Books & Trails

Tag: hudson valley

  • Discover Raymondskill Falls: Hiking and Nature Escapes

    Discover Raymondskill Falls: Hiking and Nature Escapes

    Raymondskill Falls at 178 feet is the tallest waterfall in Pennsylvania. Located in the state’s north-east corner where the Delaware River separates the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania from the Catskill Mountains in New York and the Kittatinny Mountains in New Jersey, Raymondskill Falls is in a mountainous region not far from the picturesque town of Milford which, because of its charming main street lined with quaint shops, restaurants, and historical buildings, is frequently cited as one the best small towns in America.

    Brief Hike

    The hike to the falls is brief. Completing the half mile, 16-minute loop takes the visitor to the top and bottom of the falls along a well-defined and well-maintained path complete with wooden guardrails that keep the visitor away from the steep drops below.

    There’s brick-and-mortar restroom, too, at the amply-appropriated parking lot.

    All for free.

    Expect Crowds

    If all this sounds inviting that you want to visit, then it’s going to be likely that so would many others, too. Indeed, the trail can be busy, especially on weekends. And, when compared to other waterfalls where the trails are largely undisturbed except for the paths formed by the footsteps of hikers past, a visit to Raymondskill Falls could have the feel of a crowded theme park instead of the quiet trip in Nature you were expecting.

    An Escape

    Fortunately, there is an escape from all this. An optional out-and-back at just under one mile total takes you down to Raymondskill Creek for some peace and quiet, with two additional waterfalls along the way, away from the crowds at Raymondskill Falls for some time alone communing with Mother Nature.

  • Winter Hiking Adventures at Fuller Mountain

    Winter Hiking Adventures at Fuller Mountain

    Communing with Nature in winter.

    Well, I’m back at Fuller Mountain. But whereas I hiked the north loop last fall, or what is officially called, Mountain and Creek Loop, this time, in the winter, I hiked the south loop, which is officially called, um, South Loop.

    But before I get to that, I have to be honest and say I go to these trails like the ones at Fuller Mountain (and Gobbler’s Knob in a recent post) only because I think I am running out of waterfalls to go to. I love Nature and I love photography and a waterfall during or at the end of a hike in addition to experiencing wonder and satisfying my wildest imaginations taps, too, into my swelling desire of expressing Nature in whatever creative form I can muster.

    The changing of the seasons, too, might have something to do with that. Who needs a waterfall when Nature casts a dazzling blaze of colors in the fall, cheerful flowers and butterflies in the spring, the forest sounds and vivid greens in the summer, and the profound silence of a snow-covered landscape in the winter?

    Indeed, these are in fact what I am just finding out. Constantly being lured into trekking in Nature by forces unseen, I go to places like these with photography and videography in mind but walk away always feeling richer and calmer in ways unknown.

    I can always revisit the waterfalls I’ve already been to, again and again and again if I wanted, but the trails I visit afterward, such as the ones at Fuller Mountain, are not leftovers by any means or by any stretch of the imagination.