Explore the Beautiful Awosting Falls Trail in Minnewaska State Park

When you love to chase waterfalls as we do, Awosting Falls should totally be on your hiking in the Hudson Valley bucket list. Dropping down 60 feet into Peterskill Stream, Awosting Falls is one of the most popular features in the beloved Minnewaska State Park and one of the most gorgeous waterfalls in New York State.

Since you will find the stunning waterfall just a few steps away from the parking lot, it is awesome for a quick stop, but you can easily spend more time in the park, exploring other epic trails through lush green forests.

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Know Before You Visit Awosting Falls

Dana standing on a ledge in Sam's Point Area of Minnewaska State Park — Sams Point Area of Minnewaska State Park Preserve

Awosting Falls is located in Minnewaska State Park in Ulster County, New York, just off Route 44-55. It is approximately a 1 hour and 30 minutes drive from New York City.

Minnewaska is one of the 180 New York State Parks spread out throughout the state. The park sits along the striking Shawangunk Mountain ridge at 2,000 feet above sea level and consists of dense hardwood forests, dramatic ledges, and rough and rocky terrain.

Visitors can enjoy a wide range of activities from hiking to stunning waterfalls, biking on the carriageway trails, climbing up epic cliffs, swimming in three sparkling lakes, picnicking with beautiful views of New York’s Hudson Valley, and more.

There are 2 sections to Minnewaska State Park Preserve, the main area where Awosting Falls is located and the Sam’s Point area. Sam’s Point is the most southern point of the park and is located in the highest part of the Shawangunk Mountains. To drive from one section to the other you have to allow at least 30 minutes.

Quick Facts

Location: 5281 Route 44-55, Kerhonkson, NY 12446
Hours: Opens at 9:00 AM all year round – Closing times are posted when entering the park (changes seasonally)
Cost: $10 entrance fee
Parking Areas: Upper Awosting Parking Area & Lower Awosting Parking Area
Facilities: Restrooms, Picnicking

How Do I Get to Awosting Falls?

Cars parked at the Lower Awosting Falls Parking Area — Lower Awosting Falls Parking Area

To get to the falls, you will need to enter through Minnewaska State Park’s main entrance on Route 44-55. After pulling off the main road, you follow the pathway, which leads you to the ticket booth. Here, you purchase your daily pass for Minnewaska State Park. Then you head straight to the Lower Awosting parking area or turn left after the ticket booth to proceed to the upper parking area.

NOTE: Especially during the busier seasons of the year (from spring to fall), when it can get extremely crowded, you might not get the chance to choose where to park. The person in the ticket booth will let you know if a parking area is already full.

You can access the trailhead to Awosting Falls from the upper and lower Awosting Falls parking areas. If you are just here to quickly see the lovely Awosting Falls, the ideal place to park is in the lower parking area because it is the fastest way to get to the breathtaking waterfall.

When you are up for some more exercise, you can park at the upper parking lot and take the 0.8-mile Sunset Carriage Road to get to the Awosting Falls Trailhead.

What to Expect Hiking to Awosting Falls

As we mentioned before, there are two main ways to get to the official Awosting Falls trailhead:

From the Lower Awosting Falls Parking Area

Difficulty: Easy
Length: 1.0 mile
Type of Hike: Out & Back
Elevation Gain: approximately 100 ft

The trailhead to Awosting Falls is located just off to the left of the restrooms at the front of the parking lot. There will be a sign saying “Awosting Falls”. You should be following the red-blazed trail to the falls.

Walk from Lower Awosting Falls Parking area to the trailhead

Follow the flat path that runs parallel to the road on your left and the Peterskill stream on your right. After a very short walk, you will reach the road. Here you will have to cross over to the opposite side. This is the official start of the Awosting Falls Trail. Take a minute and check out the sign before heading on.

From the Upper Awosting Falls Parking Area

Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Length: 1.8 miles (in total)
Type of Hike: Out & Back
Elevation Gain: approximately 320 ft

From the upper parking lot, walk towards your right to Lake Minnewaska to find Library Hill, the beginning of the Sunset Carriage Road (orange blaze marker) which runs for 0.8 of a mile to the Awosting Falls trailhead (red blaze marker).

Before you start your hike, make sure to admire the stunning views of Lake Minnewaska, then descend 220 feet on gentle switchbacks along a gravel road until you reach the red blaze marker.

The glistening Lake Minnewaska from above

During your walk down, you will have to cross the park’s main road. Please continue through the woods instead of walking on the busy road. It is safer and so much more fun.

Awosting Falls Trailhead

Now, you will continue along the stream but this time it will be on your left. You should start hearing the rushing water plunging from Awosting Falls.

Once you reach the first turn, off to the left, you will be at the top of Awosting Falls. This spot is easy to notice because there will be other people hanging around.

View of Peter's Kill Falls down from the top of Awosting Falls

It is not an official trail, but you will get a pretty cool view, so it is definitely worth checking out either on your way down or on your way back up. But do be mindful and proceed with caution, you are on the top of a waterfall.

As you continue, the trail will begin to descend slightly with a few turns before reaching the base of the falls.

Don’t worry about getting a good view of the Falls. Awosting Falls plunges 60 feet into a pool of water that is miraculous from any viewing angle.

NOTE: Jumping from the top and swimming in the pool of Awosting Falls is very dangerous and prohibited.

Spend a little time down by the falls. You can even extend your hike past the falls on the carriage road which will lead you down the stream.

After you feel like you have soaked in a good enough view, head back up the trail the way you came.

How Long Does it Take to Hike to Awosting Falls?

On the quick and easy 1 mile trail, you should plan roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour.

If you are coming from the upper Awosting Falls parking area, your hike will take a little longer, around 1.5-2 hours.

