Russell Brook Falls – Roscoe, NY

Waterfalls are one of my favorite destinations just because of their sheer natural beauty. I will hike to the ends of the earth to find a beautiful waterfall. In the case of Russell Brook Falls, that almost became a literal truth. This waterfall is breathtakingly gorgeous and truly worth all the trouble that we went to find it.

Finding Russell Brook Falls

I normally leave this section to the end of my posts but finding this waterfall was something of a wild goose chase. We followed our GPS and this is the one time my GPS literally failed me. (well, maybe not the one and only time but this one most definitely stands out in my mind.) The GPS led us to a parking area on Morton Hill Rd., (and there were cars there) but there was no obvious trail or a waterfall. Not even a hint.

We decided to drive down Russell Brook Rd which was a seasonal limited highway (better known as a dirt road) that looked like it followed the creek on our GPS and as we looked out the window were able to spot the waterfall. We pulled over on the side of the dirt road and saw that there were steep trails leading down to the gorge. This was not an easy way to get down but we did it regardless. There were tons of people at the bottom when we got there but we didn’t see any other vehicles on the road near us. This left us a little confused as to where all these people had come from. They were also coming into the gorge from another direction.

After we returned to our vehicle, we continued to the bottom of the seasonal limited highway, and lo and behold, there was a parking area and placard for Mud Pond and Trout Pond Trails but also Russell Brook Falls. We could have used that information before scaling up and down the hillside as we did.

Correct GPS Location: X3W6+F7 Roscoe, New York (if you enter this into your GPS, you will reach the correct location.

Exploring the Falls

Russel Brook Falls was definitely worth all the effort that it took to find it. One of the things about waterfalls in the Catskills is that the waterfalls are on multiple levels and full of these enormous rocks and the water cuts in, out, and over the rocks creating lots of exquisite smaller waterfalls. Russell Brook Falls is one of these sorts of waterfalls. The bottom waterfall is tall and full, and normally that would be impressive enough. However, there is a trail that leads up to the top of this waterfall that provides a bird’s eye view.

Above the waterfall, there are what looks like the remains of a stone bridge on one side. The top of the falls was almost more beautiful than the bottom falls because of the abound of large rocks and water pockets creating an exceptionally lovely scene. The majority of people didn’t bother to explore the upper level, and it was nice having it all to ourselves.

This is a magnificent place to explore for its natural allure and beauty. A perfect destination on a hot day or in the fall, when the leaves around are changing. This waterfall can be crowded on the weekends but if you hit it at just the right time, you can have it to yourself. We arrived in the late afternoon and at the tail end of a large crowd that dispersed fairly quickly. I would recommend trying to arrive early in the morning or late in the afternoon.

Make sure that you wear proper footwear to explore this waterfall, such as hiking boots or sneakers. This is not a flip-flop destination. The rocks are slippery and severe accidents can happen. This location is also pretty remote and cell service is patchy at best. Never hike here alone.

Have you visited this beautiful waterfall before? What did you think? What is your favorite Catskill waterfall? We would love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment below.

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