Kaaterskill Falls Trail: Case Study
Kaaterskill Falls from base view
N.d. “Kaaterskill Falls and Laurel House, Catskill Mts.” Catskill Mountaineer. Web. 5 Oct. Driscoll, Francis. Kaaterskill Falls Today. Photograph @ Francis Driscoll. Hudson River School Art 2015.
¤ Elevation: Total ascent is 527ft with a max elevation of 1,946ft about sea level.
¤ Percent Grade: Ranked 5/10 Elevation gain is several hundred feet but never exceeds more than 12% grade.
¤ Mileage: Approximately 2.0 miles up-and-back taking around 1.5 hours
¤ Route type: out and Figure1. Topographic Map of Kaaterskills Falls Trail back N.d. Maps, Profiles, and GPS Files” Catskill Mountaineer. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
Top Entrance from Laurel House Road Mile Post Altitude (ft) Direction 0.00 2,360’ Parking lot on Laurel House Road. Take road to metal gate
0.22 2,212’ Walk down trail until ends at top of Kaaterskill Falls 0.44 2,212’ Return back to parking lot same way Kenny, Kevin. 7/31/14 Top of Kaaterskill Falls. N.d. WhiteBlaze.net. you came Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
0.68 1,969’ Base of Kaaterskill Falls 1.36 1,700’ Return back to entrance
Cheng, Johnny T. 2013. Kaaterskill Falls, Greene County, New York. World of Waterfalls.
Bastion Falls: Bottom Trail head Trail Map Overview ¤ Trail head Parking; laurel house and off route 23A
¤ Points of Interest/Anchor points:
-Kaaterskill Falls, two tier waterfall. 1st drop 167ft and 2nd drop 67ft. Trail head from top.
-Bastion Falls; trail head from bottom
¤ Noise impact; Good distance from roads so cannot hear cars at least 1,000 ft
N.d. Bastion Falls between Low Water & Moderate Water. Kaaterskill Falls. Catskill Mountaineer. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
N.d. Catskills - Kaaterskill Falls & North/South Lake Trail Map. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
¤ Mystery:
-Curvature before Kaaterskill falls
- Noise of the water incentive for locomotion
¤ Experience:
-Sudden appearance of waterfall
-Subtle turns in the trail
-Change in grade steepness.
-The ledge view of the waterfall and interaction with water. Cliff and ledges as a form of attracting people
¤ Use/misuses the landscape: Only one narrow route for trails for users up the mountain. Causing herd paths/social N.d. Hines Tour.com. Web. 5 Oct. 2015 http://www.hinestours.com/i/tour%201/kaaterskill_falls_hines_tours_3.JPG Photograph paths Construction and Maintenance ¤ The Trail was constructed by The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. This summer (2015) $450K was put into improving trail quality and adding safety features.
¤ Bridge has recently been constructed over Spruce Creek.
¤ Fencing: 456 feet of fencing installed To discourage hikers from moving onto dangerous areas outside of the designated hiking trail. Ryan Graig and Adam Johnson making a railing on Kaaterskill Falls ¤ Staircase: Stone steps have replaced the old wooden built steps. Trail Approximately 260 feet long containing around 200 stone steps. (water flow and erosion)
¤ Tredway: Narrow and mainly trail consists of mineral soil; clay and large rocks. Barely meets the criteria of 4 to 6 feet.
¤ Maintenance: Trail Conference Volunteers maintain trail. The trail is seasonally cleaned by park services and DEC; blowdowns, boulders (rock bars and pick mattocks) Old wooden steps replaced ¤ Volunteer Groups: Catskill Conservation Corps, New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, and New York Department of Environmental offer cleanup work removing litter. Adirondack Mountain Club (ADK) Pro. Crew helps with volunteering for building new features of trail
Reischel, Julia. 12/17/14. N.d. Watershedpost Tonight: Forum on Safety at Kaaterskill Falls. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
Adk Mtn Club. February 27, 2015. ADK’s Professional Trail Crew 2014. N.d. Today@ADK. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
¤ Tools of wayfinding: Danger signs, mile markers, Kiosks(single paneled) top bottom trail.
¤ Materials: Wood signs, yellow blazed path
¤ Maps: Not free. Have to purchase map and guide to Kaaterskill Falls through PDFMaps app. Catskill Trails Map Set. Maps for hiking the Catskills
¤ Education Programs: Hines Tours Kaaterskill Falls and Howe Caverns
¤ Programs efficiency: Could offer more educational programs. Hiring of seasonal steward to educate and interact with visitors
Reischel, Julia. 12/17/14. N.d. Watershedpost Tonight: Forum on Safety at Kaaterskill Falls. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
Sign that Leads hikers to Kaaterskill Falls. September 3, 2007. Photograph. Greene County, New York. Wikimedia Commons. Web. October 5, 2015. Wayfinding and Interpretation
¤ Main way finding Caution: Beyond a certain point end of the official trail there is increased danger with steep slopes, loose rock, and large drops.
¤ Expansion of parking lot
¤ Distinction between Route 23A and path to Route bottom of trail 23A
Parking lot Expansion
Danger sign N.d. Parking lot expansion. Kaaterskill Falls. Catskill Mountaineer. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
¤ The trail is free of charge.
¤ Impacts local economy: hotels in Greene county and local gas stations.
¤ Old Laurel House use to be huge source of income but burned in 1967
Laurel House: Old Kaaterskill hotel
N.d. “Kaaterskill Falls and Laurel House, Catskill Mts.” Catskill Mountaineer. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.
¤ Numerous herd paths from visitors leading up the slope resulting in the trampling of vegetation and slope erosion.
¤ Eroding slopes stem from the action of visitors seeking/climbing to look for new more stable routes
¤ Current state: naked, eroded slope with loose rock surface. Exposed ledges that are potentially dangerous for users.
Cheng, Johnny T. 2013. Kaaterskill Falls, Greene County, New York. Erosion of Tredway World of Waterfalls.
¤ Popular destination locals and tourists
- Fall 2014 site steward counted 4,900 visitors. Columbus weekend 2,035 visitors
- Advertised on social media by showing people doing flips off the cliffs
- Deaths: Since 1998 DEC Forest Rangers have reported 39 incidents at Kaaterskill Falls 5 resulted in death. . Fence installed 2014 provides physical and visual barrier to public to alert them of potential dangers.
Reppelling Cliff Jumping
Kelsey, Michael https://mikekelseyadventures.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/f170829928- copy.jpg
Triller, Ryan. Rappel off of Kaaterskill Falls. 8 Nov. 2013. Kaaterskill Falls, NY. N.d. Mountain Project. Web. 5 Oct. 2015.