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An easy out-and-back. Trailhead info at bottom of this post.

Hiking Trail Description

Diamond Notch Falls is a very popular destination for nature lovers seeking to immerse themselves in the deep beauty of The Catskills.

Surrounded by lush forests and beautiful hiking trails, the double-falls sit at a trail junction that connects Hunter , Southwest Hunter and West Kill mountains.

The falls are only about 15 feet high, but so beautiful — in spring, summer and fall, of course, but especially in winter.

This short easy route continues into the notch for an epic view. It’s short enough and easy enough that it qualifies as a Nature Trail .

Plan on 1½ to 2 hours to get the most from this extremely enjoyable hike.

You might also enjoy this alternate route to Diamond Notch Falls via Diamond Notch Road

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Table of Contents

Trail Notes & Gallery

Diamond Notch Falls

Diamond Notch Scenic View

Similar Hikes

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Diamond Notch Falls Trail

The Diamond Notch hiking trail from Spruceton includes…

A short, easy hike in to the falls

A wonderful footbridge over the falls

A quick uphill section to an excellent scenic view

Trail Notes & Gallery

Park in the medium-sized parking area on Spruceton Road — but make sure to not park in the turnaround at the end of the road, near the trailhead . It’s a very short road walk from the official parking lot to the trailhead.

The walk in, along the West Kill, is a lovely start to this hike. Follow the blue trail blazes …

West Kill

West Kill

In cold weather on any mountain hike, you’ll definitely need microspikes . The trail often looks like this…

Contour ice in winter

In summer, the footbridge across the top of the waterfalls looks like this…

Diamond Notch Footbridge

In winter, it looks so…

Diamond Notch Footbridge in Winter

Diamond Notch Falls

Winter is my favorite time to visit any waterfall. Spot the hiker…

Diamond Notch Waterfalls

Diamond Notch Waterfalls

Diamond Notch Falls

Diamond Notch Scenic View

Cross over the footbridge and continue to follow the blue blazes uphill, to your left.

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Before half a mile, you’ll see a lean-to shelter on your left, just off trail…

Diamond Notch lean-to

It’s really beautifully situated. There’s also a privy .

Diamond Notch lean-to

From here, make your way further uphill on the trail until you enter the very narrowest part of the wind gap — where it’s possible to put one foot on Southwest Hunter and the other on West Kill mountain.

At half-a-mile from the footbridge, you’ll come to an obvious boulder. From this spot, there’s a terrific view of the Burroughs Range: Wittenberg , Cornell , the col , and Slide Mountain .

Diamond Notch scenic view

Behind the Burroughs Range , you can see Table and Peekamoose mountains.

Burroughs Range seen from Diamond Notch

From here, it’s roughly 1.5 miles back to your car on Spruceton Road.

Similar Hikes

Check the alternate route to Diamond Notch via Diamond Notch Road .

If you love waterfalls, you’ll love this list of waterfall hikes .

If you’re looking for short, easy hikes, here’s a list of Nature Trails on the website.

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Diamond Notch Falls via Spruceton Trailhead

Medium-sized lot. Very popular. Do not park in the turn-around.

Google Maps Location: 42.182596, -74.269579

The map below shows the exact topographic location of the trailhead

Cell Service

No cell service until you get up into the wind gap near the scenic view. My network is Verizon. YMMV.

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The parent mountain for this hike is West Kill .