Sam’s Point Dwarf Pine Ridge Preserve

This is one of my favorite hikes in the Shawangunks. The view are beautiful. You can get a full day of hiking in, or a short hike depending on how many parts you go to which makes it versatile as well as beautiful. It’s just a gorgeous area and the waterfalls are spectacular.
HOWEVER, they have to do better with the parking situation. Since the popularity of this area has spiked, the availability of parking needs to be addressed. Driving long distances just to be turned away at the gate is frustrating. (Thus the 4stars instead of 5)
Pro tip: if you are going on a «peak day», such as a weekend day with glorious weather, or a holiday, you must come EARLY or you won’t get parking. I mean very early. Like calculate how long it’ll take all the leaf peepers from the city to get there and get there before them. OR alternatively, what I do is go on the less than glorious days (overcast, a bit cold, a bit drizzly, whatever) and get more space to myself, or on a weekday, and there won’t be the out of town people there to battle over parking with.

Instead of getting spooked at another haunted house for Halloween, I decided I’d rather get the $hit scared out of me trying to tackle my acrophobia (fear of heights). #thestruggleisreal
There’s no messing around here.
This is not as easy a course as some may have advertised on other sites. For a new hiker like myself (I’ve only gone hiking 2 times before tackling this), it was a very strenuous hike. The initial ascent to Sam’s Point, which is where you’d find that cliff with the outstanding views, is an uphill battle in itself. Though it is a well-​paved and wide road, it will feel like the slope is never-​ending.
I would suggest going during the peak weekends. When I arrived, it was a couple of weeks past peak so the leaves were more a dull brown than vibrant yellow, orange, and red hues. You can check the fall foliage reports ahead of time.
My friends and I were deciding between the different path options. Of course, the Ice Caves and the VerKeerderkill Falls were the top attractions. However, when I asked about the skill level required for the Falls, the lady at the information booth said it was not for beginners, which we were. We opted to play by ear and see how we felt after doing the caves portion.
The caves were awesome and definitely worth seeing. There were steep rock «paths» leading down into the various caves, and maneuvering in and out of stone paths in between the sections of the caves, was a workout indeed. I had a little trouble balancing on some rocks since there was water streaming down the walls and rocks.
Hiking boots (unless you want your sneaker soles to be ruined or crack your head open from slipping), water (unless you love a parched mouth), snacks (unless you plan to hunt, in which case– screw you!), and a camera (unless you have that photogenic memory), and carefulness (unless you want to end your walking career) are all essentials for this hike.
The entire round-​trip hike took about 4 hours– this was a result of my slowed pace due to a combination of my fear and photo snapping, and also sporadic breaks for water/​snacks. After the caves, we decided against another 2 hours of trekking for the waterfall. Also, I really wanted to make it to the wine tasting portion of the day. #nolongeranovice

My BF and I hiked to Sam’s Point and Verkeerderkill Falls. It was a beautiful place for photos. Awesome hiking trails, make sure to have hiking shoes due to mini boulders. Incredible experience. The staff was helpful.

Overwhelmingly beautiful, I really mean it. My husband and I hiked to Sam’s Point and to VerKeerderkill Falls, which took us about 5 hours because we stopped a lot to take pictures and enjoy the views. We’re also not in the best shape, so we were pretty tired by the time we got back to the trail head. Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the ice caves on this trip but are definitely planning on going back to take that hike. Our pictures came out beautiful, but there’s nothing compared to what you see. I got emotional there and still get emotional thinking about it. We went on October 10, when fall foliage was almost at its peak, and it made for breathtaking views. There’s a long stretch of trail where you’re hiking along the side of the mountain and you’re surrounded by blueberry bushes, to the right views of the Shawangunks. The bushes had turned bright bright red, and it was absolutely brilliant.
Follow other reviewers’ advice and get there early. We got there at 9:15ish and the lot was pretty full.

i have been there around 6 times. brought friends and family to enjoy nature. the ice caves are my favorite and at the end of the trail, you can sit and enjoy the scenery. ive taken my dog there plenty of times. ive seen kids enjoying the hike. make sure to wear sneakers and use bug spray. there are also lakes, also a waterfall
the parking situation needs major improvement. theres just not enough parking space. if you dont go there early enough, you may be turned away by the people who took over this once independent area. it never used to be so monitored. now theres people that control everything. they even charge you to park there.
theres bathrooms at the parking area as well as a gift shop. you have to sign in your name and sign out when you leave so they dont go looking for you.
other than those changes, its still a plesant experience.

