Kaaterskill Falls and North Point - Fall Foliage in the Northern Catskills

Welcome to the Kaaterskill Falls Wild Forest, home to some of the most breathtaking and recognizable scenery in the Catskill Mountains of New York. Here in these enchanted forests, the magical home of legendary Rip Van Winkle, one will find the world famous Kaaterskill Falls, miles of hiking trails, and inspirational views. I spent 24 hours at North/South Lake Campground and was able to document only some of the plethora of sights to be found here. I started in the morning with a trip to the falls which were bustling with tourists and leaf peepers, as the fall foliage was at or near peak conditions. I took in the views from an observation deck, directly from the top of the waterfall, and than from a mid point in the two tiered falls. I also ventured all the way down to the base - very steep steps- which was packed in with so many people that filming was simply impossible. All four vantage points are utterly spectacular and Kaaterskill will be a sight you will not forget in any season. Indeed the scenery of the region has inspired artists for generations and the first great movement in American art - The Hudson River School - was formed through impressionist landscape images of the sights found here. After visiting the falls I set up a simple camp for the night and rested a bit, before my second excursion of the day, the hike to North Point. It was a very wet but beautiful trek up the hillside to an overlook of the lake and campground below, in addition to the Hudson Valley several thousand feet below and in the distance. North South lake lies on the edge of the Catskill escarpment, meaning the very edge of the mountainous range where the rugged hills sharply drop off to the expansive valley below. The afternoon hike started with a stop at Ashley falls, a modest waterfall spilling over some large rocks and creating many tiny mini falls. After crossing an old school footbridge the trail began to climb through mixes of brightly colored hardwoods and darkly shaded conifers. Seasonal flows of water poured over rocks and tiny embankments and the trail took on a magical feel as the mountain seemed to be pouring out fresh natural spring water from all over. The last 1/3 of a mile became steep but manageable before finally opening up to a large open area with expansive views in multiple directions. North Point is a simply wonderful spot. I spent a good bit of time here in the fading afternoon light before racing down to the lake to catch a peaceful sunset. So much more to be seen here, I just didn't have time to see it all, and I would highly recommend checking out this location if one has the opportunity.
MUSIC - Into the Forest by Jakob Ahlbom
Summer Memories by Gavin Luke
Breathing Planet by Doug Maxwell
The Sound of Arrows by Bonnie Grace
Broad Horizons by Francis Wells
Tranquility Lane by Dawn,Dawn,Dawn
Enchanted Journey by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. creativecommon...
Source: incompetech.com...
Artist: incompetech.com/
CAMERA - GoPro Hero 8 4k 24fps
DJI Mini 2 4k 24fps
SOFTWARE - Wondershare Filmora
THUMBNAIL - Canva
The first person to mention the time when Rip Van WInkle appears in the video will get a shoutout in a future video. Happy Hiking my friends.

[@whitelight999]

Woodsman sent me. Beautiful video great commentary. Thanks.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thanks for checking out the channel, it's much appreciated!

[@kateclark7250]

I can't say enough about this place and this video, Gator. The beauty of the forest, the falls, the autumn colors... drone shots... music... and the little elf (gnome? Dwarf?) that popped up all soothed my weary heart. Thank you for this and for your company, Gator.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

It's my pleasure to bring you along, Kate!

[@hikingwithaaron]

Your filming just gets better and better every video. The drone shots were epic. They really show off the beauty of the mountains and the gorgeous colors. You sure did hit it at peak season. Your shots of the waterfalls were beautiful. That sunset shot over the lake was the perfect way to end the film. Just beautiful. Look, I'm saying that too.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Lol, thanks Aaron, that's quite a wonderful comments. If I could capture that day and relive it over and over I would. It was just a blessed experience, and Im glad I was able to put it on film and share it.

[@randomadventures2.0]

Hey Gator, Tony here. The Falls colors were beautiful. That waterfall was amazing. As always really enjoy watching your videos. Looking forward to seeing your next adventure!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Tony, and the feeling is mutual!

[@jamesd6221]

Beautiful film and location! Loved the presentation and music choices too. Saw Rip at 12:15:)

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thanks JD, and good eye on spotting Rip!

