Nearby to Sphinx Rock is a beautiful view of the upper section of Kaaterskill Falls. On our way to Sphinx Rock we located what we believe to be Prospect Rock seeing both the upper and lower sections of Kaaterskill Falls. However tree growth at Prospect Rock made the view obstructed.

The photo gallery below shows Sphinx Rock, the view from Sphinx Rock, Kaaterskill Falls, and images from the Ulster and Delaware Railroad ROW.

The Tannersville Bike Path is for riding and walking and it is open to the public. The Tannersville Bike Path offers to the public a 2.7 mile stretch of graded dirt path which is the old ROW of the Ulster & Delaware Railroad.

CatskillSearch traveled by car east on Cortina Valley Road and found an old railroad abutment over a small creek. The current wooden bridge is a very shaky and does not feel very steady as one walks across.  On the southside of the road is the Cortina Valley Ski Resort which appears to be out of business.

Further east on the road we explored an area which is now known as the Cortina Valley Estates as stated by a large posted sign as one enters the area. It appears in very recent times developers attempted to develop many plots/ parcels with large state of the art log cabins and homes. At this time there appears to be 2 to 3 model homes that were built and none of these homes appear to have any residents.

The two photos below show the current wooden bridge where the former Ulster & Delaware Railroad would have crossed. This obviously is not the original bridge:

The view beyond the wooden bridge looking at the Ulster and Delaware Railroad ROW:

Homes located in the developed area of Cortina Valley Estates. None of these homes appear to have a resident:

A large piece of equipment appears to be just left to rot and rust along the roadway:

The above piece of equipment probably was one of the vehicles that was used to build this roadway with a very large drainage ditch.

The Cortina Valley business’ sign at Route 23A and Clum Hill Road. Both the Resort and Hotel appear not to be in business at this current time.

South Lake is located in the North South Lake Campgrounds of the Catskills. This walk crossed Schutt Road. A previous posting of CatskillSearch showcased a caboose that is located at the end of Schutt Road. (Historic Note: Peter Schutt was the original founder and builder of the Laurel House.) VIEW LINK: ULSTER & DELAWARE RAILROAD CABOOSE

CatskillSearch stood on the top of the eastern side of  U&D Railroad abutment that crossed Spruce Creek in regards to this outing. On a previous outing we stood below and on the west side abutment of the crossing of Spruce Creek. VIEW LINK- LAUREL HOUSE ROAD

It also should be noted CatskillSearch spoke with a young artist very recently who was painting along Spruce Creek. The artist was Palden Hamilton. (VIEW LINK: PALDEN HAMILTON)

Spruce Creek is the waterway that accumulates the waterflow over the famed Kaaterskill Falls (VIEW LINK- KAATERSKILL FALLS)

More information below about the U&D Kaaterskill Railroad Station:

The Kaaterskill Railroad Station, branch MP 19.1, was one of the busiest railroad stations on the branch lines of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D). It was near the banks of South Lake in Kaaterskill, NY, and was a major stop for people who wished to stay at the Hotel Kaaterskill or the Catskill Mountain House, which was 0.93 miles from the station.

It was left to fall apart until it was consumed by fire in the 1960s. (Source: Wikipedia)

The Google Map below is an aerial image of the area explored. It is interesting because as it currently appears the ROW of both the U&D and C&T can still be observed in several distinct areas.

From Wikipedia (Source Link)

Cold Brook Station, MP 22.1, was built by the U&D about 1900. It replaced an earlier flagstop at Cold Brook Bridge, MP 22.38.

After the flooding of the Ashokan Reservoir, six stations were submerged forever, and one of these was the Boiceville Station. When this was flooded, the Cold Brook Station took over as the stop for Boiceville.

Cold Brook Station served the town of Boiceville until the end of passenger service on the U&D on March 31, 1954. The station was later sold to a private hunting and fishing club, who continue to use it and maintain it well.

The railroad tracks next to the station are leased to the Catskill Mountain Railroad which resumed passenger service to the station on July 4, 2008. The station is not currently used to load or unload paassengers as it remains in private hands.

Click above for larger image

The Ulster & Delaware Railroad at Lasher Road.

From Wikipedia (Source):

The station at Fleischmann’s, MP 44.1 of the Ulster and Delaware Railroad, was originally called Griffin’s Corners Station, as that was the town’s original name. It was situated on a hill high above the busy town, and, like the town, was always very busy itself. Changes were made to the station when the New York Central purchased the line in 1932; a room was added on, and a chimney and a lookout room on the second floor were removed. It survived even after the end of passenger service, but all that’s left now is a freight house, which is used by the Delaware and Ulster Railroad.

The Delaware & Ulster Railroad crossing at Route 30.

The former Ulster & Delaware Railroad Station in Oneonta is currently a tavern/restaurant called “The Depot”. The restaurant receives many positive reviews by it’s patrons on many online review sites. (Links for The Depot at 2 reviews sites: Google Reviews: The Depot and Yelp.com: The Depot)

Here is the link to The Depot website: http://www.oneontadepot.com/

The former Ulster & Delaware Railroads Station at Davenport Center is currently a private dwelling (Source: Wikipedia).

Information from Wikipedia:

The Kaaterskill Junction Station, branch MP 11.8, was one of the smallest stations on the Ulster & Delaware, and served as the station at the junction between the Stony Clove and Kaaterskill Branch and the Hunter Branch, hence the word “junction” in its name. The Station was originally known as the Tannersville Junction Station, but its name was changed soon after it was made.

Despite its small size, it had more trains than any other station on the branch, and stayed that way until it was abandoned in 1939. Soon after, it was purchased by Harry L’Hommadeu, a land agent for the New York Central, and expanded into a nice private dwelling. But unfortunately, it burnt down on a winter day in the late 1980s.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaaterskill_Junction_Railroad_Station

The  photo gallery shows several different locations in the area around Kaaterskill Junction.