This weekend, I went on a trip to Hunter Mountain to do some zip lining (I will probably do a post on this adventure in the future). However, this week I wanted to blog about an amazing hike I did in the Catskill Mountains. This was one of the best hikes I have ever completed, and although it is tough at times, it is definitely worth the time, distance, and effort. Additionally, this hike allows you to get super close to natural waterfalls that run for miles along this trail, which is pretty amazing. This hike is truly beautiful and allows you to immerse yourself in nature in a way like never before.
Location
The start of this hike is about 15 minutes from Hunter Mountain, which is about 3 hours from central Long Island. It is located in the eastern part of the Catskill Mountains. Although there really is no set "location" for this hike, there are two starting points that I came across.
1. When you are traveling along Route 23A, heading towards Tannersville, you will enter an extremely curvy road. From the road, you will actually see a beautiful waterfall (pictured on the right), which can either be the beginning or the end of your hike. I say this because about 1 minute down the road, there is an extremely tiny parking lot where you can start your hike if you are lucky enough to find a free spot. However, even on rainy days, this parking lot is usually STILL packed. If you are lucky enough to park here, you can walk the highway back to those falls you saw a minute earlier, and begin the hike there, heading up the steep rocks.
2. If the parking lot is full, continue driving straight (for about another 2 minutes) until you come across a building on your right hand-side with a sign labeled "Kaaterskill Rail Trail."This is the best spot to start the hike if that parking lot I mentioned earlier is full, which is highly possible. Be warned though, parking at this location adds an additional 1.5 miles to your hike. However, it is definitely worth it, especially if you do want to truly experience all of what this hike has to offer. This is how I completed my hike, so the rest of the post will be based on this starting point.
The Trail
As I mentioned, I will be writing from the second starting location I mentioned above. When you begin this hike, you want to enter the forest and make an immediate right, walking past a small building. From here, you will continue walking the path for 1.5 miles. While this may seem like a long time, it is very peaceful to walk this section of the hike since the rest of the trails are not flat, so be thankful for this ground while you can be (you'll see what I mean later). To the right of this paragraph, you can see what you will be walking for almost 2 miles.
Eventually, you will come across a map, along with signs indicating how far each destination is from your current location. There is also a parking lot here (no clue how to get your car to this point!), so if you are able to find this parking lot, I think it would be the best spot possible to start your hike. I personally headed towards the observation deck first. This provides an amazing overall view of the waterfall (pictured left). From this deck, if you look very closely, you can see people at the base of the first tier of the waterfall, which you will go to on your way down the mountain.
I then headed back towards the map, and went directly straight to an area that had a guard rail, along with a bunch of danger signs. This spot may not be for everyone, but I must say, if you trust yourself and are extremely careful, you should definitely check it out. There have been fatalities at this waterfall, so be EXTREMELY careful. People were climbing over the guard rail, so we decided to check it out. At this point, you are right at the top of the waterfall! While I do not recommend going towards the edge since this area is very slippery and steep, it is amazing to say you stood at the very top of Kaaterskill Falls. The view is breathtaking, and pictures will just not do this sight justice.
It's time to head down to the first tier of the main attraction. This is where the hike becomes very steep, slippery, and muddy. It is crucial to walk slowly, carefully, and be aware of where you are. There is no longer a perfectly marked path, and you will have to walk on and climb over slippery rocks for the remainder of the hike. Keep in mind that you are walking down a steep mountainside, so the "path" does become quite narrow and slanted, almost vertical at points. This is also where I personally began to lose track of time since we have been walking for a while now, but I believe it was about .7 of a mile to make it down to the first tier. It was amazing to be this close to a waterfall; we were actually getting soaked from standing so close!
Once you head back onto the path, you will eventually come to a long set of stairs that head down to the second tier. Again, it is slippery so use caution. You will soon come across the second tier, where people actually do go swimming. Here you will see a full view of the two tier waterfall, which is an amazing sight. Once you have seen enough, you can continue to walk down the steep, rocky path with a stream from the waterfall by your side for about 20 minutes. Eventually, you will come across that same waterfall you saw at from the highway. At this point you have two options; walk back up the mountain and to the Kaaterskill Rail Trail parking lot for ~2 hours or walk the highway back to save time. We decided to walk the highway back since it was getting kind of late, but just be careful of the cars since the road is curvy. All together, the hike takes about 2 hours, however, if you do decide to walk back to your car from the very bottom of the falls, I would guess your hike would be around 4 hours roundtrip. Again, taking the highway back does save a tremendous amount of time, and the time/distance your hike takes will vary depending on where you started.
Although this hike was very slippery, muddy, and dangerous at times (mainly due to the extreme rainfall we had that morning), this hike was definitely worth it. It was amazing to hike in and around natural waterfalls, and it was a hiking experience like no other. I highly recommend this hike if you are ever in the Hunter Mountain area. Happy hiking!
PS...if you are hungry after completing your hike, I highly recommend eating at Mama's Boy Burgers, which is less than 10 minutes down the road. It is the building with the giant ice cream cone on top. This spot has the best burgers, fries, and ice cream! You can also use this address as a spot to help you find the hike, which is 6067 Main Street, Tannersville.
Many more posts to come(:
~Ashley
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