[@retaylor6587]

Excellent, again...I am only sorry that KZbin will only let me give it one thumbs up;

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Lol, thank you for that sentiment, much appreciated.

[@Kflem]

Loved this! Catskills are gorgeous, especially in the fall. Enjoyed the cinematic elements to the video too!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Kate! It was a gorgeous day from start to finish, the kind that you don't want to end.

[@kevinsmith5288]

Another great video! The waterfalls, fall colors, drone footage, and the music all comes together perfectly! Have to say I made it to The Thomas Darling Preserve twice since Saturday, thanks to your recent video. Beautiful place, and only twenty minutes from where I live! As a recent Philly transplant, it was my first real wooded trail experience. I lived very close to the Tookany Creek Park in Cheltenham Twp, and that was my respite during the dark days of Covid. Keep up the good work 👍!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Kevin for watching and your nice comments. You may want to try a place called Austin T Blakeslee natural area which is a nice trail along a mountain creek with a waterfall, just a couple minutes from Thomas Darling.

[@debbiehills2928]

WOW - thank you for the video and the music! great life!😁

[@WALTERZOLNA]

I am very fortunate to be able to visit these amazing places.

[@LouisaLove50]

Is very very Beautiful 🥰🍁🍂🍃🍁🍂🍃👏👏👏👏👏👏I loved the fall time and different colors the leafs but is the best exercise 🏃‍♀️thank you very much for this video , Yesterday we were walking there✨✨✨✨🏃‍♀️🥰🍁🍂🍃🍁🍂🍃🍂🍁🍃

[@WALTERZOLNA]

It is a beautiful place, and fall is such a colorful, wonderful, time of the year, thankyou my friend for your kind comment and happy hiking!

[@Kawatawa-um5cg]

Awesome and beautiful. Thoroughly enjoyed and thank you 🙏👍 Hope, I will see you some day some where on the trailheads 👍🤞🙏

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Truly appreciate that thanks so much. I remember this trip and hike very well, it was a wonderful experience in nature.

[@FabianAcebal]

Beautiful fall colors! I live in NYC but I love autumn in upstate New York. Kaaterskill Falls is definitely on my bucket list.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

The most beautiful time of the year is now upon us. Its a shame the season goes by so fast, but it also makes us appreciate how special this time of the year truly is. Hope you make it out to Kaaterskill soon, its an amazing place, and thanks so much for dropping the nice comment!

[@FabianAcebal]

Autumn does indeed seem to go by so fast and that's all the more reason to get out and enjoy it as much as possible before it's gone. I love hiking during the fall and I'm a waterfall chaser, so this video really hits home with me. Thank you for this great video.

[@ianrumnock6837]

🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼. Just wow

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thanks Buddy! Hope all is well with you and your family and you are able to get out and enjoy the beautiful fall weather and scenery.

[@2bkind2u]

Fantastic place. (We got nothing comparable here in the midwest.) Fantastic travelog. Another amazing WZ youtube. Thanks. Somehow missed this when it came out. Oh yeah, we were doing French Creek S.P./Hopewell Furnace, etc. at the time.

[@HienNguyen-qb8wp]

I like your video, beautiful. Good job

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Appreciate that, thankyou my friend. A very beautiful area up there at North South lake.

[@a.c.993]

Wow, what a beautiful video. Great Job. :)

[@WALTERZOLNA]

This was probably one of my favorite videos of the year. The weather was gorgeous, mother nature did all the work!

[@kungatenzin6350]

Thoroughly enjoyed. So, thank you so much Walter. 🙏🙏🙏. Will definitely watch your entire collection. Good luck and keep posting more beautiful Adventuring in Nature. 👍👍👍

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Kunga Tenzin! I appreciate your comment so much, it really means alot to a small content creator like myself.

[@504BigStud]

Wonderful video!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Appreciate that, thanks for the comments!

[@rbpat52]

Beautiful beautiful Fall! So stunning and you captured it all so well Walter. Kudos to you for your outstanding cinematography and attention to detail. This channel is one of my absolute favorites. I’m telling everyone!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you so much my friend. I appreciate your feedback, comments like yours motivate me to keep trying my best to make the best content that I can. And yes if you know someone else who might like these type of nature films please let them know!

