Stream Plattekill Creek & tributaries

Greater watershed Esopus Creek → Hudson River → New York Bay

Height and Form Anywhere from 5 to 20 major waterfalls ("major" in this case being "taller than a house")

Volume Moderate during snowmelt & after rain; dries to a trickle in summer

General location Catskill Mountains, New York

Specific location Along a tiny, incredibly steep mountain road that starts near the town of... something. I think it's exit 20 off the I-87, and then NY 32 and... Look at a map or something.

Trail access There's a trail leading up the clove from the base, which starts on private property, so I probably can't legally tell you how to get to it. I've never been there, anyway. For Plattekill Falls at the top of the clove, pull off the incredibly narrow road somewhere in between a small ramshackle cabin and the intersection of the Long Path. This is a short distance past the Devil's Kitchen signed trailhead. The trail heads back down into the clove, paralleling the road, then makes a switchback turn and descends to the falls. From here, you can also (theoretically) get down to Rainbow and Bridal Veil Falls by following the creek a little ways downstream until the massive horizon line becomes visible, crossing it (well away from said massive horizon line) and then following a very rough and ridiculously steep trail down which eventually comes out at the base of Rainbow Falls. On the way down you can try to find somewhere to cut across to Bridal Veil (upper or lower). Don't do this unless you know what you're doing. Actually, don't do this at all. Unless you're a deer.

You can also simply book a canyoneering trip with a company in the area and thus abseil down Bridal Veil and the other waterfalls, which is much safer, and also what I did. Of course, you still have to go back up the ridiculously steep trail.

You can also also hike about a mile down the Devil's Path, which contours around the shoulder of the opposite mountain, and then bushwhack down Black Chasm (a tributary stream with a waterfall of its own) into the clove. This is the locals' preferred route apparently. Bear in mind that most of the locals are deer.

Bonus waterfalls There are two on Plattekill Creek—one just above the top of the clove, one just below the bottom. The upper one is a short walk from the Plattekill Falls carpark; the lower one is just below a bridge over the creek and easily visible. Both are small but fairly scenic under the right conditions.

 

Platte Clove is an enormous rift in the earth, carved out by Plattekill Creek, most likely in floods of glacial meltwater. (Plattekill, ironically, means "Flat Creek"—clearly an early settler had a sense of humour. Plattekill Creek means "Flat Creek Creek" and suggests that the USGS is not so endowed.) Compared to the scale of the surrounding New York landscape, the ruggedness and depth of the clove always come as a surprise, with the steep slopes of the surrounding mountains rising as much as 1000m/3300ft above the Hudson Valley. More sheer and dramatic than nearby Kaaterskill Clove, which has been worn down more significantly due to its larger stream, Platte Clove is likely one of the most impressive gorges in the state.

 

The Catskills were a well-explored tourist area in the 19th century and so during that time every waterfall along the creek received a name. That said, most of these names have completely fallen out of use; once the hotels closed and the tourism industry sought out more unspoiled experiences, the upper waterfalls in the clove became all but inaccessible and the lower ones known only to locals. That is still the case today. The names Bridal Veil and Rainbow Falls applied to the three waterfalls at the head of the clove are almost certainly not the original 19th century names, and may have been invented by our guides.

 

Above the head of the clove is the only easily accessible waterfall along the creek, Plattekill Falls, which drops about 16m/52ft in a narrow punchbowl shape (which can become significantly more thunderous after rain). Bridal Veil Falls, the first drop at the head of the clove, is about 24m/80ft with a number of ledges, which nearly disappear at low water. A short distance downstream is the lower Bridal Veil Falls which is about 10m/33ft, at the base of which a small stream from Devil's Kitchen cascades in from the true left (this area is known as Hell's Hole, and is sometimes used as an access route to the clove for those who don't know any better. Sometimes they get airlifted out, usually they just get eaten by coyotes.) and subsequently the combined flows drop over the Rainbow Falls, a two-stepped drop probably totaling about 40m/131ft. Below this I don't know, but I don't think there's anything else so steep you couldn't hike in from the bottom of the clove to eventually reach Rainbow. My pictures of these three falls didn't come out very well at all, because (a) there was hardly any water and (b) it was sunny. I also did not bring any camera gear down—in fact I would not be surprised if my camera was just on auto mode the whole time. The canyoneering trip was fun, though. And hopefully you can look at the pictures and imagine what the waterfalls might look like with water.