On a recent trip towards the Catskills, we decided to stop to explore Saugerties, New York. Falling Waters Preserve is located along the Hudson River, and makes for a nice, short hike. I chose this one because it looked pretty family friendly and figured my kids could handle the hike.
We used Google Maps to locate the Preserve, and had no trouble finding the parking lot, which holds probably a dozen cars. There was plenty of space to park, even when we left late morning.
There is a nice kiosk at the trailhead, and there were actually trail maps there. I often find that when we go hiking, there are no maps left, and it was nice to have a map with us even for a short hike.
We started on the white trail, which is close to the Hudson River and runs parallel to it. The trails are well-marked here, with markers on the trees, and it is easy to follow as the paths are well-maintained.
There are lots of great views, even from the trail. At several places along the white trail, we ventured off on little paths that went to the water, and the kids even waded in a little bit. The Hudson River looked beautiful, and we had perfect weather.
The green stuff floating on the water? (see my pics) Invasive plants called Chinese Water Chestnut. This is one of those things you want to be careful as you are walking around, as there are dried ones everywhere. You just want to make sure it doesn't go through something like a flip flop or even a sneaker. Unfortunately it has invaded so many waterways, you find them everywhere and it isn't something that can be removed because it is so abundant. Just watch your step.
We continued and reached the waterfall overlook, which has a nice seating area with a pergola. In early June, the waterfall was flowing well. According to the Scenic Hudson website, the waterfall isn't always flowing, so it will likely dry up later in the year. We usually like to have scenic points along our hikes, so you may want to time your visit accordingly.
You can either double back on the trail you came in on (for us, that was along the water), or take it as a loop. We did a loop, returning on a trail that is essentially parallel to the one that runs along the Hudson River.
There is a nice statue as we looped back, where the preserve backs up to private property.
We also saw some poison ivy along the trail, so be careful for that along with the Chinese Water Chestnuts.
By taking the Riverside Trail in, and the Upland Trail out, we covered just over 1.5 miles. The trail is mostly flat, with only slightly rolling terrain, and was an easy hike for all of us. read more