Waterfalls Hikes in Central NY

We'll car-camp at John Boyd Thacher State Park southwest of Albany Friday and Sat. nights (ONLINE RESERVATIONS REQUIRED), and see falls Sat. and Sun. Given enough time, we may see up to four different parks, each with at least one falls! Thacher Falls, pictured, dramatically falls over a high cliff we can hike under. Campsite reservations: https://newyorkstateparks.reserveamerica.com/camping/thompsons-lake-campground-at-thacher-state-park/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NY&parkId=322 On Friday we’ll visit Rensselaer Falls NW of Rensselaerville at E. N. Huyck Preserve SW of Albany on the way to Thacher SP:[https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5592dfa8e4b08369d0200646/1444073357372-XM026LL3H9HA2MFR5I8O/2015-10-hiking-map.jpg?format=500w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5592dfa8e4b08369d0200646/1444073357372-XM026LL3H9HA2MFR5I8O/2015-10-hiking-map.jpg?format=500w) Sat.’s AM hike at Thacher State Park is a 4-5 mile hike over and under a plateau, the Helderberg Escarpment, overlooking Albany. The spectacular Mine Lot Falls drops over the plateau, and one may hike underneath it. There are other falls as well (see map).https://mobilemaplets.com/showplace/1117https://www.alltrails.com/explore/parks/us/new-york/thacher-state-park?b_tl_lat=42.68182&b_tl_lng=-74.05442&b_br_lat=42.63849&b_br_lng=-73.99968&mobileMap=true&a[]=walking&ar[]=10174791 Later on Sat. We’ll drive north and maybe hike a similar 4-5 mile loop at the Plotter Kill Preserve NW of Albany (Mariaville Rd., Rte 159). There is at least one sizable waterfall here in a small canyon (see map below). The waterfalls may also be seen without a long loop hike.We’ll return to Thacher for Sat. night. https://dailygazette.com/2008/10/05/1005_PlotterKill/ Sunday morning we’ll drive back, and on the way see the very old fossils at Gilboa NY, between Thacher SP and the Catskills. There is a museum here, and also fossils in a park in the town. These fossils of pre-tree (!) large fern-like plants from the Devonian Period are further away from the dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Age than we are from the dinosaurs.https://www.iloveny.com/listing/gilboa-museum-%26-juried-history-center/14927/https://www.gilboafossils.org/visit/https://www.google.com/maps/place/Gilboa,+NY+12076/@42.3973022,-74.9975285,9z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89dc47a218010141:0x5a9e676dc04e2505!8m2!3d42.3973028!4d-74.4459805 Campground meeting address (Friday night): 68 Thompsons Lake Rd, East Berne, NY 12059 Earlier Fri., we’ll meet on the way up at the Rensselaer Falls trailhead: [https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5592dfa8e4b08369d0200646/1444073357372-XM026LL3H9HA2MFR5I8O/2015-10-hiking-map.jpg?format=500w](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5592dfa8e4b08369d0200646/1444073357372-XM026LL3H9HA2MFR5I8O/2015-10-hiking-map.jpg?format=500w)

How to find us: Fri, evening at the Thacher Falls campground, on Thompsons Lake Rd. Before that, S. of there at the Rensselaer Falls trailhead (see above).