Catskill Mountaineer

Countryman Kill Waterfalls in Winter Clove

countryman kill waterfalls

Overview of this Hike:

Distance: 4.22 round trip from the Winter Clove Inn in Round Top.
Time: 3 hours round trip (hiking time) - Add 1 hour if you want to wonder around the waterfalls
Elevation Gain: 356'
Best Time to Hike: Any time of day
Difficulty: Easy
VO Map No: N/A
Catskill Highest: N/A
Highest Elevation: 1,294'
 
Digital Mapper: Topo      Terrain      Satellite
 
Access Methods: Foot and snowshoeing.



Maps, Profile, and GPS files

map of hike countryman kill waterfalls from winter clove




Directions to Trail Head from New York State Thruway (Easist, not the shortest):

  • Take New York State Thruway to Exit 21 (Catskill).
  • Take a left out of the NYS Thruway entrance road.
  • Go approximately 1/4 mile
  • Take a right onto Route 23 West
  • Go approximately 10.7 miles on Rt 23 (past Cairo, NY and up the hill towards Windham)
  • Take a LEFT onto Rt 31 to Round Top, NY.
  • Go approximately 3.7 miles on Rt 31
  • Take a RIGHT onto Maple Lawn Road (Fire House is on the corner)
  • Go approximately 1.3 up Maple Lawn Road.
  • At the top of the hill take a LEFT onto Floyd Hawver Road.
  • Go approximately 1.0 mile
  • At the Stop sign continue STRAIGHT.
  • At the Y in the road - go RIGHT.
  • At the end of the road you will come to Winter Clove Inn.
  • Go into the Hotel and ask for permission at the front desk. If they want you to park your car in a special spot, they will let you know.
  • GPS: N42 14.445 W74 01.868 WGS84: 42.24075, -74.031133 UTM: 579936, 4676961 for Parking Lot of Winter Clove Inn


  • Mile Post Chart

    Mile PostAltitudeNotes
    0.00938’ Parking lot at Winter Clove Inn - Walk down the road to the pool. At the intersection of the public road and the dirt road is the Trail Head. Walk up the hill on the dirt trail (not the dirt road).
    0.05967' Wooden Covered Bridge over Artist Falls
    0.06974' The trail comes to the end about 50' past the covered bridge. You want to take a RIGHT and walk up the trail.
    0.07980' As you walk up the trail, you want to go STRAIGHT. You will see some side trails. Stay on the main trail.
    0.251069' You will come to a Y in the road. You want to go LEFT on the smaller and rockier trail. There is a wooden sign at the intersection of the trail.
    0.401,125' You will come to another Y in the road. Left will take you to Little Stoppel Point. Right will take you to Countryman Kill Waterfalls. You want to go RIGHT. This is the Yankee Smith Trail.
    0.521,181’ After you walk up the hill, there will be a conifer forest on the left. Part of the way down the flat section, the trail will move LEFT into the conifer forest. It is very easy to miss this turn-off. So, pay attention.
    1.391,100’ You will walk across a mainly flat section on the edge of DEC and Private Land. After a while, you will see the trail turn 90 dgrees and head downhill over a rock wall. You will then follow another rock wall down the same hill. At the end, you will come to another road. You want to take a LEFT onto a dirt road. This road is easy to hike on.
    1.741,131’ As you come down a long straight section, you will see a rock wall on both side of the road. You will also see an old settlement in a beautiful conifer forest. At the end of the road you can take a right down to Countryman Kill Waterfalls #4 & #5. Left will take you to Countryman Kill Waterfalls #1 & #2. Straight across the road is Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3.
    1.851,192’ Side road to Waterfalls #2.
    2.191,294’ Countryman Kill Waterfall #1 - Then turn around and walk back down the road to waterfall #4 & #5.
    2.561,100’ Countryman Kill Waterfalls #4 & #5 - Then turn around and walk back up the road to the road near Waterfall #3
    2.691,131’ Turn LEFT and walk back to Winter Clove Inn
    4.22938' Winter Clove Inn

    Hike to Countryman Kill Waterfalls from Winter Clove Inn on the Yankee Smith Trail

    view of the front of Winter Clove Inn
    The picture above is Winter Clove Inn. Make sure you get permission from the front desk. If they ask you to park in a certain spot, please do so. If you are coming in from out-of-town, this is a great place to stay. If you forgot to bring this page with you, ask the front desk for a map. There are many turns, and it is almost impossible to figure out on your own. If you are coming to the Catskill Mountains and need a places to stay, Winter Clove Inn is a great place to stay.
    road to Winter Clove Inn
    To start the hike, you need to walk down the road past the swimming pool. On the left you will see a white sign, with a small break in the woods. This is the start of the hiking trail called the Yankee Smith Trail. It will take you to the Countryman Kill Falls.
    beginning of trail to artist falls in winter clove
    After you walk up the trail about 100 feet you will come to the wooden covered bridge. This bridge goes over the top of Artist Falls. .
    wooden bridge over artist falls in winter clove
    You want to walk over the bridge. About 50' past the wooden covered bridge, the trail will come to an intersection. You want to take a RIGHT and head up the trail.

