Kaaterskill Falls Trail Head — Attraction in Town of Hunter

We parked in the parking lot for the falls, not sure of the name of the road, by north and south lake and hiked to the platform with a easy hiking trail. View in photo is from the platform. If you are planning a trip up, please do not park on the mountain road, park in the historical building parking lot and walk the trail to the top of the falls. The cluster of cars pulled over on the side of the road on a very narrow road is unnecessary and you get a better view of the falls from the two parking lots and hiking to the top!!! Summer time that road is ridiculous to get up and down, but with some knowledge ahead of time hopefully avoid some headache and park in the parking spots on top of the mountain in Haines falls. And if you are planning on swimming there, please be respectful! Pick up your trash. I see a lot of people trucking in food and coolers and leaving garbage bags all over! 😞 Us locals or any human being loves the area we live in and enjoy the scenic views without trash laying around. Beautiful spot for tranquility and peaceful. And especially cool when a huge rainstorm has just came and the falls is flowing hard. Just wear proper shoes. Hiking Trail gets a-little slippery in a rainstorm. A must see location with a great experience with...

Okay I'm going to let you in on a secret!

When you go in the summer or the spring or the fall you will be amazed by the amount of people come to kaaterskill Falls. Yes it's the largest two tier waterfall in New York but sometimes the crowd is absolutely insane and you'll find yourself walking in a line to the top of the waterfall. Personally I find that extremely undesirable.

So the secret is as soon as you walk onto the trail head-up about five 500 feet or so up the first set of stairs and then walk out to where the water is running. From there you can actually wade in the water all the way out to the of the falls. You'll experience really cool rocks natural water pools that you can sit in. It's a great opportunity to be in complete privacy while all the other suckers walk in a line up the trail.

Sometimes it can get slippery but trust me it is totally worth it take your time enjoy the hike up in the water. The First full is absolutely amazing the water is ice cold and it's great to swim in. The second pool which is up a really steep climb at the tippy-top is...

Felt my age (70) after finishing this hike. Beautiful views indeed. Many signage warning of possible death and /or injury. The walk down was one a challenge, but i walked it slowly so as not to turn my noodle ankle. The 181 steps going up were easier, gravity was our friend. Though, by the time the stairs were climbed, i felt a brush up class in CPR would have been a good idea. There were many families and young folks…. with their big dogs. Nothing more frightening than watching a father go down hill with a toddler in his shoulders! Oh wait, watching a 3 year old doing this hike in a pair of crocks! The 2 year old Lab i passed at least had booties with traction on the bottom! All in all, i recommend this hike, especially during peak foliage season. We were a week off! An increase in people could come in handy to act as a spotter, or to cushion ones fall… There are several different trails. Next time i’ll choose one that wasn’t...