Old Mill Falls

Take Interstate 87 to Saugerties and exit to west Route 212. After 2 1/4 miles bear right onto Blue Mountain Road and continue for 3.4 miles (after 1.5 miles the road bears hard left and becomes West Saugerties Road) to the bridge spanning Plattekill Creek in West Saugerties, encountered immediately before Manorkill Road bears right, and a large sign is seen warning about winter closures of Platte Clove Road. At this point the Platte Clove Road experiences seasonal closures, but when open continue up the significantly narrower and much steeper road for 2 1/2 miles to the top of the Clove and park in a small pullout adjacent to a sign indicating the Platte Clove Preserve. Look for the trail leading immediately to a footbridge spanning Plattekill Creek above the falls, no more than 100 feet away from the road.Old Mill Falls is the first waterfall found along Plattekill Creek as it descends through Platte Clove en route to the Hudson River valley. The falls are small - dropping only 16 feet in a short slide, which then reverts into a free-fall that splits around a small pinnacle in the bedrock - but are exceptionally scenic and easy to access. Like Plattekill Falls found just downstream, the limited drainage size of Plattekill Creek will limit the impressiveness of this waterfall to the early season. Unlike Plattekill Falls, however, Old Mill Falls is actually a significantly more interesting and scenic waterfall during periods of low discharge - the best time to visit being the mid to late autumn months. At high flows, the creek will most likely spread out much wider over the whole breadth of the ledge, possibly creating 4-5 distinct segments at times.