Lewis Hollow Waterfall Hike |
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OVERVIEW |
| | Distance: | approximately 3.5 miles round trip |
| | Time: | Average 4.0 hours round trip |
| | Elevation Gain: | 693’ feet from Lewis Hollow Road to the tallest waterfall |
| | Best Time to Hike: | Spring or Fall after a rain storm. |
| | Difficulty: | Difficult |
| | Trails: | Trails for first 1/2 mile - bushwhacking & Route Finding Required thereafter |
| | Number of Waterfalls: | 11 |
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| | | USGS Official Map: | Woodstock Topographical Map (free) |
| | Alternate Names: | Tanis Hollow |
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| | | Digital Mapper: |
Topo
Terrain
Satellite |
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| | | Notice: |
Rattlesnakes (HIGH) |
| | Access Methods: | Foot and snowshoe. |
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Maps |
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| Cartographer Notes: GPS tracks & waypoints on map are seeded to comply with USC Title 17 Section 101 & 117 |
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| | DIRECTIONS TO TRAIL HEAD |
| | DEC Parking Lot WGS84 (DEC): 42.064867,-74.0922 - Elevation is approximately 951 feet |
| | DEC Parking Lot Deg/Min/Sec: N42 03 53, W74 05 31 - Elevation is approximately 951 feet |
| | DEC Parking Lot GPS: N 42 03.892, W 74 05.532- Elevation is approximately 951 feet |
| | DEC Parking Lot UTM: 18N 575106 4657377 - Elevation is approximately 951 feet |
| | Lewis Hollow Road (Shoulder Parking on DEC land) (Google Maps) |
| |  : Enter "42.064867,-74.0922" in the Maps Search Box
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| | Take New York State Thruway to Exit 20 (Saugerties). |
| | (If you came NORTH on the Thruway) Take a left out of the NYS Thruway (north) entrance road onto Rt 212. |
| | (IF you came SOUTH on the Thruway) Take Left onto Rt 32, then take a right onto Route 212 West |
| | Go approximately 5.8 to 6.1 miles towards Woodstock, NY |
| | Take a RIGHT onto Rt 32 (Glasco Turnpike) |
| | Go approximately 1.1 miles on Rt 32 (Glasco Turnpike) |
| | Take a RIGHT onto McGee Road (100' after passing Rt 33). |
| | Go approximately 0.6 miles on McGee Road until you come to a STOP sign |
| | Then Continue onto Lewis Hollow Road for 250 feet |
| | A small DEC parking area is on the RIGHT hand side of the road (shoulder of road) - holds 2-3 cars |
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IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS HIKE |
| | RATTLESNAKES: This hike is near the largest den of Timber Rattlesnakes in the Catskill Mountains. They can be found anywhere on this hike. We recommend that you only do this hike in the Spring or Fall when the temperatures are below 52F.
Timber Rattlesnakes are not considered aggressive, and move very slowly. But, if you get too close to them, they strike very fast. They are fairly big. They blend in with the leaves very well. In the Fall and Spring season, 52F degrees is the temperature where they usually will go in or out of their den. They are more likely to stay in their dens on cloudy days. In the Fall and Spring they will usually stay near the den.
Do NOT provoke or attack them. You cannot take them home as pets. They are endangered in New York State, and the fines are significant. They want to be left alone.
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| | EXPERIENCE: This hike requires that you be an experienced hiker. You should be able to bushwhack and have route finding skills. There is a DEC trail from the road to the edge of the Indian Head Wilderness. But, after that you will be hiking in the wilderness. There is an old logging road, but it is in very poor shape, and has a lot of blow down. Sometimes the old logging road will become overgrown and disappear. There is very limited amount of Mountain laurel around the waterfalls.
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| | SAFETY: Even if you are an experienced hiker, knowing the safety rules around waterfalls are different. Most hikers are killed around waterfalls. All of these waterfalls have dangerous features.
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| | TIMING: We recommend that you only visit this region in the Fall or Spring when the temperatures are between 40-50F degrees. The ground should be free of ice and snow.
