A Hike, A View, A Village

The minute I saw the view from Joppenbergh Mountain in the latest issue of a local magazine I wondered why I have never heard of it. The view, IMO, is the most iconic in the Hudson Valley and perhaps even in New York State. One might expect scenery like this in a New England state like Vermont but this one is right here in New York State just two hours from New York City.

The village of Rosendale at the foot of the mountain also has much to offer for fun. It is small but Main Street is lined with quaint cafes, shops, inns, and restaurants. It even has its own bookstore and a Himalayan crafts store. It’s almost like a mini-Woodstock. Willow Kiln Park preserves the kilns once used in the town’s late 19th century booming cement industry and the Rosendale Trestle, the highest span bridge in the United States when it was constructed in 1872, now serves as park and walkway 150 feet above the ground.

It’s fall, it’s not far, and the hike isn’t long—and although at only 500 feet Joppenbergh Mountain technically cannot be classified as a “mountain”—as one famous naturalist once said, the mountain was calling and so I must go. So go I did.

I didn’t know I was already at Diamond Notch Falls until I recognized the wooden bridge from pictures I saw online. That was how brief and nearly effortless the 0.8-mile hike was. Add to that the scenery along the trail made up of the colorful fall leaves lit golden by the sunrise and the brook alongside that teased the hiker constantly to pause and meander among its multiple rocky cascades, the hike felt even shorter.

Then again, this might be the perfect hike for many. A short nature hike with a waterfall at the end could be the most appealing outdoor adventure for people of all ages.

You probably won’t find Stony Notch Falls in the Catskills if you googled for it. The reason for that I think is it is off trail. Many people might not know about it. While climbing up the Red Trail on Devil’s Path just off scenic NY-214 leading to Platte Cove, you will quickly veer off trail once you catch sight of the dry creek bed below ahead of you. You will clamber on top of rocks and boulders following the seemingly dry creek (there’s water beneath the rocks) at a steep ascent, gasping and panting and awkwardly angling each step for a proper foot landing on every carefully chosen rock. But not to worry, well before your anticipated second wind kicks in, Stony Notch Falls will have already made its appearance. The climb may be rocky and steep, but it is short. And that—along with the absence of a crowd—might make your trek to Stony Notch Falls a rewarding adventure in the wilds of the Catskills.

Less than 4 miles from the Rock Hill exit on NY-17 takes you to the trailhead for Mullet Falls and Denton Falls, and if you have time, High Falls. That’s 3 waterfalls on or close to Neversink River in what New York State designated as a “Unique Area” because of its “special natural beauty, wilderness character, geological, ecological or historical significance” outside the more well-known preserves of Adirondack and Catskill Parks. (source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_State_Forests#Unique_areas)

I did the 4-mile, out-and-back to Mullet and Denton Falls—passing up on High Falls as it would double my hike—and have to say it reminded me of trails people from other parts of the world would travel to. There was not a dull moment as vegetation was varied, the trail was well-marked with pointers to off-trail side-trips for those so inclined, and the sound of rushing water on nearby Neversink River Gorge and its offshoot stream and brook was a constant companion heightening the hiker’s relaxation on an otherwise arduous hike.

So, yes, there’s a good amount of workout, too, which, strangely, I felt only when it was time to leave. But having gone there at sunrise, I was alone on the trail and only met people on my way back, people whose jaunty sprints alleviated much of the exhaustion I otherwise would have felt.

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.

Possibly known mostly to and enjoyed only by locals, Vernooy Kill Falls in the Catskills brought “hidden gem” to mind when I visited one summer morning minutes after sunrise. Mountaintops with 360-degree views and waterfalls dozens of feet high dot the region that a series of little waterfalls just a 20-minute, one-mile hike away in Sundown Wild Forest is easy to overlook and can hardly be the stuff of bucket-lists a hardcore or even novice hiker would want to conquer. Yet that can be news ear-worthy to one wishing only to trip in Nature—indeed a sign at the falls requests visitors to register so the area’s use might be determined and maintenance subsequently justified—as Nature’s peace and quiet punctured not by the constant stream of tourists but only by the roar of the waterfalls can be hard to come by in today’s digital age of posting selfies online. For one looking for beauty and inspiration perhaps in a time of personal turbulence, one might find the waterfall’s refusal to remain silent however big or small as Nature’s stubborn insistence at keeping the world a happy place.

A short hike that can\’t be beat.

The first waterfall is only 0.3 mile from the bridge. The second waterfall is 0.2 mile after the first. So once at the bridge, you\’re practically there with one waterfall on top of another. A covered bridge and two waterfalls in one short, super-easy, one-mile round-trip hike in the Catskills. Can\’t be beat.

But after reviewing the guidebook, \”New York Waterfalls\” (2010) by Scott E. Brown, it looks like we didn\’t reach the second, taller waterfall. This calls for another hike…