Platte Clove is a stupendous mountain pass that is breathtaking to behold from its roadside and from the trails along its rim, but very dangerous if you attempt to descend into Platte Clove’s depths. In Hiking the Catskills, Lee McAllister describes Platte Clove as one of the most rugged areas in the eastern United States.

An article written in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in 1883 about Platte Clove, entitled The Catskills, states: “I think that known as Platterkill (Platte Clove) is the wildest and most picturesque, but only hardy walkers should attempt its ascent. Eighteen waterfalls may be counted in a walk up this clove. There are many precipices and vertical heights.”

Platte Clove is divided into two distinct sections: the upper and the lower. In the upper section of Platte Clove, waterfalls are tall, the terrain is more chiseled, and the side walls are nearly vertical. In Platte Clove’s lower section, or bottom section, the stream is more placid and the terrain less formidable, with a number of waterfalls, but none greater in 25 feet in height. (Source: Catskill Region Waterfall Guide by Russell Dunn)