.
Cel phone cases, a variety of t-shirts and other apparel, canvas tote bags and cel phone cases are great items for wearable and usable things with print of Cucumber Falls on them.
If you or someone you know is into jigsaw puzzles, this Cucumber Falls image looks great and provides a nice challenge in the form of a 500 or 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.
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