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Information about Viola Falls: |
| Name: Viola Falls |
| County: Greene |
| Region: Kaaterskill Clove |
| Location: Hillyer Ravine |
| Order within west side of the ravine: 1st of 2 drops (1=highest elevation) |
| Order within waterfall: 1 of 1 (1=highest elevation) |
| Total Height: ~30' |
| Top Elevation: 2,145 |
| Bottom Elevation: 2,115 |
| Type of Waterfall: plunge |
| Number of Drops: 1 |
| GPS location: N42 10.093, W74 03.511 (top of waterfall) |
| WGS84 location: 42.168217, -74.058517 (top of waterfall) |
| Lat/Long location: N42 10 05, W74 03 30 (top of waterfall) |
| UTM location: 18N, 577766, 4668882 (top of waterfall) |
| Named: 1800's |
| Previous or Alternate Names: none known |
| Description: Viola Falls gets it's name from the Viola flowers that bloom in November of each year. It doesn't have a large volume of water like some of the other waterfalls in the Kaaterskill Clove. But, it does have some beauty. You can get to the base of the waterfalls by carefully hiking down the east side of the falls. |
| Hiking Distance: ~7.5 miles (round trip) from Palenville. |
| Hiking Distance from Trail: Top of the falls are on the trail |
| Trail Information: Waterfalls & Poet's Ledge hike |
| Time: Average 5 hours round trip |
| Elevation Gain: 1,600 from Rt 23a. |
| Difficulty: Easy - You can access the top from the DEC trail |
| Final access to top of waterfalls: Hike |
| Final access to bottom of waterfalls: Carefully descend on the east side of the falls |
| Digital Mapper:
Topo
Terrain
Satellite |
| Known Access Safety: Mossy and slippery rocks. Falling into the crack in the rock. Dangerous getting to the bottom of the falls. |
| Access Methods: Hike |
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Maps, Profile, and GPS files |
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Directions to Trail Head from New York State Thruway (Easist, not the shortest): |
| Take New York State Thruway to Exit 21 (Catskill). |
| Take a left out of the NYS Thruway entrance road. |
| Go approximately 1/4 mile |
| Take a right onto Route 23 West |
| Go approximately 6.6 miles to Cairo, NY |
| Take a LEFT onto Rt 32. McDonalds Rest. on corner. |
| Go approximately 7.7 miles on Rt 32 |
| Take a RIGHT onto Rt 23A |
| Go approximately 3.0 miles on Rt 23A . |
| When you come out of Palenville, you can park in 3 different areas. (1) Park just before bridge (west bound lane); (2) Park 1/4 mile past bridge; (3) Park 4/10 mile before bridge in DEC parking lot. |
| You cannot park at the trail head! |
| Do NOT park by the red building next to the bridge. |
| Do NOT park on Malden Ave or in someones driveway on Malden Ave. |
| Do NOT drive up the dirt entrance road to the trail head - this is PRIVATE property - AND there is NO place to park or turn around once you get to the trail head. |
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Comments about this Hike |
Viola Falls is located on the DEC Trail from Poet's Ledge to Buttermilk Falls. The trail runs right across the top of Viola Falls. This waterfall is a short waterfall. Middle Viola Falls is several hundred feet below the DEC trail and Viola Falls. Walk down the RIGHT side of the stream. When you get down to the upper rim, you will see the waterfalls. It is exceptionally pretty waterfall. The DEC trail used to go down to Middle Viola Falls, and continued to Poets Ledge. The trail from Middle Viola Falls to Poet's Ledge is overgrown, but if you follow the rim you will find Poet's Ledge. To get below the rim to access the bottom of Middle Viola Falls you need to go to the RIGHT of the falls. You will see a cut in the rim. You need a rope to get back up, so make sure you bring one.
Below Middle Viola Falls is Lower Viola Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in the Hilyer Ravine. There are two more sets of waterfalls below Lower Viola Falls. Getting to these lower waterfalls is difficult and dangerous. |
| Mile Point | Altitude | Notes |
| 0.00 | 680 | Parking - From Route 23A turn onto Malden Ave - Walk past double guard rails (watch out for poison ivy on left side of road). |
| 0.62 | 680 | Walk up wide dirt driveway about 250 ( look for green Long Path trail marker on tree - hard to see from Malden Ave) - Turn right and walk up narrow dirt driveway past metal gate (If gate is closed, walk around gate). |
| 1.01 | | Road branch - Go straight |
| 1.27 | | Road branch - Go Right |
| 1.33 | 1,255 | Road Branch - Go Right - leave dirt road and continue onto the foot path |
| 1.40 | | Leave private land onto public land |
| 2.13 | 1,955 | Level off for a while |
| 2.31 | 2,067 | Giant steps |
| 2.34 | 2,102 | Ledge #1 (views) |
| 2.44 | 2,264 | Rock-in-the-Path |
| 2.52 | 2,325 | Reach top of moderate ascent - Levels off after this for several miles. Total ascent of 1,661. |
| 2.57 | 2,317 | Start of Boreal Forest (Watch for black bears at this point) |
| 2.63 | 2,341 | Trail Branch - go right to Poets Ledge (0.44 miles) - Yellow trail markers |
| 2.98 | 2,187 | Mossy Notch |
| 3.07 | 2,145 | POETS LEDGE - Outstanding View! - Enjoy. Be careful of the opening between the rocks on the ledge. It is a 30 fall. There are blueberry bushes around the ledge, which bears can be very possessive of (end of June - early July). |
| 3.74 | 2,183 | Viola Falls |
| 7.48 | 680 | Return back to Rt 23a. |
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