Awosting Falls and Sheldon Falls at Minnewaska Rain Hike

Minnewaska State Park
Ulster Co., New York

Hiking Trails:
Peters Kill Carriageway: Red blaze
Awosting Falls Connector Trail
Red Loop: Red blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hour
Estimated Distance: 4.0 Miles

Pros: Excellent waterfalls and scenic area
Cons: Busy area
Hike Type: Lollipop Loop
Level of Difficulty: Very difficult

Google Maps of Parking:
https://goo.gl/maps/yjRQX7anaWr4U2bCA

The weather has been extremely rainy, with several inches over Saturday and more predicted during the day. I decided to go to Minnewaska to the waterfalls which I figured would be impressive. Indeed they were! I figured due to the weather it would be quiet, but there was a public race here and there were many people present on the Peters Kill Carriageway. 

I parked at the lower parking area at main entrance to Minnewaska, and took the Peters Kill Carriageway to Awosting Falls. I took pictures at the top above the falls, and then below at the bottom with the falls roaring in front of me. I then continued along the Peters Kill Carriageway to the Awosting Falls Connector Trail. I crossed Route 44/55 at the terminus of the trail, at the Peters Kill area of the park.

I then took the Red Loop down to the Peters Kill. Once I reached the Peters Kill, I got off the trail and went upstream. There used to be a trail here alongside the water, which I followed up to the waterfalls. This route is not on the trail and is quite wild, and is not known by many people. It's definitely better this way as this area is a secret and quiet hidden gem of Minnewaska State Park. 

Near the footer of the falls is an old hydroelectric power station, which powered the old Mountain House Hotel in Minnewaska from power from the falls. There are actually two waterfalls here: On the left is the Peters Kill Falls, which is a small falls along the rockface, and the much larger Sheldon Falls to the right. I believe that the waterfall used to flow over the Peters Kill Fall, and then a dam was built above that diverted the bulk of the water to Sheldon Falls.

Sheldon Falls was very impressive. It was just a sheer wall of rushing water and was amazingly impressive. In the past I've taken the route up on the dry part of the Peters Kill Falls, but now with all the rain and slippery rock I opted for an overgrown deer path up to Route 44/55. This proved very difficult in the current wet conditions with slippery rock and wetness everywhere. I still got soaked even though I was dressed and prepared. I then crossed over Route 44/55 and took the Peters Kill Carriageway back to my car, passing along many runner in the rain along the way.

Map of the Route

Rain, Fog, and Overflowing Water

Peters Kill Carriageway

Peters Kill

Top of the Waterfalls

Awosting Falls After Heavy Rains

Small Short Falls on the Awosting Carriageway

Peters Kill Carriageway Scenery

Awosting Falls Connector Trail

Seasonal Swamp near the Peters Kill Area

Peters Kill Area Parking Area

Large Rock at the Red Loop Trail

Back at the Peters Kill, at the Red Trail

Small Falls on the Peters Kill at the Bushwhack

The Roaring Sheldon Falls

Old Hydroelectric Pumping Station Near Sheldon Falls

Peters Kill Falls

Large Group of People at the End of the Race

Awosting Falls at Minnewaska State Park

Shawangunk Mountains,
Minnewaska State Park,
Ulster Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Awosting Falls Carriageway: Red blaze

Total Time: 0:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 1.1 Miles

Pros: Beautiful Waterfall
Cons: Entrance fee, lots of people on weekends
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Hiking Partners:
Shimmy Rosenberg

The end of July and early August had been very wet and rainy. I decided to take the opportunity to visit two of the prominent waterfalls in the Shawangunk Mountains, on two separate short hikes. Our first hike was to Awosting Falls. This is a very short hike along an easy carriage road, to a very scenic waterfall that drops 60 feet of a hanging cliff creating dramatic scenery with the white conglomerate rock as its backdrop. The water level was indeed impressive, and the scenery was great.

We had parked at the lower parking area at the main entrance of Minnewaska State Park, and took the Awosting carriageway the short distance to the falls. We got there early so the parking lot still had plenty of space (it fills up quickly on busy summer weekends.) Although there were other people at the falls, since it was still early, the crowds were still light. I climbed up the the side on a switchback route taking a shortcut past the loop on the carriageway going up, and then we took the carriageway back to the car, and proceeded to drive to our next destination, the Stony Kill Falls, which I'll provide details on in my next post.

