Kaaterskill Falls
Trail · New York
A roughly 1-mile trail from the Laurel House Road lot climbs to New York's tallest two-tiered waterfall, a 260-foot cascade on Spruce Creek that Thomas Cole and other Hudson River School painters made the visual shorthand for Catskills autumn. Roadside parking on Route 23A is enforced, so use the lot.
Don’t miss
Peak: October 12–October 16
Color builds from September 28 · mostly bare by November 4
Sampled at Kaaterskill Falls’s own coordinates and elevation (645 m) rather than a regional average.
This window comes from 27 weather points across New York, nudged 2 days later to match 2 published peak dates from smokymountains.com and almanac.com. Against New York's own climatology, the 2026 weather puts the peak 1 day earlier. How the forecast works
When to go to Kaaterskill Falls
The color window runs about 25 days, holding until around October 23. That is about 1 day earlier than New York as a whole. The 2,116 ft elevation accounts for most of the difference.
Kaaterskill Falls on the map
Drag the date slider to see when color reaches this corner of New York, or tap a pin for that stop’s own peak window.
More things to do in New York
Leaves & views
Frequently asked
- When does Kaaterskill Falls peak in 2026?
- Peak color is predicted for October 12–October 16 (best estimate October 14). Color starts around September 28 and is mostly bare by November 4.
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