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MILEAGE CHART |
| | Mile Point | Altitude | Notes |
| | 0.00 | 951’ | DEC Parking Lot on side of the road |
| | 0.02 | 948’ | Cross Saw Kill Creek (no bridge) - May get your feet wet. |
| | 0.40 | 1,059' | Enter NYS land (Indian Head Wilderness). |
| | 0.50 | 1,100' | Official Trail ends - Move to the right of swamp - take trail past swamp |
| | 0.55 | 1,100' | Bushwhack to Waterfalls #1, #2, and #3. |
| | 1.00 | 1,250' | Above waterfall #3 will be an old logging road crosses the top of the falls - continues to waterfall #6 |
| | 1.20 | 1,430' | Bushwhacking, route finding, and herd paths for the rest of the hike |
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Hike to Lewis Hollow - 11 Waterfalls |
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This is the Parking Area for this hike. There is enough room for 2-3 cars. Make sure that your vehicle is completely off the road. The land you are parking on is DEC land. You can see the trailhead in the lower left side of the picture.
NOTE: The land for the parking area is a very small piece of land owned by the DEC. After you cross the Saw Kill Creek, the trail you will be hiking on is an easement from a private land owner. You CANNOT leave the trail until you reach public land in 4/10 of a mile. |
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This is the Trailhead, which starts on Lewis Hollow Road. I suppose that you could park on the Trailhead if there was not any more parking spaces. |
This is the creek crossing. If there is hardly any water at this crossing, all the waterfalls will be disappointing. If you can hop across the larger rocks, then there will be water going over the waterfalls. If you have to wade across the Saw Kill Creek, then the waterfalls will be flowing quite well. But, beware if the Saw Kill Creek is raging, then you should not cross. There a waterfall just below this crossing. |
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The sign says it all. Stay on the trail until you reach NYS land (Indian Head Wilderness). |
Most of the trail is in good shape. There are a few spots where the trail is a little muddy. |
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This one of many quarries you will see on this hike. This one is on private land, so keep hiking. |
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After hiking 4/10 of a mile, you will enter the Indian Head Wilderness on NYS Land. |
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The trail continues for another 1/10 of a mile. But, it is not maintained. |
This pictures shows the trail ending at a small swamp. Move from the trail into the conifer forest on the right. There is a trail near the edge of the swamp that makes it easier. Once you are past the swamp, the trail disappears. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #1 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #1 is 11' tall. It consist of (1) drop. The other side of the creek is on private property.
LEFT - Is Waterfall #1 on the Saw Kill Creek.
NOTE - After you pass by the swamp, Waterfall #1 is located to your right. It is almost directly below the home high up on the bank. Please be quiet and respectful of the owners of the house.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #1, you can move up to Waterfall #2. Stay on the left side of the creek as you are hiking up to the next waterfall. You can be on either side of the creek once you get to waterfall #2.
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #2 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #2 is 17' tall. It consist of a (1) cascade of 5' and (1) drop of 12'.
LEFT - Is the upper cascade of Waterfall #2 on Saw Kill Creek. It is 5 feet tall.
BELOW - Is the lower drop of Waterfall #2 on Saw Kill Creek. It is 12 feet tall. There is an old logging road on the right side of the Waterfall about 50 feet up the bank.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #2, you can move up to Waterfall #3. There are two ways to get there: (1) Follow the Saw Kill Creek 400 feet; (2) climb up the hill on the right side of the stream until you find the old logging road. Most people just follow the stream.
There is also an unique tree on the right side the stream that some people enjoy. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #3 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #3 is 31' tall. It consist of (1) cascade and (2) drops.
LEFT - Is the upper cascade of Waterfall #3 on Saw Kill Creek.
BELOW - Is the lower drop of Waterfall #3 on Saw Kill Creek. There are actually two drops in this picture. From the top of the waterfall is is much more obvious. The old logging road runs across the top of the two drops. To get on the logging road, climb up the bank on your left.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #3, you can move up to Waterfall #4. To get there: (1) Climb up the right side of the waterfall. Take the easiest route up the bank.
NOTE - The logging road above Waterfall #3 is VERY rocky. The rocks are jagged and difficult to hike up the road. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #4 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #4 is 29' tall. It consist of (1) cascade of 19' and (1) drop of 10'.
LEFT - Is the upper cascade of Waterfall #4 on Saw Kill Creek.
BELOW - Is the lower drop of Waterfall #4 on Saw Kill Creek. The old logging road runs on the left side of the stream.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #4, you can move up to Waterfall #5. To get there: Follow the old logging road on the LEFT side of the stream.
