Long Path: Section 22 Platte Clove Road to Palenville

Dogs Leashed

Features Birding · Commonly Backpacked · Fall Colors · River/Creek · Views · Waterfall · Wildflowers · Wildlife

• The Long Path

From the hikers parking lot, turn right onto Route 23a and continue down the road for .4 miles cross the bridge over Kaaterskill Creek and turn left on Malden Ave. Stay on the road and follow a series of blue marks that denote the Long Path Trail. After .9 miles you'll see Freewood restaurant. Shortly turn right onto another short road. After a few feet, the trail turns onto a woods road and into the forest. From here, the road will start an ascent.

At 1.60 miles point trail turns right onto a singletrack trail. At 1.80 miles, hikers will be rewarded with Ella's Ledge. While still an accomplishment, the view from the ledge is overgrown. At point 3.1 miles there is a .47 mile long trail leading to Poet's Ledge with beautiful views. Now the trail is almost flat for another 2 miles. You'll see three waterfalls along the way: Hillyer Falls at 3.80 miles, Wildcat Falls (at 4.3 miles), and finally Buttermilk Falls ( at 4.9 miles). Wildcat and Buttermilk Falls have nice views to the north.

After the last falls the trail turns south-southwest and begins to ascend again. Some of these ascents are steep and over rocky areas. The trail cuts back and forth to make the climb easier. At 6.3 miles on right hand you'll see a small connector to the snowmobile trail that loops around Kaaterskill High Peak and Round Top Mountain. You go straight for another 3.5 miles on the Long Path Trail (blue mark) to reach a parking lot on Platte Clove Rd.

The Huckleberry Point Trail turnoff is located 1 mile before the parking lot, which is a popular side trip if you have the time. Many visitors come here to enjoy the views.