Trust us, most of the time you will admire the beautiful vistas and capture photos instead of actually hiking to the falls.

It is also very tempting to take some of the side trails to explore more of this gorgeous State Park. Even though we didn’t plan on hiking that much, we couldn’t resist adding the Lake Minnewaska Loop Trail spontaneously on our visit to the Awosting Falls.

Nearby Minnewaska State Park Trails

Us sitting on a ledge overlooking Lake Minnewaska — Sitting on the ledge on the Lake Minnewaska Loop Trail

Why not combine some trails to see more of Minnewaska State Park’s beautiful landscape than just the waterfalls? These trails will definitely round up your hiking adventure at Minnewaska State Park!

NOTE: All these trails are located in the same area and can be reached when parking in the lower or upper Awosting Falls parking area.

Lake Minnewaska Loop Trail – Enjoy stunning views of Lake Minnewaska on an easy 2.0-mile trail around the lake through dense hardwood forests. The trailhead is right in front of the upper Awosting Falls Parking area.
Castle Point Loop Trail – To reach Castle Point, head to the Lake Minnewaska Loop Trail and follow it to the start of the Castle Point Trailhead for a 7.5-mile hike.
Millbrook Mountain Trail – On this moderate 5-mile hike, you will take a loop around the glistening Lake Minnewaska before you explore the backcountry and climb up Millbrook Mountain to get a bird’s-eye view of Minnewaska State Park. Parking is best in the upper parking lot.
Rainbow Falls Trail – Take in the view of another stunning Minnewaska waterfall on a moderate 6.5-mile loop trail with a wide range of scenery to Rainbow Falls. On the far side of the lower parking lot, you will see the trailhead to Rainbow Falls. You can either start out straight ahead on the Lower Awosting Carriage Road or turn off to the left on the Mossy Glen Footpath.

Best Time to Visit Awosting Falls

Honestly, Awosting Falls is worth seeing every season of the year, with spring and fall being the most popular ones. The springtime offers massive flows of water after the snow melt, whereas during the fall you will be able to admire the bright yellow-orange colors of the beautiful New York fall foliage.

Of course, these seasons are very busy times of the year to visit Minnewaska State Park which means the waterfall area will be extremely crowded.

We visited the falls in spring and winter. We would highly recommend checking it out during the winter months. The crowds are light and the waterfall is absolutely stunning when it is half-frozen. It was one of the most impressive frozen waterfalls we have seen. So if you don’t mind getting out in the cold for a quick hike, the winter gives the waterfall a whole new look.

Tips for Visiting Minnewaska State Park

Arrive Early

Minnewaska State Park is a well-known Hudson Valley gem, so expect crowds from spring to fall when the weather is good. The parking areas fill up quicker than you think, especially in this area of the park. We would recommend arriving when the park opens to find parking in the lower Awosting Falls parking area.

During one of our first visits to this area, we arrived 20 minutes after the park opened. We had to wait around 50 minutes in a long line just to get into the park and then struggled to find parking. Eventually, we were able to snag a spot in the upper parking area.

Know What You Want to Do

Know what trails you want to hike before heading to Minnewaska. This will help you know which area to drive to. Remember the park has 4 different recreation areas with 5 parking lots that lead you to different trails. For example, Sam’s Point Preserve, located in the southern part of the park, is a 30 minutes drive away from Awosting Falls.

Main Park Entrance – Lower Awosting Falls parking area, Upper Awosting Falls parking area
Eastern Side of the Park – PetersKill parking area
Western Side of the Park – Jenny Lane parking area
Southern Part of the Park – Sams Point Preserve parking area

Have a Trail Map

You can ask for a free trail map when you pay the entrance fee at the ticket booth, but don’t expect too much. No matter the area you visit, you always get a general, very small map of the whole State Park.

On top of that, we find the trail signs to be a little confusing but at least all the trails are marked by a different color. While hiking, make sure you are following the correct colored blazes for your desired trail. If you do research beforehand (aka read our posts), you shouldn’t get lost but if you are serious about hiking in Minnewaska State Park and might want to explore more hidden trails, carry your own trail map.

Purchase an Empire Pass

If you live in New York or visit frequently, you can save a lot of money on visiting New York State Parks when purchasing an Empire Pass. The pass costs $80 dollars for access to all State Parks and the State Dept. of Environmental Conservation areas for 1 year. To hike all of the best trails in Minnewaska State Park alone will cost you at least $50.

Not sure it is worth it? Here is where the Empire Pass is accepted.

Leave No Trace

Please recreate responsibly. Anytime you are exploring and enjoying the outdoors, it is important to remember to follow the Leave No Trace principles. Respect and appreciate nature, so that future generations can enjoy the same beauty. If you aren’t familiar with the Leave No Trace Principles, here they are:

Final Thoughts

Us sitting in front of the frozen Awosting Falls in New York

During our first visit to Minnewaska State Park, we totally fell in love with it which made us come back again and again to explore more of the beautiful trails.

We hiked to Awosting Falls from the lower and the upper parking lot and enjoyed both ways. It is such an easy and quick hike from the lower parking lot, which gives you the opportunity to discover more trails in this area or even different parts of the park. From the upper parking lot, it is a longer trail classified as moderate because of the higher elevation gain. Don’t let this stop you from visiting Awosting Falls.

We were happily surprised when we ended up having to park in the upper lot because the lower parking area was already packed. It gave us the opportunity to enjoy the pretty vistas of Lake Minnewaska and explore the trail around it.

Did you Visit Awosting Falls in Different Seasons? Is it one of your Highlights in Minnewaska State Park too?

Let us know in the comments below!

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Water plunging down Awosting Falls in the spring

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Explore the Beautiful Awosting Falls Trail in Minnewaska State Park

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