[@javierorozco3448]

Bro your filming is incredible. Heading there next month can’t wait

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you sir, I appreciate that very much. Enjoy your visit there, it's an amazing place!

[@thekeystonehiker8661]

Fantastical. You are very good at this. I love watching any of your videos. You send a message in each one. Hike on my fellow hiker, hike on

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Keystone Hiker, I appreciate hearing that from you, it means alot to me. Cya on the trail my friend.

[@drizzy1525]

Amazing video keep up the good work man

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thanks for that my friend 👍

[@gaylenealis7268]

What a beautiful day and video!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Gayle for your kind words!

[@EvaOstrava]

Beautiful! Every year I wish the fall colors would last a little longer!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Absolutely Eva, couldn't agree more! But perhaps the fleeting nature of the fall changeover causes us to appreciate that window in time that much more.

[@carlavision6143]

Really loved and enjoyed your video! Absolutely beautiful scenery and waterfalls!

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you kindly , it's definitely a beautiful spot, glad you enjoyed it!

[@carlavision6143]

@@WALTERZOLNA you're welcome!

[@rgdodson]

Another great video, and about 40 miles south of our homestead here in Upstate, NY

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Thank you Ron I appreciate it, I'm jeolous that you get to spend so much time immersed in that beautiful countryside!

[@rgdodson]

@@WALTERZOLNA I was wondering, how much actual time do you spend taking your video footage and then editing it in order to produce a final video? I know that you also take time to conduct "upfront" research about the places you shoot, but was just thinking about what must be at least 2 phases of producing such great videos, filming, and editing. I mean, even the "walk by" shots have to add considerable time to your filming time and footage. Do you always take more than one SD card with you on your excursions?

[@WALTERZOLNA]

@@rgdodson This will be a long answer, and I will use this video for an example. I took 178 individual short videos with my camera, and one drone flight of about 5 minutes. I carry 4 go pro batteries, one large SD card. Once I film the intro scene of me introducing where I am - always the hardest part - I then begin documenting my trip. My general rule is if a scene looks good to my eye it will look good on film. I take way more shots from multiple angles than I will actually use so that I can pick and choose the very best ones. Certain major features like the big waterfall or the overlook I make sure to take several panning shots, looking up shots, looking down shots - all different angles- so I have lots of footage to choose from when putting the film together. Lighting is also very important and learning over time what angles and shots go pro does well and doesnt. Its also extremely important to me, to hold the camera as steady as possible - when moving- this is a learned trait. As I am using no tech such as gimbals a steady hand is essential in creating a high quality look and feel. Once I get home I download all the clips onto my cpu and review them several times starting to get an idea of which ones I love, like, dont like, cant use, etc. I then begin loading clips into my editing software and start stiching them together. I hyper focus on this editing process and I go through the film over and over making minute adjustments each time to create a smoother and smoother finished product. Next I begin introducing music based on the effect I am trying to convey. Dramatic for the waterfall, Inspirational for the overlook, peaceful for the sunset etc. I am super focused on editing the music to the scenes and making my cuts between shots fit the music, this helps create a much better finished product. Next would be sound effects, and graphics added on. Next would be captions to move the story or provide important details I neglected to mention. Finally I focus on creating an intro using some of my very best shots, hopefully drawing the viewer in and setting it to a strong soundtrack. And than after all that I will rewatch multiple more times each time finding something to improve- cutting a 1/100th of a second here, addjusting a volume to a shot there, or adding motion to a set shot to improve cinematic quality etc... After all that I export the finished product from my software program to my computer . From there I upload to KZbin. While uploading to KZbin I write the video description, create a thumbnail and check several boxes You tube requires before one can publish. Than after all that I have to wait for Yotube to process the video into hi def on there platform - up to 24 hours. So this I think is the basic process most creators go through for this type of content. I would suspect that I tend to spend alot more time than most focusing on minute details but tht is due to my perfectionist tendencies, im putting my name on it, I want it to be of the best quality that that im capable of producing with the resources I have to work with. 8 hours travel time, 10 hours of filming, 180 individual clips, 15 - 25 hours editing, one 20 minute nature film. Its a labor of love I guess you could say! Thank you for the question as you can see I am a total nerd about this stuff and I basicly just scratched the surface here.

