Kaaterskill Falls Trail

The most popular short hike in the Catskills, to the state’s highest waterfall, great for families. By the mid-nineteenth century Romantic period, Kaaterskill Falls had become the most popular symbol of the American wilderness, when notions of the “picturesque” and “sublime” focused mainly on European scenery. The west was still a frontier by the time the Catskill Mountain House was built on the ledges of Pine Orchard in 1823, and Niagara Falls—discovered by travelers as early as 1683 was old news by 1778. One reason for Kaaterskill Falls’ immense popularity was its proximity to the largest U.S. population center of the time—New York City—and to the fact that the rising upper and middle classes now had the time and means for destination travel. Another was the daunting realization that they are even higher than Niagara Falls, falling in two tiers for a total of 260 feet.