Stream Peters Kill

Greater watershed Rondout Creek → Hudson River → New York Bay

Height Probably in the 18-20m/59-66ft range

Form The classic—single drop into big pool

Volume Ranges from trickly in summer & autumn to big & booming during peak runoff

General location Shawangunk Mountains, Minnewaska State Park

Specific location just down the hill from Lake Minnewaska, between New Paltz and Ellenville, NY

Trail access 5-10 min walk you could drive a shopping cart down

Bonus waterfalls Below this fall the Peters Kill flows pretty quietly down to US 44/NY 55, goes under it then starts to fall over a bunch of little waterfalls, which you'll be able to see if you're coming from the New Paltz direction. Apparently these culminate in a big fall called Sheldon Falls which I've never seen, though I've heard it from above a few times whilst hiking in the Gunks. I don't know how one would go about visiting it.

 

This is probably the easiest waterfall to access in the Gunks, and presents the typical geology of the region rather straightforwardly. The Shawangunk Conglomerate that makes up most of the mountains is a very impermeable and resistant rock, whilst the softer shale that underlies it is much more easily eroded; this therefore leads to the spectacular cliffs and waterfalls that dominate the area. It also, however, does not retain much groundwater, and surface water tends to run off very quickly. As such, if it's been raining lately the rivers will rise quickly and to enormous proportions, but if it hasn't, they are likely to dry to a trickle.

 

The Peters Kill is fed by Lake Awosting, the largest lake on the ridge, but as the lake has no inlets its level is dependent on precipitation. When the level has dropped low enough that it no longer feeds the outlet, the only water in Peters Kill will come from its small tributary Fly Brook. Here's what that looks like: