Patrick Knapp has a theory about how some visitors find High Falls in Philmont. They head north from New York City on the Taconic Parkway, reach Putnam County, and type “waterfall” into their GPS. Eventually, they arrive at Columbia County’s tallest cascade, take the relatively short walk to the overlook, admire the view, and continue on.
For Knapp, Columbia Land Conservancy’s director of public lands, the destination deserves the attention. But the journey could offer more—and accommodate more people. A series of projects approaching $1 million in combined investment is reshaping both at High Falls, with improved trails, a new observation deck, and an ambitious forest restoration effort.
On October 22, some of that work received a particularly satisfying test. Visitors using motorized track chairs traveled through the woods to the waterfall during a guided outing with SOAR Experiences, an Ellenville-based nonprofit specializing in adaptive outdoor recreation. Participant Barbara Monteith described the experience as “off-roading in a wheelchair.”
The outing grew from a connection made by CLC President Troy Weldy at an outdoor conference in Albany. Knapp subsequently invited SOAR to walk the property while trail construction was underway. The organization suggested modifications, which CLC incorporated with help from Greenagers, a nonprofit based in western Massachusetts whose work includes trail building.
When SOAR returned to test the finished route, the response was enthusiastic. For Knapp, seeing the chairs reach the falls fulfilled an intention that had guided the project from the beginning. “It just really was very, very satisfying to have this really meaningful, purposeful work kind of achieve its goal,” he says.
The new gravel route offers a consistent, even surface from the parking lot to the waterfall, winding through an area undergoing ecological restoration. Older trails have exposed rocks and roots, obstacles that affect visitors differently depending on their mobility. Knapp sees benefits extending to parents pulling wagons, people recovering from knee surgery, and anyone who appreciates steadier footing. “Everyone’s going to kind of experience something at some point in their life where they would benefit from something like this,” he says.
Knapp cautions that the trails were not built specifically to ADA guidelines; the aim was to improve accessibility. Track chairs were supplied for the organized outing, and CLC hopes to collaborate with SOAR on monthly hikes during the warmer months of 2027.
The accessibility work, supported by a conservation stewardship grant through the Land Trust Alliance’s partnership with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, also addresses the demands of popularity. High Falls receives more than 45,000 visits annually.
At the waterfall, that traffic had worn down a steep hillside, exposing tree roots and concentrating visitors in an increasingly eroded viewing area. The new Levy Lookout, named in honor of CLC board member Mark Levy, creates room to spread out. A staircase and switchbacking ramp lead to the wooden deck, while a stone seating area above offers another place to pause.
The deck carries a connection to the surrounding woods: It was built from black locust trees thinned during the habitat restoration project, milled on-site, and put to use there.
Elsewhere, felled trees serve a different purpose. Around 13 acres of restoration land, an enormous barrier of woody debris protects the next generation of forest. “It looks like this medieval fortress around the area,” Knapp says.
The approximately 10-foot-high “slash wall” was constructed from felled trees of heaven, an invasive that has little commercial timber value. Its job is to keep deer from eating the 8,000 native trees and shrubs CLC plans to plant.
The area was once farmland and a gravel pit. After abandonment, Knapp says, invasive species came to constitute nearly 95 percent of the vegetation. Supported by a state Community Reforestation grant, the project tackles two major obstacles to forest regeneration: invasive plants and excessive deer browsing.
CLC manages 11 public properties, alongside its broader land-protection work. Knapp says accessibility is informing plans for other sites, including Ooms, Greenport, and Overmountain. At High Falls, the improved route also offers a reason to slow down before reaching the main attraction: The recovering landscape becomes part of the visit.
For an organization devoted to connecting people with land, the October outing made that mission tangible. A familiar destination opened to people who had previously faced barriers to getting there.
High Falls, 540 Roxbury Road, Philmont, is open free daily from dawn to dusk.
