Edward M. SmathersMine Kill State Park is an expansive state park that boasts miles of hiking, a boat launch into the Schoharie Creek as well as plenty of fishing areas. But the biggest attraction is not actually one of the most focused on attributes of the park; Mine Kills Falls.
Almost as if it was discovered as a secondary attraction of the park you need to travel south, past the main entrance to the park, to access the parking area for Mine Kill Falls. Parking is located on the left traveling south past the main entrance. This is not to say you cannot access the falls from any other area of the park, but it is by far the easiest way to access the top two portions of the three-tiered waterfall.
From the parking area, you follow a well-traveled path to a deck system which overlooks the upper and middle portions of the waterfall. Both of these areas can be accessed by most individuals. In order to view the lower portion of the falls, you will need to follow the larger trail down some steep grades that eventually lead to the bottom basin of the waterfall. This is well worth the short hike, but may be a difficult one for some to make due to the trail conditions during that time of year.
Be prepared for muddy trail conditions during wet times of the year. A PDF version of the park map can be found here.
Waterfall Name: Mine Kill Falls
Alternative Name(s): Upper, Middle, Lower and seasonal/ephemeral
Phone: …..
Website: https://parks.ny.gov/parks/165/details.aspx
Classification: Analysis in Progress
Height: 25’/35’/15′
Crest: Varies
Access/Location Classification: Accessible/May not be verified
Waterway: Mine Kill
Cave/Forest/Preserve Name: Mine Kill State Park
Clove/Gulch/Valley/Glen: n/a
Gorge/Hollow/Gulf/Gully/Ravine/Chasm: n/a
Lat/Long: 42.42915, -74.47202
Altitude (Appx Meters): 318.2
Town: Gilboa
County: Schoharie
NYS Tourism Region: Central Leatherstocking
NYS Tourism: https://esd.ny.gov/industries/tourism
NYDEC Region: Capital Region/Northern Catskills
NYDEC Contact: https://www.dec.ny.gov/about/558.html
Parking: 42.427218, -74.471873
Parking Notes: …..
Trail head: TBD, TBD
Trail Notes: .2 mile
We are in the process of collecting trails via www.WikiLoc.com, which we will make available in the near future. “Analysis In Progress”, “TBD”, and empty fields denote information currently being collected.
SOURCES –
Originator: Edward M. Smathers (www.DigTheFalls.com)
Source 2: Russell Dunn
Source 3: Steve Young
Source 4: www.bobbieswaterfalls.net
