Plattekill Falls
At a Glance
- Area: Platte Clove Preserve (Catskill Center)
- Day-use fee: $5 per person, suggested donation
- Cell service: Spotty. Download your trail map before you go.
What You're Actually Going to See
Plattekill Falls is proof that a short hike can still be a real one, and there are actually two different trails out of the same trailhead, depending on what you want to see.
The Waterfall Trail is the one most people are here for. From the kiosk just above the Red Cabin, it heads east, slopes down toward the edge of the clove, then turns and descends through a narrow, steep gorge to the base of the falls, where the water finally lands after a 65-foot drop. It's a real trail, not a stroll, uneven and rocky with a few switchbacks, but generally safe with reasonable care and the right footwear. It dead-ends at the base of the falls; you turn around and walk back out the same way.
The other trail is where the real caution comes in. From the kiosk, the Overlook Trail heads west along the creek and crosses a king-post bridge almost immediately, a replica of the carriage bridge that once carried travelers on the old Overlook Turnpike between Platte Clove and Woodstock. Just past the bridge, turn onto the Nature Trail and it carries you along the edge of Platte Clove, right above where the falls drop, before looping past the ruins of a 19th-century boarding house and back to the Overlook Trail junction. That clove-edge stretch is the spot that calls for real care: the drop is real, the footing near the edge is fragile, and a slip in the wrong spot means a fall of several stories. This isn't ground to let kids run ahead on, and it's a genuinely different piece of trail than the walk down to the base pool.
If you stay on the Overlook Trail past the Nature Trail junction instead of turning off, it climbs south to the boundary of the state Forest Preserve and keeps going, eventually reaching the Devil's Path, the Devil's Kitchen Lean-to, the Echo Lake Trail junction, and finally the summit of Overlook Mountain above Woodstock, several miles further. Not a Plattekill Falls afternoon anymore, that's a real mountain day, but it's the same trailhead if that's where you're headed.
Ways to Get There
From the DEC parking lot on Platte Clove Road
About 2/3 mi round trip to the falls · moderate · 20–40 min
Coming from the shop: from Route 23A in Tannersville, take South Main Street, stay left onto Spruce (which becomes Platte Clove Road), stay left again on Platte Clove Road at about 1.5 miles, then continue roughly 5 more miles — this is the same stretch of road as the Huckleberry Point trailhead. Park at the DEC lot, on a short dirt spur off the north side of Platte Clove Road (the same lot Huckleberry Point uses). This is the lot the Catskill Center itself directs visitors to, not the small pull-off right at the Preserve, since the Town of Hunter strictly enforces "No Parking" along most of that stretch and the roadside spot only holds a handful of cars. From the DEC lot, it's a short walk back down Platte Clove Road (east, toward Tannersville) to the Preserve's trailhead kiosk.
Get Directions → · View on AllTrails →
At the kiosk, there's a donation box ($5/person suggested) and, May through October on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, a Catskill Steward on hand to answer questions. From the kiosk, the Waterfall Trail heads east to the falls; the Overlook Trail heads west to the king-post bridge and beyond.
The Catskill Center recently added land just northeast of the falls and is developing a more direct connector trail from Platte Clove Road into the Waterfall Trail, closer to the DEC lot — eventually a shorter walk than the current kiosk approach. Not open yet, so not the route above, but worth a revisit once it is.
What to Expect
Proper footwear is required here, not optional, the Catskill Center says so directly: the Waterfall Trail is narrow and drops through a steep gorge. We'd hand you the Oboz Sawtooth X Mid for the loose, rocky footing.
If you're taking the Overlook Trail out to the clove-edge viewpoint, that's open, exposed ground with long views down the clove, worth a pair of sunglasses in your pocket. We carry Goodr Sunbathing With Wizards at the counter, polarized and cheap enough not to sweat losing a pair on the trail.
From the shop
When to Go
Best April through November; the small roadside spots fill fast on weekends, go early. The easterly 2.5 miles of Platte Clove Mountain Road close seasonally, November 15 to April 15 per the Catskill Center, though with bridge construction underway that window could shift, closing earlier or reopening later than usual some years.
Good to Know
- This is Catskill Center land, not DEC land — a private preserve with its own rules, donation-funded, not part of the state forest system.
- $5 per person suggested donation, payable at the kiosk or online.
- No swimming, no ice or rock climbing, no camping, fires, hunting, or collecting — all explicitly prohibited on the Preserve, posted at the trailhead. Swimming and ice climbing especially draw people here who assume otherwise; they're not allowed, no exceptions.
- Real fall-risk at the falls' edge and along the top of the clove on the Nature Trail. Stay on the marked trails, keep kids and dogs close.
- Foot travel only, no bikes or horses. Dogs must be leashed.
- No restrooms on site.
- Open dawn to dusk only.
- Small, strictly-enforced roadside parking directly at the Preserve; use the DEC lot instead (see Ways to Get There).
- Apps like AllTrails aren't gospel, especially on the Overlook Trail's exposed clove edge where staying on the marked path really matters. We carry the NY-NJ Trail Conference Catskill Trails Map (printed on Tyvek, waterproof and tear-resistant) for the real thing — stop in and we'll help you find your route on it.
While you're out here
Huckleberry Point's trailhead is the same DEC lot, a few minutes' walk up the road. Huckleberry Point →
The Overlook Trail out of this same trailhead is also the way to Devil's Kitchen, the Devil's Path, and eventually Overlook Mountain, several miles further, for anyone who wants to turn this into a much bigger day.
If you want to know what else is worth seeing while you're up here, or want to talk through what to bring before you go, stop into the shop. We're a few miles down the road in Tannersville.