‘Catskills’ got a lot closer to New York City

Fitzgerald Falls came as a complete surprise for me. Because most of what I knew about the village of Monroe where Fitzgerald Falls is in was its town center and the park-and-ride facility that is always brimming with cars parked by weekday NYC commuters with many spilling illegally onto the roadsides, I had not bothered to check it out for any nature trails.

That is, until one day I found out that a mini-waterfall I planned to visit in nearby Schunnemunk Mountain had its trail recently closed off because it crossed the supposedly dangerous railroad tracks. Looking online for alternate trails, I stumbled upon Fitzgerald Falls in Monroe.

The reviews I read were not encouraging. Most reported that the waterfall was dry when they visited. It was probably best—no guarantee—to visit in the spring and fall when showers were more frequent. But having nowhere else to go to and the season being early fall, I decided to give it a try.

And I was totally surprised when I did. The trail to the falls was just over a half-mile long (or a short 15-minute walk) but the surrounding forestry with seemingly-socially distanced trees spread out on wide barren earth and rocky soil complete with a wooden footbridge crossing a narrow creek and a stone staircase on one side of the falls compared well with those I hiked in the deeper parts of the Catskill woodlands. It was such a pleasure that I went back a second time with Vi.

I typically head north toward upstate when chasing waterfalls. It just made more sense. The farther away I moved from New York City, I thought, the more pristine and untouched nature would be.

But I know now that I cannot simply brush Monroe or localities south of me aside. The 0.6-mile trek to Fitzgerald Falls may be a minuscule portion of the Appalachian Trail it’s on, but the peace and tranquility I found there under the canopy of tall trees interrupted only by the rush of the waterfall had me believe that I traveled for much, much longer to be rewarded with this simple but alluring escape into one of Nature’s truly hidden gems.