Tompkins Falls itself is a natural beauty to behold. But the drive there from Livingston Manor in the south that goes all the way to Margaretville in the north is perhaps the most idyllic in this western part of the Catskills. Vi and I have driven through that road many times in the past when we shot Airbnb homes and although we have not gone there in the fall which we imagine to be spectacular with the season’s colors, winter when its open fields, roadside streams, lakes, barns, covered bridges, the surrounding mountains and overhanging trees on the road were covered in snow were just as magical and made us forget the at times treacherous conditions of the winding roads.

Tompkins Falls lacks amenities like proper parking (there’s a pull-off area) or a place to picnic. Even the short trail from the road down the stream was hard to decipher as it was overgrown with grass and ground vine that can get caught and trip the hiker around the ankle. But these should not deter anyone from going. When in the Catskills, Tompkins Falls may be the perfect detour off the beaten paths to enjoy and explore a waterfall on state land all to oneself.