[@rgdodson]

@@WALTERZOLNA Thanks for the detailed response! What a load of work you put into your videos. And...it shows. I have been thinking about starting a KZbin channel myself, which is why I ask all the questions. Even though I am retired and time isn't a real issue for me, I don't think I would be able to put that much attention into producing a video. Just as an FYI, I am a retired wildlife biologist. I retired in 2013 after 26 years as President and CEO of the Audubon Society of New York State. In my retirement, I have started a couple of blogs and a Facebook Group, all aimed at encouraging people to become more connected with nature and natural resources. So, I have been thinking about producing an ongoing series of videos from the parks, preserves, sanctuaries, etc., that I visit these days and essentially take viewers along with me when I go. So, I have spent many months searching for various producers of such videos and studying how they go about producing them. To be honest, I have not found all that many that produce the sort of content that I am interested in. I watch 2-3 different channels, but your videos are the first ones that I have found to include both information on the places, from the first-person point of view in a way that evokes the spirit of nature in a way that I believe motivates viewers to become truly engaged in nature. I have been going through every one of the videos that you have produced thus far on KZbin. I have also sent messages and made posts about several of your videos to my subscribers and connections. I would like to help in any way that I can to increase your subscriber base. So...keep going and let me know if there is anything that I can do to help you get more eyes and ears on your videos.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Wow, I was really blown away when I read your response last night. I had an inclination that you were considering to starting or building a channel, which is why I wanted to give as much detail as I reasonably could. Of course I had no idea that you were such an accredited and distinguished person in the fields of ecology, conservation, and the natural world! I would still encourage you to produce content if you would like to, my ways of doing things are by no means the " right " way, or the only way, and a person of your knowledge base could certainly bring a unique perspective to the viewer. I started my channel for two reasons - 1) was to connect my love for nature, hiking, exploring etc. with my creative side which I had lost touch with over the years and 2) to encourage others to get outside and experience the beauty of the natural world. I know for myself unequivocally that my time spent outside in the woods is essential to my physical, mental, and spiritual well being, and I know it can help others to decompress and unwind from the chaotic stressful modern world that we live in. To hear from yourself that this messaging is coming across to the viewer is deeply rewarding and makes all the work I have put into it worthwhile 100 percent! I can't thank you enough for your kind words and your support, Ron. By all means if you think others might be interested in checking out some of my videos please let them know, I am all about connecting with like minded individuals who appreciate, care about, and protect nature! Again, thank you sincerely, your comments really lifted my spirits...

[@lauracoard904]

Question: We are behind on your videos but are up to January. In one of the videos you posted about that time, you mentioned some vloggers who mentioned you. You thanked them and told us how to watch them. I believe you mentioned 3 vlogs. We won't stop watching your beautiful videos but we might add those others. Can you please remind us what they were called? Much appreciated :)

[@WALTERZOLNA]

I believe you are referring to my Thompson's Ghost Beach video. A couple of KZbin channels that I watch and support and am friendly with include - The Wandering Woodsman, Hiker Dude Dad, Mountains Into Memories, Random Adventures 2.0, and Day Hike Dave. All Pennsylvania based hiking and nature channels and good people. Laura, thankyou so much for watching and supporting the channel, it's truly appreciated .🙂

[@heritageval]

I went yesterday. I was with my mom so we didnt make the 0.3 mile to north point. But did the full 6.2 mile trail.

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Very nice, I love it up there!

[@AngelGarciaCLN]

Why didn’t you sit on the edge ?

[@Staleena1]

Have you been to all 50 States ?

[@WALTERZOLNA]

No not even close. I really haven't traveled very much honestly.

[@Staleena1]

@@WALTERZOLNA ❤️ I’ve traveled a little bit been to several countries too much to see right here in America

[@SANCHEZ__]

people are allowed to camping up there???? 0:56😦😦

[@WALTERZOLNA]

Im not sure what the rules are there . Once you cross into the kaeterskill wild forest you are permitted to overnight camp if you are backpacking. I can see that north/south lake campground down by the lake is a super awesome place to camp one of the nicest around.

[@SANCHEZ__]

@@WALTERZOLNA oh ok, i’ll try to get information about that, i can imagine a sunset over there 🤤👌