The Valley Creek Dam Falls hike at
Valley Forge National Historical Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania is an easy 1.9-mile out-and-back hike that leads to the scenic waterfall known as Valley Creek Dam Falls.
Along the hike, visitors will also pass through a section of the park that includes historical buildings like George Washington's Headquarters.
Universal Accessibility
Note that this hike is not fully universally-accessible. The trails that lead around the historical buildings like George Washington's Headquarters (near the parking lot) are fully accessible and include both paved and gravel paths.
Exploring Washington's HQ Area
This hike begins at the large parking lot along RIver Road, located off of PA-23, at the park. Hikers will follow the universally-accessible paths down toward the historic Valley Forge Station, located within the Washington's Quarters Area of the park. Walk along the old train station to follow either the set of stairs or accessible ramp that leads down to George Washington's Headquarters. This route leads into Washington's HQ to explore the building a bit -- which is worth while if you're already here -- and then leads into Washington's stable. The park ranger mentioned that at one point, up to 23 people were living in Washington's HQ. Given its small size, it's hard to imagine cramming that many people into one space. Before exploring more of the Washington's Headquarters Area of the park, this route leads along the hike to the historic Valley Creek Dam Falls.
Hiking to Valley Creek Dam Falls
After passing the historic buildings section of the park, you'll need to cross PA-23 in order to reach the Valley Creek Dam Waterfall. At mile 0.5, you'll find a road crossing with a crosswalk. Take this to follow the crosswalk along the south side of the road, then take a turn down Owen Drive. Follow Owen Drive until it ends and turns into a trail -- the Horseshoe Trail.
Hike the Horseshoe Trail to the Waterfall - Mile 0.65 to 1
Once on the Horseshoe Trail, you'll be hiking through the forest to reach Valley Creek. Simply keep left at all trail junctions to finally reach the Valley Creek Trail. Once on the Valley Creek Trail, follow it out until you find Valley Creek Dam Falls flowing below the trail. You'll first find a nice "overlook" area that sits along the banks of the creek with a view of the waterfall from above. If you wish to explore the historic Valley Creek Dam Falls from its base, you'll find a small unofficial path that leads down to the water from the main trail. We hiked out to the waterfall in mid-to-late April and found a ton of Eastern Redbud trees blooming along the way and around the waterfall, which added a bit of color to the scenery of
Valley Forge NHP.
Hiking Out & Historical Buildings - Mile 1 to 1.9
The hike out is straight forward -- simply follow the Valley Creek Trail back to the Horseshoe Trail. Hike down Owen Drive and cross PA-23 at the crosswalk to reach the historical building area. Here, you can hike the trail in a loop back to the parking lot and along the way you'll find several new points-of-interest like David Potts house, a statue of George Washington, and the Commander in Chief's Guards quarters. The hike ends at the parking lot for a 1.9-mile out-and-back hike through
Valley Forge National Historical Park.
Parking
Hikers will find a large parking lot at the coordinates provided. The lot is large enough to fit several dozen vehicles as of April 2025. Note that the parking lot has a 2-hour limit for parking.
Pets
Dogs are allowed if leashed and must be cleaned up after.
Warning
Poison ivy: This trail has plenty of poison ivy to the side of it, mostly located south of PA-23.
