Close to the road falls near Long Island

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

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aram535
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Hi,

I'm planning a day or two trip from Long Island and I would like to see/photograph as many waterfalls as I can during those two days. I do have a bad knee which means I'm very limited to walking distances so I'll have to keep close to the parking area.

Is it worth doing these in January or there isn't going to be much activity? a frozen fall isn't bad, but an empty fall would be disappointing.

Thanks.
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Matt
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Seems like no one is familiar with this area. I checked around but couldn't find much info on it. do you have any info? I'm curious.
aram535
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I have had no other replies myself. I also emailed a couple of the camera clubs that seem to operate in that area, but so far no real replies.
trinitrotoluene
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The problem is Long Island itself is sort of... flat. Not the sort of terrain that lends itself to generating waterfalls. To find waterfalls you more or less have to head up into the Hudson Valley, or out across NYC down the 80 to the Delaware Water Gap. Both are about a 2 hour drive from NYC, so you'll have to add on as long as it takes to get from where you are to the city itself, plus any incidental traffic.

For easily accessible waterfalls... heading across NJ you hit the Great Falls of the Passaic in Paterson, industrialised and urban but decently impressive if it's got good flow (check the online USGS gauge, Passaic at Little Falls). In the Delaware Water Gap on the Pennsylvania side there is Bushkill Falls off the 209, which is a commercial attraction with an entry fee, but the waterfalls at least appear to be relatively unspoiled and the access is developed. There may be stairs, though. Worth checking with them in advance. Further up the 209 is the small township house of Dingmans Ferry from where you can get to Dingmans Falls and its little sister Silverthread Falls. This is a very easy boardwalk about 10 minutes, I can attest that a 90 year old man did it, and the waterfalls are pretty nice. Upstream from here is Childs Park which has three more waterfalls, smaller ones, but that's a bit more walking which you may or may not be up for. Even further up the road is the most impressive waterfall in the area, Raymondskill Falls, again a short walk but a potentially more difficult one (bit steeper). If you're going this route you could book a night's accommodation in the small town of Milford PA which is quite charming.

Up the Hudson Valley, on the less fashionable east side the Croton Dam & Falls is pretty accessible and nicer than the name suggests—not super industrial, the waterfalls are semi-intact and the dam is a very impressive stone building. There are probably pictures somewhere on the forum. That's off one of the 9s, I don't remember which. Not much more than an hour from NYC too. 2 hours from NYC on the western side are the Gunks (get off the 87 at the New Paltz exit), a big limestone escarpment—they don't retain much water, but the ice formations at Awosting Falls are worth seeing and that's only about 5-10 minutes (down a hill, though a gentle one). All the other Gunks falls I know of require more hiking. On the other side of the Gunks is at least one roadside waterfall, Nevele Falls, though I don't know where it is; and a few more roadside ones along Peekamoose Rd which goes up the headwaters of the Rondout Creek. One of them is called Buttermilk Falls, but then every waterfall is. I don't know how many will be flowing at this time of year.

I hope this is at least slightly helpful. (There are closer waterfalls, e.g. a tall one off the Palisades Parkway, but they require hikes, and at this time of year snow boots and walking poles and possibly crampons.)
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Matt
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Great information. Thanks for posting!
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