A Winter Hike to Artist Falls and Venus Bath

I did not expect parking to be reserved only for hotel guests at Winter Clove Inn when I arrived at the trailhead for Venus Bath and Artist Falls. I didn’t remember any of the websites I visited saying so. But there they were, not just one but multiple guests-only signs enforcing the inn’s policy. After circling around looking for street parking without any luck, my only option was to rely on the inn’s good graces to allow me to park—otherwise, my hour-long drive to the Catskills would have been for naught. I stepped inside the inn.

But there was no one at the front desk. No one was on the entire ground floor, either, as I walked around saying hello. So, I left a note with my contact information saying I was parked at the trailhead and apologized for my intrusion.

I set off on the trail.

I hurried my hike so I can return to the parking lot as quickly as I can, hoping my car wasn’t issued a ticket—or worse, towed—before I came back. But, more importantly, I did not want to wear out my (presumed) welcome.

But then I got lost on the trail.

I missed a turn, perhaps due to my haste, and what was supposed to be a one-hour out-and-back became a two-hour loop as I tried to find my way back to the trail.

In the end things worked out. I made it to Venus Bath, a low rock ledge spanning the width of the shallow brook with an opening dead center for the water to gracefully flow through instead of spilling over like water on top of a dam. And Artist Falls was a 25-foot waterfall with a covered bridge on top. What more need one say to paint a picture-perfect postcard scene? Two beautiful, frozen waterfalls in the Catskills just half-a-mile apart in a landscape blanketed by soft, white snow.

(There was a third, Gaia Cascade, between the two falls that I skipped, again in my haste.)

And there was no ticket on my car’s windshield when I reached the parking lot.

A website I found later states visitors need only inform the front desk, which was what I did, to park at the trailhead. And another website states more parking was available at the inn’s bowling alley just a short walk away.

The inn’s multiple guests-only parking signs in such a small space seemed rather ominous. I’m sure many turned away and headed home upon seeing the stern signs. But in light of the positive experience I just had, and the two websites I found later, I am inclined to think otherwise. The inn was probably trying to stem the growing tide of interlopers on its property once picture-perfect postcard photos of Artist Falls started circulating online and, like Venus Bath, will welcome the few well-meaning visitors to freely flow through.