Love this place. It’s never packed and has miles of trails and incredible views! Explore Highpoint and South Gully trail.

Waterfall with clifftop vantage point, dwarf pine preserve, lake, ice caves, Indian rock, and panoramic views. Enough said.
1) This hike has everything wonderful to see. (As mentioned above.)
2) However, doing the grand loop is long. I would say 5 – 8 hours, for most people. So come early.
3) Enjoy! It is worth a visit.

It’s a beautiful place to be. Any time of the year. It’s hiker’s paradise and so much more… Bird watching, ice caves, waterfalls, and breathtaking views of valley below…
The day was cold, spring just starting to warm up our cold NY grounds, and snow was still hiding in the corners of the rocks — but most of it melted away and created streams and rivers on the trails. (Waterproof boots are the must of you coming here in spring of after the rain!).
Sam’s point itself is a spot not far from park entrance in the beginning of Loop trail — on top of the rocks hugging the carriage road. The views from here are gorgeous, and it’s also a good spot to watch birds in flight, since it’s unobstructed by trees.
Walking further the Loops trail, you will come to the ice caves — it was really iced-​out still, and most I managed to climb down was 2 flights of stairs before it turned into solid sheet of ice. I left my ice axe at home that day, in another girly purse of mine, bummer! (kidding, of course, I do not own ice axe — unfortunately).
Trek back along the Loop trail, and you will see Verkeerder Kill trail marked by the green paint on the stone to the right. The trail is long, and narrow, and filled with many sharp rocks, it turned into small rivers in many places — so good hiking boots will definitely be a good idea. It’s a beautiful hike, along the picturesque dwarf pines, and with big rocks seating on the ledge here and there, offering photo opportunities, or a place to rest and have sip of water. Was not very crowded either, very peaceful. You cannot get lost — it’s very clear narrow path, with green markers along the way. (it’s about an hour and change hike to the falls, but you can continue further on a trail, it loops around back to the parking area)
About half way thru the trail you will hear it — the VerKeerder Kill Falls. You coming out at high point of it, and while in summer days it’s pretty easy to cross the creek that turns into falls it was not possible in spring, after all those rainy weeks we had (unless you wearing high waterproof boots). There are stone cliffs on other side — clean and clear viewpoint of the falls, but if you cannot cross, there is still nice viewpoint to the right, just walk a bit down and around. Fair warning — there is no railing or safety, just wild mountain cliffs, so be cautious at the edge of the cliff and watch for wet stones.
And here you are… Sitting on this sun-​warmed stone edge and watching eagles fly… Listening to the roar of falling water…
Can you imaging better day than this in early spring? I cannot.

Many trail options and gorgeous views! I’ve never been to a park where you have to sign in, but for safety reasons, I guess it makes sense. They have a clean bathroom and little visitor’s center. All of the trails are labeled clearly.
Go check out the ice caves! Be aware: there are a couple of short ladders to climb. Our friend’s dog actually climbed one of them, but had to find his own way up around the other ladder. It’s also probably a good idea to have a flashlight. I had a little one attached to my bag and it was helpful. There is lighting inside the darkest parts of the caves, but there was one little spot we needed the flashlight.

