NYFalls.com Talk

We went to Kaaterskill yesterday to check out the "improvements" the state has added to make the place a little more safe from stupid people. It actually isn't too bad, at least what has been completed so far. There is a nice trail that could even be handicap accessible, from the parking lot down a zigzag path to a viewing platform that overlooks the falls. We have actually taken pictures from that exact spot, only while balanced precariously on the edge of the cliff. So, it's a nice spot to view the falls now, with a sturdy floor under you and a safety railing. The fencing that has been added above the falls isn't complete yet, but it looks like they are going to keep it far enough back that you won't see it from the viewing platform. There also appears to be stairs at the bottom that lead up the hillside where it used to be a scramble up a steep slope of crumbling rock and dirt. I don't know if they are going to complete a trail to the bottom of the upper falls, but there does look to be some kind of retaining fence started there.

But anyway, I used the Sony with it's built in panorama mode that I just posted a picture from Mary's Glen to that thread, and grabbed this shot. The light level from one side to the other is a bit extreme, but it came out pretty good.

LGD great photo and thanks for updating us on the changes. I have been wondering how the improvements are going. I was concerned that the project would civilize it too much. This is one of my favorite spots. Do you have any guesses on how think that snow and ice is around the main fall?

The mound around the bottom of the falls itself is probably 20-30 feet thick. The thinner areas near the edge probably 2-3 feet. That's actually less ice than usual. Most winters, there's just a giant mound that looks like a volcano that the water flows into, there usually isn't any open water clear space like that at the bottom.

I don't find the new path and viewing platform to be too intrusive, I'd rather they weren't there, but in this case, it actually makes it easier to get a good view of the falls. Maybe in the spring we'll hike into the bottom and see what it looks like from there.