NYFalls.com Talk

A nice set of falls on the Kinderhook Creek, which was running very high last Sunday. I had been there years ago when the water was much lower, and could get to the bottom of the lower set of falls, once I dig up the film those shots are on, I'll post them. When the water is high like it was Sunday, there was no way to get down to the lower falls so we settled for the upper falls which are easy to get to. There is a small viewing park on the opposite side of the creek where you can see the upper set from a distance:



Yes, there is a dam and reservoir at the top of the falls, which makes them appear about 20 feet higher than they are naturally.

There is a nice town park right along the creek that allows access to the falls and has a small beach to swim at, when there's a lifeguard on duty, of course. Since it was a bright sunny day, the conditions for waterfall pictures weren't perfect, but it did supply a rainbow:



After the stream flows over these falls, it runs under the one lane bridge, then splits into two streams with two sets of falls and flows around an island.

Google Map

Dunn describes these in the Hudson Valley region book on page 123.

Nice View on Bing maps

i kind of like the character those types of dams add to waterfalls.

Found the shots of the lower falls, another hot dry day in 1995.

From the top of the lower falls, the bridge is just behind me and above my head:



The unusual X shape of the lower falls is created by the rock formations it runs over. They are layered sedmentary rock that have been turned almost 90° so that the layers are nearly vertical. The water runs through these layers in many natural channels all over the place.



A couple of kids arrived as I was wandering around and beat the heat by jumping off the cliffs into the pool below:



The second set of falls that feed into the smaller channel that runs around the island:



Just above that set, there's another more of a cascade, with the old mill building in the background. It is still being used as a business and access to that side of the stream is not allowed.



Another historical marker to add to the collection: