Verkeerder Kill Falls

A place to discuss waterfalls. Including the parks that house them and the hikes to get to them.

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L_G_D
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Didn't find a dedicated thread on this one so here it is. A nice waterfall in Sam's Point Preserve, or Minnewaska State Park, I'm not exactly sure where the boundary is. Actually, now that I look at the trail map, it's not in either - it's on private land, though I think it was finally sold to either OSI or the Nature Conservancy within the last year or so. It has always been accessible, though, and the Long Path runs right across the top. Now that that chunk of land is available to the public, the Long Path can cross that half mile section to Mud Pond, or Haseco Lake, whichever you prefer, and avoid an 18 mile detour.

OK, back to the falls, it's maybe 60-70 feet or so, and really nice when there's water. My shot below is from the easy viewpoint at the top, my friend has taken his climbing gear and rapelled to the bottom and gotten some pictures. I guess you can also scramble down the steep hillside a ways back from the falls to get to the bottom as well. This shot was taken in early March, when there was still some ice left over at the bottom.

Image

Colin has a great shot from the bottom with a rainbow, and a nice amount of water, too.

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Last edited by L_G_D on Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:45 am, edited 2 times in total.
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hobkyl
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I really need to get to MSP this year!
“There’s an inconsequentiality to our lives that living in the wilderness shows up. Mountain are real, they set their limits, they set ours. They expose us, make us vulnerable and strong at the same time. “
--Alison Wat




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L_G_D
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Yeah, if they don't close it. Parts were closed after the forest fire, and I don't know if those sections were ever re-opened, and now with them closing parks (don't know if Minnewaska is on the list) you might not get a chance for a while. Sam's Point, though is either OSI or Nature Conservancy, so you can always get in that way, and what are they going to do, have an armed guard where the trail crosses into Minnewaska to keep people out?
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L_G_D
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Went back to Verkeerder Kill Falls yesterday, and made the effort to get to the bottom and get some shots. There are several herd paths leading in all directions, plus some old trails that aren't maintained any more, so finding the right one took a bit of doing. It was also a bit tricky getting down and eventually we found a trail that was steep but do-able and lead quite a ways downstream from the falls but seemed the most safe with the least amount of cliff to descend. When we got to the bottom, we had a nice rainbow to reward our efforts:

Image

Then we switched to the other side and a bit lower:

Image

After that, we climbed out from that side which was a bit tricky as well, and met up with the trail and headed back out.

Just realized there isn't a listing for this on the main waterfall page.
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Nice shots!
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Thanks, another lucky one where the water was decent. Made the trip to the bottom worth it.
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