Hike Reviews
October 15, 2014
This was an excellent trail.
<p class="MsoNormal">When we got there (just before 12pm on a Saturday) parking was full! Fortunately a car was pulling out and we took its spot. Signed in at the visitor center and we were off. The pavement road is great for people with kids and older folk. I was beginning to worry that the hike will be too easy. I was wrong and right off the main path there were wild trails leading to the ice caves and the falls. Have really good shoes because the rocks under your feet tend to be loose and really sharp.</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">I do not recommend this place during summer or early fall. No ice in the caves (I believe you can find ice from late fall to early summer) but it was nice to cool off and the waterfall was a bit dry. The vegetation was really beautiful but mostly low to the ground resulting in no sun shade and a lot of snakes. </p>
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September 09, 2013
Fantastic
<p>my wife and I did the hike on 7 sep 2013 and thanks to some comments we added on the high point route. High point was the best hiking in our view. You hike long a rock ridge with gret views and terrific natural beauty. Of course the ice cave was excellent as were the falls. </p>
<p>the parts of the hike we didn't love was the 1.2 or so miles from the ice caves to the falls. here the trail was loaded with football sized rocks projecting from the earth ; as a result we found ourselves looking down most of the time, to ensure sure footing vs looking around. Ditto for the hike from the high point carridge road back to the parking lot. appx 1-1.5 miles of gravel road. Not terribly interesting.</p>
<p>again the falls, ice caves and high point trail were magnificent, the beginning and ending sections not so much. but definitely worth it. </p>
August 14, 2012
Doorway at Ice Caves has been removed
<p>There was a doorway at the entrance to the last Ice Cave when I did the hike in 2003, but that doorway has since been removed (perhaps the Nature Conservancy felt that it was an "unnatural" feature that did not belong there). The hike has been updated to remove the reference to this doorway.</p>
May 20, 2012
Absolutely brilliant hike!
<p>We did this hike on 05/12 - and it was absolutely amazing. The initial views from the Shawangunk Ridge were a great way to get the hike started. Ice caves was a very nice progression to the hike. Water was dripping from quite a few places on the way to the caves, and within the caves too. The temperature difference inside the caves, and outside the caves was a great example of how nature just manages to surprise us. There didn't seem to be a "doorway" in the caves-trail, and am not sure if we caught the motion-sensitive lighting either. After spending some time in the Verkeerderkill Falls, we took the longer path of the High Point Trail - and High Point Carriageway. The High Point trail was definitely worth the effort - it was a bit strenuous, but the trail was marked along the ridge itself - so the views were quite nice - definitely recommended if u have the energy to do it. It also gave us the chance to spend a bit of time around Lake Maratanza on our way back.</p>