KAATERSKILL CLOVE · HAINES FALLS, NY
Kaaterskill Falls
Best for: iconic waterfall views · short but busy hike
The tallest waterfall in New York, fifteen minutes from our shop, and the place most of our customers ask us about first. Here's how to see it without the research spiral.
Pick a route, plan around the crowds, and bring the right shoes.
At a Glance
- Distance: Varies by approach — 0.4 to 5+ miles round trip
- Difficulty: Easy to moderate, depending on where you start and where you go
- Time: 30 minutes to half a day
- Best for: Families and anyone who's heard the name and wants to see the falls for themselves
- Heads up: The trail to the viewing platform is ADA-compliant and easy by most standards.
- Worth knowing: Getting to the base of the falls is the better view, but it's a much bigger hike — stone steps, uneven ground, real elevation on the way back up.
What you're actually going to see
Kaaterskill is two falls stacked on top of each other — a 175-foot upper drop into a pool, then an 85-foot lower drop into the creek below. Total height is around 260 feet, which is taller than Niagara, though that comparison sells it short. Niagara is wide and loud. Kaaterskill is tall and tucked into a mountain cove, with hemlocks growing right up to the edge.
There's an Observation Platform at the top, built out over the cliff edge, where you can look across at the falls from the same height as the upper drop. This is the easiest way to say you saw the falls — but it's not the view of the falls most people are familiar with.
For that, you head to the base of the lower falls, where you stand at creek level looking up at all 260 feet. This is the harder approach — stone stairs, switchbacks, and the iconic view that's been painted by Hudson River School painters since the 1820s.
Both are worth seeing. Most people pick one and come back another day for the other.
How to get there: four options
There's no single "Kaaterskill Falls trailhead." There are a handful of parking areas, each with its own personality. Here's how we'd think about it.
1. Laurel House Road
This is the lot most people want. Free parking at the end of Laurel House Road, then a short, slightly pitched .25-mile walk to the observation platform.
If you just want to see the falls and get back to your car — or if you know in advance you want to walk down to the base and back — Laurel House is the right first call.
The catch: it fills up fast, especially on weekends between May and October. If you're rolling up at 11am on a Saturday, you're going to find it full. Have a backup in mind.
2. Scutt Road
A little further down North Lake Road, Scutt Road has a larger trailhead lot. From here you'll have to hike a bit further to reach the platform or the base of the falls, but you'll also be closer to the rest of the trail system above the Kaaterskill Clove: Inspiration Point, Layman's Monument, the Escarpment Trail, and a longer, more satisfying hike if that's what you came for.
This lot fills up shortly after Laurel House on busy weekends, but hikers often head here first because it also gives you free access to North-South Lake and the Mary's Glen Trail without paying the entrance fee. We tell our customers to head here if Laurel House is full, and at less crowded times when they tell us they want the hike, not just the view.
3. Mountain Top Historical Society
Back out on Rt. 23A, the Mountain Top Historical Society offers parking for a $20 suggested donation on weekends. From there you walk the Kaaterskill Rail Trail — the flat, gravel former rail bed that's part of the Hunter Regional Trails — straight to the falls platform and back. About 3 miles round trip.
This is the option for people who want a slightly longer outing without the elevation, or who are walking with kids/older grandparents or who just like the rail trail. Heads up: some visitors continue down to the base of the falls after checking out the platform and are surprised by how much longer that makes the day. If you're starting from the Historical Society, the platform is the natural turnaround for a 1.5- to 2-hour visit.
The lot fills up most weekends, but the donation supports a small nonprofit doing good work, so we'd rather send people there than circle for an hour somewhere else.
4. North-South Lake (South Lake Dam)
If you're already planning to spend the day at North-South Lake, you can reach Kaaterskill Falls on foot from the South Lake Dam, through the woods (look for the signs). There's a day-use fee to enter and park at the state campground, but you're getting two destinations in one — a swim, a paddle, a picnic, and a hike to one of the most famous waterfalls in the East.
It's the longest approach, but for some people it's the best one.
A note on roadside parking
As you come up through Kaaterskill Clove, you'll see pull-offs along Route 23A — Molly Smith, the Ice Climbers Lot, the Bastion Falls pull-off. During summer, parking is prohibited at all of these. The four options above are where you want to be.
What to expect when you get there
Cell service is spotty. Download your maps and any directions before you leave Tannersville. AllTrails works offline if you load the trail ahead of time.
The trail is wet more often than not. Shaded by hemlocks, north-facing, lots of seeps and small streams crossing the path. Even in August, expect mud and slick rock in shaded sections. The "I almost slipped" feeling is the single most common thing people mention when they come back into the shop after Kaaterskill.
From the shop
A trail shoe with a real outsole is the single thing most people wish they'd brought. Not hiking boots — just a shoe with actual grip. We carry a few options we'd wear on this trail ourselves.
Shop footwear →Getting to the base.
The view from the base of the falls is the best way to see it, but its a much more serious hike — about a mile of challenging rocky trail each way from any of the upper trailheads. You'll hit a stretch of 180 stone steps that's easy going down, and a real workout coming back up. Plan accordingly.
Bring more water than you think you need. Especially in summer. There's no water at any of the trailheads, and the hike back up from the base is when most people realize they should have brought a second bottle.
From the shop
A 32-ounce bottle is the floor for this hike — more if you're going to the base of the falls. If you came to town without a pack, a packable daypack carries a layer, an extra bottle, and snacks without taking up any real space in your bag.
Shop hydration →
Stay on the trail. People die at Kaaterskill Falls. Almost always from going off-trail to get a better photo at the top of the upper falls. The official trail and the platform are where the view is. The fence is there for a reason.
Leave the dog at home, or keep them leashed. Off-leash dogs near the cliff edge is how bad days happen.
Seasonal: Water flow is loudest and most forceful in spring after snowmelt. In winter, the entire falls freezes into a beautiful wall of ice — which is its own spectacle, but the trail can be treacherous, and you'll need traction.
What to bring (and what you can skip)
Bring:
- Real footwear with grip. Not flip-flops, not white sneakers you want to keep clean.
- Water. More than one bottle if you're going to the base.
- A layer. Even in summer, the area around the Middle Pool is cooler than the parking lot.
- A phone with a downloaded map (or better yet, the NY-NJ Trail Conference maps we sell in the shop).
You can skip:
- Trekking poles, unless you already use them or want support for your knees. Most people don't need them here.
- A full backpack. A small pack or even a sling is fine for the platform-only hike.
- Mountaineering boots. Lighter hiking shoes with a good sole are plenty.
If you stop in before or after
We're on Main Street in Tannersville, fifteen minutes from Laurel House Road. Mention this page when you stop in and we'll give you a printed map on paper — way easier to follow than your phone with a dead battery.
We carry the gear we'd actually want to be wearing on this hike, and we're happy to talk through any of it.
If you come up and have a good day at the falls, we'd love to hear about it. The best part of this job is reading the reviews where someone says we sent them somewhere good — and the second best part is meeting that person when they come back the next year.
— Ryan Penny, Camp Catskill