    As you walk up the trail, you will see a few side trails. Stay on the main trail.
    trail through the pitch pine forest from the trail at Winter Clove Inn
    beginning of trail to the Yankee Smith Trail
    After a short distance, you will come to an intersection in the picture. You want to take a LEFT onto the smaller and rockier trail. This smaller trail will take you to the Yankee Smith Trail and the trail to Little Stoppel Point.
    trail junction for Little Stoppel Point and Yankee Smith Trail to Countryman Kill Falls
    After you walk up the trail you will come to a trail junction. Left will take you up the steep path to Little Stoppel Point. Right will take you down the Yankee Smith Trail and to the Countryman Kill Waterfalls. You want to take a RIGHT. At this point you will have walked 4/10 of a mile.
    trail signs to little stoppel point and yankee smith trail
    If you look at the trees, you will see two signs showing the direction to the appropriate trails. Left will take you up the steep path to Little Stoppel Point. Right will take you down the Yankee Smith Trail and to the Countryman Kill Waterfalls. You want to take a RIGHT.
    beginning of the Yankee Smith Trail
    This is the beginning of the Yankee Smith Trail that will take you to the Countryman Kill Waterfalls.

    As you walk down the trail, you will walk up a small hill to a conifer forest. Here the trail is fairly well defined. The trail will continue on the edge of the conifer forest.
    trail through the pitch pine forest from the trail at Winter Clove Inn
    trail thru pitch pine forest in winter clove on the yankee smith trail
    After about a 1,000' from the trail head the trail will leave the well defined path and move into the conifer forest. NOTE: You can easily miss this LEFT turn into the conifer forest. So pay attention.

    From this point, the trail will get smaller.
    yankee smith trail
    The trail will be small, so you need to pay attention to where the trail goes. The trail will follow the border of State and Private Land.

    Once you get about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 miles, the trail will slowly take a RIGHT turn and move down the hill. As it moves downhill you will go over a stone wall, and the follow another stone wall down the hill.
    yankee smith trail junction
    When you get down the hill, you will come to a trail junction. You want to take a LEFT onto a larger trail. If you went right, it would immediately lead you onto private land. You then want to follow the trail.
    end of yankee smith trail
    When you come close to the Countryman Kill Stream, you will come down a long straight road with a stone walls on both sides of the trail. In this region there are a lot of stone walls where there was once a settlement.
    logging trail by countryman kill waterfalls #2
    At the end of this straight road, you will have reached the Countryman Kill Creek. Directly across the trail will be waterfall #3. To the right is waterfalls #4 and #5. To the left is waterfalls #1 and #2. We want to go LEFT.
    logging trail by countryman kill waterfalls #2
    As you walk up the logging road, you will walk parallel to the Countryman Kill Creek. The ravine is fairly deep. This logging road will lead all the way up to Little Stoppel Point and Stoppel Point. But, to get to Waterfall #1 is only a short distance. This logging trail is actually a very pretty trail. .
    logging road by countryman kill waterfalls.
    As you walk up the old logging road, you will see two smaller roads that lead down into the ravine. The first one will take you to the bottom of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #2. The second small road will take you to the top of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #2. For right now, you want to continue up the logging road. After a short distance you will have to walk over to the ravine to find Waterfall #1.
    countryman kill waterfalls #1
    This picture shows you Countryman Kill Waterfalls #1. This waterfall is about 15' high. When you get done return back down the logging trail to the two side roads. These side roads will take you to Countryman Kill Falls #2
    countryman kill waterfalls #2
    This is a picture of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #2. It is about 14' high. It is a pretty waterfall. Unfortunately during Hurricane Irene, it pulled down the trees. The trees have a steel cable holding them back. So, they now block the view of the waterfalls.
    countryman kill waterfall #2
    This is another picture of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #2. This picture was taken from the second small road.
    Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3
    This is Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3. It is about 15' high. This waterfalls is a little more difficult to get down to. So be careful descending down the ravine.
    trail to North Mountain lookout #2
    This is another picture of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3.
    Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3 from the logging road
    This is a picture of Countryman Kill Waterfalls #3 from the logging road.
    countryman kill waterfalls #4
    Countryman Kill Waterfalls #4. It is 26' high. It has a nice large pool at the bottom. At end of the pool is Countryman Kill Waterfall #5, which is 19' high.
    countryman kill waterfall #5
    This is Countryman Kill Waterfall #5, which is 19' high. It is the most difficult waterfall to get to the bottom. Just below this waterfall is another 10' cascade, which I believe is on Private Land.
    countryman kill waterfalls #4 and #5 from the logging road
    This shows the connection between Countryman Kill Waterfalls #4 and Countryman Kill Waterfalls #5. These two waterfalls are considered one waterfall of about 55' high of 3 drops. When you get done, reverse your course back to Winter Clove Inn. It is also possible to follow the Logging Road up to the base of Stoppel Point. But, the logging trail gets more difficult when you get closer to Stoppel Point. It also gets quite steep and rugged. Once at the base of Stoppel Point, you can hike down the ridge to Little Stoppel Point. Make sure you stick to the Right side of the ridge, or you will get stuck in some large Mountain Laurel. The trail follows the south side of the ridge.
    Links and References:
     
    Winter Clove Inn

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