Map of the Route

Information Plaque at the Awosting Falls Carriageway

Small Falls before the Awosting Falls Drop

Awosting Falls from the Top

Rock Ledge Overhang while descending Towards Awosting Falls

Awosting Falls at Minnwaska

Awosting Falls - Slower Shutter Speed

Me at Awosting Falls

Me Closer to the Falls

Awosting Falls near the Drop

Looking up underneath the Falls to the Overhang

Awosting Falls from Behind the Falls

Beacon Hill and Peters Kill Loop Minnewaska State Park

Ulster Co.,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Lake Minnewaska Carriage Road: Unblazed
Beacon Hill Trail: Yellow blaze
Beacon Hill Carriage Road: Unblazed
Sunset Carriage Road: Unblazed
Awosting Falls Carriage Road: Unblazed
Red Loop: Red blaze
Peters Kill Connector Trail: Yellow blaze
High Peters Kill Trail: Blue blaze

Total Time: 3:30 hour
Estimated Distance: 7.75 miles
Level of Difficulty: Very difficult
Level of Recommendation: Highly recommended
Points of Interest: Lake views, rock formations, Waterfalls

Hiking Partner:
Eli Koegel

Minnewaska is one of my most favorite areas in the region, and this particular area is one of the most scenic in the park. This is a great hike and highly recommended. This was one of the hottest days of the season so far, with high’s in the upper 80’s.

We parked at the main parking area by Lake Minnewaska (you need to get here early on nice weekends as the parking lots fills up very fast), went down to the waterfront, and then went along the Lake Minnewaska Carriage Road. We walked through the picnic area and then down through some woods paths to the outlet of the lake, and then cut across to the short unmarked trail which provides a view. From there we took the Beacon Hill Trail along the ridge to the end, which leads to the Beacon Hill view. All along the ridge here there are rock formations from the rock that had fallen from the cliff, as well as excellent views to the east and northeast.

From the Beacon Hill view we went along the wide Beacon Hill Carriage Road to the Sunset Carriage Road descending the mountain. From there we cut across a short bushwack to the Awosting Falls Carriage Road, taking a short break by Awosting Falls. Awosting Falls is a very pretty falls with a large drop, though there are always a lot of people here due to the proximity of the falls to the parking lot.

We continued along the Awosting Falls Carriage Road along the side of Peters Kill, and then we crossed the road and went alongside the stream descending deep into the valley. Along the stream there are several more smaller and very pretty falls. We then met up with the Red Loop trail and the Peters Kill Connector Trail which go alongside the stream to the High Peters Kill Trail. We then took a western turn to the High Peters Kill Trail and climbed up the side of the mountain as it goes along the narrow valley made by the Peters Kill. We took the High Peters Kill Trail all the way back to the entrance of Minnewaska at the lower parking lot, then took the connector road to the Sunset Carriage Road up the mountain, and then back to our car.

Map of the Route.
Minnewaska State Park Map (Shawangunks)

Me at the Beginning at Lake Minnewaska

Lake Minnewaska from the Shore

Lake Minnewaska Overlook from the Picnic Overlook

Lake Minnewaska from the Picnic Overlook

Lake Minnewaska from the Picnic Overlook

Lake Minnewaska from the Picnic Overlook.
Looking West Towards Catskills

Lookout Near the Beginning of the Beacon Hill Trail

Me on the Beacon Hill Trail

Eli on the Beacon Hill Trail

View from the Beacon Hill Trail. Facing North Towards Sky Top.

View from the Beacon Hill Trail. Facing North Towards Sky Top.

Pine Tree on the Beacon Hill Trail

Me on a Ledge on the Beacon Hill Trail

Me on a Ledge on the Beacon Hill Trail

View from Beacon Hill. Facing North Towards Dickie Barre.

View from Beacon Hill. Facing Northwest Towards the Catskill Mountains.

Awosting Falls

Awosting Falls

Eli at the Peter's Kill by Awosting Falls

Peters Kill

View Along the High Peters Kill Trail,
Looking Towards Beacon Hill