Gorgeous scenery with great pine barren and valley views, along with sitings of Ellensville and Cragsmoor. There are several great viewing areas as well as separate trailheads to hike a loop through Ice Caves or to hike down and back to the VerKeerderkill Falls. It’s also a stones throw from Minnewaska State Park which has some great hiking too, and could be done in one day if you start very early.
DOGS: We brought our two Boxers on the hike, and they managed it just fine. There are several areas where there are fresh streams where they could refill themselves on water. However, we had a moderate rainfall two days prior which might explain the strong running water and how clean it was. Might be more stagnant at other times? A side note, the Ice Caves does have two separate ladders which are only about 6 – 10 ft in height, but may prove difficult for some dogs. Our dogs refused to try the first ladder (10 ft or so) so we had to find a small outcropping to heave them up on. As for the second ladder, they climbed it themselves. Smaller dogs this will be no issue as you can just carry them up yourself.
We hiked a picnic lunch down and sat on a rock outcropping which overlooked the falls while we ate. But please, «Leave No Trace» and make sure you take out everything you bring in with you. For the most part it seemed untouched, and I think everyone there has been following this general maxim.
DIFFICULTY CONSIDERATIONS: The hike to the falls requires an approximately 750ft ascent up a switchback trail, and then another 1.7 mile hike down (and then roundtrip, back up another 1.7) to the falls from the VerKeerderkill Falls trailhead. The Ice Caves would be an additional approx. 2 miles. You don’t have to be in amazing shape to make this trek (for instance, I am not), but there is a lot of steeper portions of the trail, some of which is single file over medium-​small rocky boulders which can strain the ankles. Still, I saw families of all ages so unless you have major injury or cardiovascular considerations, this should be doable for most everyone.
PARKING & HOURS: There is on site parking if you following Google Map directions to Sam’s Point Preserve it’ll take you right to the lot. $ 10 fee per car to park. Try to get there before noon during the summer and fall months as the lot seemed to be ready to fill up any second after we got there around 11. They close the lot at 5pm (with a little grace time) so make sure you are back to the lot before then, though they do take phone numbers and hiker information before you set out in case there are any issues.
LOVED IT!

Awesome hiking at any season. The hike to the top is gradual so you don’t realize how high you’ve climbed.
The caves are great (I only checked those out in the summer). There are also little abandoned shacks that locals used to live in during the summer to pick berries (according to our friend that has a house here).

«You can touch the clouds!»

OMG what a hike! Yes, it’s rugged, yes, it’s long and yes, it is beautiful. We under estimated how long it was going to take to hike the 10 mile trail and arrived around 12pm. We started with the Ice caves, then to the falls and then trailed all the way to the high point. Our group of 9 had a lot of fun hiking to the caves and the falls (approx 4miles in)… After the falls and having lunch. We were deciding if we should turn around or go all the way. Our group decided to go all the way because we did not like the hike from the caves to the fall. The hike in between them were singled file like Colleen D, described and had much unstable rocks. It was single file due to all the shrub/​trees etc. It felt like a maze but it wasn’t because there’se only one way to go. Okay, back to the story. After our lunch. we kept on going towards the high point but we were tired. we were thirsty and it felt like boot camp. Due to our lack of time would couldn’t even take a decent break time to look at the views from the highest point. The overall hike took 6 and half hour with probably a total of 30 min break =X.
So tips for others:
Probably arrive around 10 in order to take decent breaks and picture taking, wear good sneaker/​hiking boots. Bring lots of water because we all ran out toward the last ¹⁄₃ of the trip and stopped talking to each other due to thirst.
There are a lot of blueberry shrubs all around. I wished I knew ahead of time so i can prepare myself to picked them also. Hoped this help. Happy Hiking

Sam’s Point is a rugged nature preserve in Cragsmoor, NY (Ulster County).

It is a moderate hike that offers vast pine barrens, ice caves, cliffs, and waterfalls. It is about a 10 mile round trip and much of it is single file trails over mini-​boulders (your ankles will hurt at the end of the hike). Upon completing the initial trek up the paved road (there is a bit of paving before you get to the actual trail) you should stop and spin around slowly to get views of the Hudson Valley and the Catskill Mountains. The Ellenville Ice Caves are located off a trail on the preserve loop (there is ice in July in the caves, but I didn’t venture in too far as I don’t like tight spaces). Verkeerder Kill Falls are also assessable from the loop (which is a beautiful 180 foot drop into a gorge). Occassionally, there are black bear sightings so bring your bear spray and make some noise as you walk.
I only give it 3 stars because I wish the trails were wider. If you are with a friend you have to walk single-​file for a good portion of the hike and if you encounter other hikers who didn’t do the loop and did a partial out-​and-​back you have to step off the trail into the prickly pine barrens (which I feel bad tromping off the trails, which are there for a reason, and ouch).
This preserve is maintained by the Nature Conservancy: 845−647−7989. Parking at the lodge is either $ 5 or $ 10 per car (I can’t recall, but it was cheap). There is a bathroom at the lodge/​information center. The drive up to the preserve is on narrow winding roads and frankly that was really scary. Dogs are welcome but must be on a leash.