42°10′26″N74°01′31″W / 42.173978°N 74.025413°W /42.173978; -74.025413
Kaaterskill Clove is a deepgorge, or valley, inNew York's easternCatskill Mountains, lying just west of the village ofPalenville and in Haines Falls. The clove was formed byKaaterskill Creek, a tributary ofCatskill Creek rising west of North Mountain, and is estimated by geologists to be as much as 1 million years old.[1]Kaaterskill High Peak andRoundtop Mountain rise to the south of the gorge, while South Mountain is to its north. This makes the gorge as deep as 2,500 feet in places.[2][3]
Little is known of Kaaterskill Clove's history prior to 1817, when Gilbert Palen built atannery near the entrance to Kaaterskill Clove, giving the village ofPalenville its name. After theWar of 1812, with Americans free to pursue trade without fearing the interference of Great Britain, industry throughout the United States began to expand, with Palenville and Kaaterskill Clove becoming the site of many tanneries due to the largehemlock forests in the clove. Within just half a century, however, deforestation had set in, and the tannery industry collapsed, lacking the trees it required. Palenville reinvented itself as a tourist town, building several boardinghouses and proclaiming itself the home of the fictional characterRip van Winkle.[1]
The clove was popular with artists and walkers, fleeing the squalor and hubbub of the downstate cities. In particular, artists of theHudson River School painted the Clove: examples includeAsher Brown Durand's 1849 paintingKindred Spirits, depicting fellow artistThomas Cole,Jennie Augusta Brownscombe, one of the founders of the Arts Student's League had a studio there with Hart and poetWilliam Cullen Bryant, andSanford Gifford's 1862 workKaaterskill Clove in the Catskills.
Twentieth Century artists such as landscapistThomas Locker (1937-2012) described the Clove as a vacation spot he returned to many times since his childhood, and many of his paintings depict the Clove and life in it according to a video he filmed for his agent, Richard Michelson of R.Michelson Gallery in Northampton, MA.
Numerous mountain houses and hotels were constructed, including theLaurel House, theCatskill Mountain House, theHaines Falls House and others, and trails and walkways were constructed to the many overlooks and waterfalls in the clove. Most notable was the construction of the Rip Van Winkle Trail, now Route 23A, which wound its way up the clove from Palenville to thehamlet ofHaines Falls. This opened the interior of the clove to visitors from the cities for the first time, and is still a main route into the heart of the northern Catskills (especially in winter when Route 35, which ascends throughPlatte Clove, is closed).
Perhaps the most famous location in Kaaterskill Clove isKaaterskill Falls, a 231-foot waterfall on Lake Creek (a medium-sized tributary of Kaaterskill Creek) commonly thought to be the highest waterfall in New York State. However, there are several other waterfalls in the clove including Fawn's Leap, Buttermilk Falls, and Haines Falls, although the trails that once led to these falls have long since been reclaimed by the gorge, making access difficult.
Numerous hiking trails also exist in and above Kaaterskill Clove. TheLong Path passes through the clove, skirting its southern rim. Trails on the northern rim visit Inspiration Point, Sunset Rock, Artist Rock and other locations providing views down into the clove and across towards Kaaterskill High Peak. There is also a campground nearNorth-South Lakes, and access to the site of the formerCatskill Mountain House, with views across the Hudson Valley from the top of the Catskill Escarpment.
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