Delmura Waterfalls

delmura falls on the upper kaaterskill creek and below the five cascades

Information about Delmura Falls:

Name: Delmura Falls

County: Greene

Region: Kaaterskill Clove

Location: West side Kaaterskill Creek

Order within ravine: 7th of 10drops (1=highest elevation)

Drops within waterfall: 1

Total Height: ~25'

Top Elevation: 1,414'

Bottom Elevation: 1,394'

Type of Waterfall: plunge

Number of Drops: 1

GPS location: N42 11.521 W74 05.024

WGS84 location: 42.192017, -74.083733

Deg, Min, Sec location: N42 11 31, W74 05 01

UTM location: 18N 575655, 4671502

Previous or Alternate Names: none

Description: Delmura Falls gets its name from the Spanish description of delmura, which means "wall". While this water fall is not very high, it does have a difficult wall to get up. This waterfall is a small waterfall when compared to other waterfalls in the Kaaterskill Clove. The are about 20 feet high, but they have their own beauty. They are located just below the Five Cascades.

Hiking Distance: 1-2 miles one-way.

Best time to Visit: Anytime

Map No: USGS: Kaaterskill Quad

Digital Mapper: Topo Terrain Satellite

Maps, Profile, and GPS files

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 6.6 miles to Cairo, NY

Take a LEFT onto Rt 32. McDonalds Rest. on corner.

Go approximately 7.7 miles on Rt 32

Take a RIGHT onto Rt 23A

Go approximately 5.0 miles on Rt 23A .

There is a small parking lot on the LEFT side of the road. Park here.

On the uphill side of the parking lot there is a small trail that will take you down into the clove. It runs close to parallel to the road. It will essentially bring you down to Lake Creek. It is a bushwhack down to Lake Creek.

There is trail that runs next to Lake Creek. Find a good spot to cross Lake Creek. Lake Creek can ONLY be crossed at low water!

Find the bridge abutements that crossed Lake Creek on the old Rip Van Winkle Trail (old Rt 23a)

Follow the Rip Van Winkle Trail for a while. You then need to break off from the old road and bushwhack to Delmura Falls.

Comments about this Hike

Delmura Falls is a small waterfalls just below the Five Cascades. It is difficult to get above Delmura Falls due to the walls of the Kaaterskill Clove starting to close in. Delmura Falls have their own beauty, even if they are not very high. It is a waterfall that is not visited very often. Most people are not even aware that they exist. These waterfalls can be accessed by hiking across Lake Creek, or by coming down the old road from Rt 23a. These waterfalls are located on NYS Land.

Pictures of Five Cascades Waterfalls

View of Delmura Falls from the base
Photo by Catskill Mountaineer

View of Delmura Falls from the base.
Photo by Catskill Mountaineer

View of Delmura Falls from the side.
Photo by Catskill Mountaineer

View of Delmura Falls at moderate water.
Photo by Richard Kugel

View of Delmura Falls from the side at moderate water.
Photo by Richard Kugel

Links and References:

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