NOTE - The logging road above Waterfall #4 is VERY rocky. The rocks are jagged and difficult to hike up the road. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #5 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #5 is 21' tall. It consist of (1) drop & (1) cascade
LEFT - Is the upper cascade of Waterfall #5 on Saw Kill Creek.
NEXT WATERFALL - Above waterfall #5 the Lewis Hollow Stream will branch into two separate streams. The one on the left is the WEST BRANCH. The stream on the right is the EAST BRANCH. The West Branch has 3 great waterfalls, with the tallest being 82' tall. This page will take you up the West Branch first, and then down the East Branch. Read the next paragraph to learn how to get up to the next waterfall.
IMPORTANT - The logging road above Waterfall #4 will move away from the Lewis Hollow Stream. That may seem to be wrong route up the West Branch, but the logging road moves back towards the West Branch.
The purpose of it moving away from the stream is because you need to get above the giant 30' high rock pile. Climbing up the steep and with large jagged rocks is dangerous! The Logging road climbs up the west side of the rock pile. Then goes across the top of the rock pile. And, finally wraps around to Waterfall #6 on the West Branch. Water that flows over Waterfall #6 flows BELOW the rock pile! It is a little confusing until you reach the bottom of waterfall #6 on the West Branch. This route is, by far, the easiest way up the West Branch. |
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W E S T E R N B R A N C H |
Lewis Hollow Waterfall #6 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #6 is 17' tall. It consist of (1) drop of 17'.
LEFT - Is Waterfall #6 on the Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
MIDDLE - Is Waterfall #6 on the Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
BOTTOM - Picture was taken at the end of the old logging road. The water that comes over the waterfall #7 flows down into the rocks and comes out 30 feet below the big rock pile.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #6, you can move up to Waterfall #7. To get there: Turn 90 degrees to the LEFT and hike up the bank. Then head back to the stream. Follow the stream uphill.
We suspect that this waterfall was once quite tall. We believe that the waterfall extended out about 50' from where it is now. It was probably around 40' tall. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #7 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #7 is 13' tall. It consist of (1) drop of 13'.
LEFT - Is Waterfall #7 on the Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
BOTTOM - Is Waterfall #7 on Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #7, you can move up to Waterfall #8. To get there: Hike up the LEFT side of this Waterfall.
NOTE - The route up to Waterfall #8 is more difficult then the previous waterfall. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #8 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #8 is 82' tall. It consist of (1) 5' drop on top & (1) Cascade & (1) major drop.
LEFT - Is Waterfall #8 on the Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek. This is the LOWER part of the waterfall.
BOTTOM - Is Waterfall #8 on Western Branch of the Saw Kill Creek. This is the UPPER part of the waterfall.
GET TO THE TOP - Getting to the top of this waterfall is difficult. You need to climb up the right bank of the waterfall. Once you get to the large ledge above the right bank, turn LEFT and head towards the corner. Then turn RIGHT and hike up the hidden ramp. Then hike up to the top of the waterfall (has a small 5' drop). NOTE: The left side of the waterfall has large dangerous drops.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #8, you can move over to Waterfall #11 on the Eastern Branch of Saw Kill Creek. To get there: Hike back down to the ramp. Once at the bottom of the ramp, turn LEFT and follow the ledge all the way around the big ledge to the Eastern Branch of the Saw Kill Creek. The ledge you walk on is narrow.
NOTE - The (3) waterfalls on the Eastern Branch of the Saw Kill Creek are dripper. They do not have a large volume of water going over them. In the summer months they can dry up. Some hikers skip them. |
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E A S T E R N B R A N C H |
Lewis Hollow Waterfall #11 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #11 is 11' tall. It consist of (1) drop of 11'.
ABOVE - Is Waterfall #11 on the Eastern Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #11, you can move DOWN to Waterfall #10. To get there: Hike downhill on the right side of the creek about 350'. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #10 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #10 is 8' tall. It consist of (1) drop of 8'.
ABOVE - Is Waterfall #10 on the Eastern Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
NEXT WATERFALL - Once you are done admiring Waterfall #10, you can move DOWN to Waterfall #9. To get there: Hike downhill on the right side of the creek about 700'. |
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Lewis Hollow Waterfall #9 |
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FACTS - Waterfall #9 is 26' tall. It consist of (1) drop of 26'.
ABOVE - Is Waterfall #9 on the Eastern Branch of the Saw Kill Creek.
NEXT WATERFALL - You are done! |
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S E C T I O N S
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W E A T H E R
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