Page 1 of 1

Best trail to take for Kaaterskill Falls and High Peak

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 9:49 am
by Jamie_Vaniver
My friends and I are planning a trip to hike in the Catskills for a weekend. Some of us aren't very experienced hikers and I was wondering what the best trail would be for us to see the Kaaterskill Falls and Kaaterskill High Peak within a weekend? Also, where the best places would be to stay/rent so the trail head would be easily accessible?

Re: Best trail to take for Kaaterskill Falls and High Peak

Posted: Tue May 12, 2015 12:40 pm
by dundee
I can only tell you about the North/South Lake Campground run by the NY DEC. It's black fly season, so that may make your stay unpleasant.

You can access K-Falls from two locations. One is to hike in to the bottom from Rt. 23A between Palenville and Haines Falls. You must park in the horseshoe lot called the Mary Smith lot and walk down the road (not much shoulder) to the trailhead. It is about 1/2 mile to the bottom of the falls. The trail ends here. Many deaths and injuries have resulted from people going past the split rail fence and climbing up the unstabel bank to get to the area behind the falls. It's a magnificent area, I tell you with warning.

Get to the parking lot early as people often block each other in and park any old way they want to.

A second way to go is to drive towards the N/S campground and take Laurel House Rd. to the end. There is a short trail that takes you to the top of the falls. Again, many people have fallen from the top---be careful.

There is roadwork happening on Rt.23A in Palenville; parking may be difficult (see current thread on Malden Ave. parking). I would drive around to the Plattecove trailhead and climb from there.