Loading...

🎆 50% off 4th of July sale on Supporter Accounts — now through July 6! Learn More.

Seven Step Dam Falls Hike

Directions
Map
Pictures
Send to App
Distance:
0.8 Miles / 1.3 km
Type:
Loop
Difficulty:
Easy
Time to Hike:
~24 minutes
Features:
Surface Type:
Dirt
Park:
Antietam Lake Park
Town:
Reading, Pennsylvania
Directions:
40.358297, -75.87417
Added:
April 19, 2025
Updated:
May 08, 2025
Copy Trail Link Hiking this trail? Send a friend or family member a link to this trail guide for your own safety. Hike at your own risk (disclaimer)
Loading...
Loading...
156'

Total Change
176'

Ascent
176'

Descent

Download the Trail Route for Offline Use

Supporters get exclusive access to download trail routes to the MyHikes app for offline use. Stay prepared on your adventure, even without an internet connection! Become a Supporter today to unlock this feature and hike with confidence.

Send to App

Seven Step Dam Falls Hike

The Seven Step Dam Falls Hike at Antietam Lake Park in Reading, Pennsylvania is an easy 0.8-mile loop that leads to the scenic 10-foot tall dam waterfall known as Seven Step Dam Falls.

This guide should be used for visitors who want to hike to the waterfall. If you simply want to walk up to it without hiking, check out our Seven Step Dam Falls Trail guide instead.

Hiking to Seven Step Dam Falls

This very short hike begins at the Mudcatcher Trailhead parking lot and follows the green-blazed multi-use trail south toward Antietam Lake. Along the way are nice views of the water, including views of the unique-styled valve house located at the lake's south outflow. Note that the outflow of Antietam Lake has a beautiful 30-foot tall waterfall, Antietam Lake Falls, which should be added to your to-do list while visiting the area. As you follow the trail, it eventually bends to the northeast and runs along Antietam Lake a bit further before you start to hear the rushing water of the Seven Step Dam waterfall.

Seven Step Dam Falls - Mile 0.37

Around mile 0.35, you'll start to find several unofficial trails that lead down to the water. Take one of these to reach the base of Seven Step Dam Falls. From downstream, you'll find excellent views of this 10-foot tall, 30-foot wide human-made waterfall that spills over each cascade of stone in a series of "steps", hence its name.

Hiking Out - Mile 0.38 to 0.8

After exploring Seven Step Dam Falls, the hike back to parking is straight forward. You can add mileage onto the hike by following the official trail or you can follow this route, which takes a shortcut up to the same green-blazed trail as it loops west to parking. This short, but steep, shortcut can save you a bit of time if you're planning to explore other attractions nearby like the Antietam Lake Falls, Reading Pagoda, Neversink Mountain, or the Birdsboro Climbing Quarry & Reservoir to name a few.

Visit Seven Step Dam Falls without Hiking 

Want to visit the waterfall with less walking? Thankfully, for folks like you, there's another faster way to reach the waterfall without putting in much legwork (literally). For the quick and fast way to explore Seven Step Dam Falls, check out our Seven Step Dam Falls guide.

Parking

Hikers will find a very-small parking lot at the Mudcatcher Trailhead, located along the east side of Angora Road in Reading. The lot is large enough to fit no more than 5 vehicles as of April 2025.

Pets

Dogs are allowed only if leashed and must be cleaned up after.
Explore 12 trails near Reading, PA
  1. Parking

    40.358297, -75.87417
  2. Main Trailhead

    40.358297, -75.87417
  3. View / Overlook / Vista

    40.357403, -75.871017
    View / Overlook / Vista
  4. Waterfall

    40.359181, -75.870194
    Waterfall
No community routes found. To add your own hike as a Community Route for this Trail guide, leave a Trip Report with an attached GPX file.

Hazards

Ticks - Lyme Disease More Info (CDC)
Poison Ivy/Oak

Seasons

All

Trip Reports

Trail Guide By:
Admin user profile picture
0.8 miles / 1.3 km
0.8 miles / 1.3 km
April 19, 2025
Easy hike to the dam waterfall.
Hiking

Weather Forecast

In Reading, PA

Explore Hiking Trails

You May Also Like

Colorado's Million Dollar Highway - Plan a day's drive adventure along the iconic Million Dollar Highway in Colorado. Explore the best short trails, roadside stops, waterfalls, vistas, ghost towns, and hot springs within a ~6 hour road trip.
Explore

Colorado's Million Dollar Highway

Plan a day's drive adventure along the iconic Million Dollar Highway in Colorado. Explore the best short trails, roadside stops, waterfalls, vistas, ghost towns, and hot springs within a ~6 hour road trip.

Read
New York's Best Waterfalls - Whether you're planning a day hike, roadside stop, or a leisurely short walk, this guide provides hikers, travelers, and locals alike with 63 different locations to over 100 scenic waterfalls to help plan your next adventure!
Explore

New York's Best Waterfalls

Whether you're planning a day hike, roadside stop, or a leisurely short walk, this guide provides hikers, travelers, and locals alike with 63 different locations to over 100 scenic waterfalls to help plan your next adventure!

Read

Before you boogie...

Find our trail guides useful? Consider becoming a Supporter to unlock perks!

MyHikes is an indie platform that makes exploring public trails easier for everyone. The platform has no investors, no ads, and is owned and operated by one person, Dave Miller. Dave has personally mapped and written over 1,800 trail guides on MyHikes for the public to explore. MyHikes has helped millions outdoor enthusiasts plan their next adventure.

But it takes a lot of time 🕦, money 💰, work, and espresso shots ☕ to run MyHikes, including hiking , mapping , writing , and publishing new trails with high-quality (accurate) information... along with software engineering (coding) the platform like building new features, website and mobile app development (iOS and Android), site maintainance . and much much more.

Supporters unlock website and mobile app perks with an annual one-time payment of $25 (you renew) 😎👍. Or you can simply make a Donation of your choice. Otherwise, you can support us by telling your friends about MyHikes - both quick and free 🎉

Admin user profile picture

Dave Miller
MyHikes Founder