This Catskills Destination Is One Of New York’s Deadliest

One of New York's most beautiful and deadly destinations is the popular hiking spot, Kaaterskill Falls. An estimated 100,000 people each year explore the 1.4-mile roundtrip hike to the falls. In the last 30 years, 9 of those people never made it back to their car, including one New Yorker this month.

According to News10 ABC, a 36-year-old man from Yonkers man was recently found dead in the water near the base of Kaaterskill Falls. New York State Forest Rangers, State and local police combined to use uniformed officers, Bloodhounds, divers and aviation to find the man. Eventually, the NYSP Underwater Recovery Team recovered the body.

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This most recent tragedy was allegedly caused by a fall onto the rock resulting in a head injury. The other 8 deaths at Kaaterskill Falls have similar stories but in recent years some say social media is to blame.

Weather.com reports that in 2016, a 17-year-old boy fell to his death when he got too close to the edge attempting to take a picture and tumbled over the falls. Also in 2016 a 30-year-old allegedly slipped on some ice near the top of the falls and fell 120 feet to his death. Out of all of the people that have fallen from the summit of Kaaterskill Falls only 1 has survived.

To give you perspective, Kaaterskill Falls is taller than Niagara Falls. Recently my girlfriend and I found ourselves at the falls and we made it out alive and loved this place. The biggest threat to our survival was the stairs leading to and from the base of the falls. (very steep) Should you choose to visit, here is some advice from Great Northern Catskills:

• Wet rocks are slippery rocks. Do not climb on the rocks under or around the waterfall.
• Wear sturdy shoes for hikes. (I wore my Converse. I advise against that)
• Swimming is highly discouraged.
• You can view the waterfalls from the overlooking platform without any strain.