Santa Cruz Falls is a 300-foot waterfall on Santa Cruz Creek in Greene County, New York, in the Northeastern Highlands region. It lies about 3.2 miles west of Palenville and roughly 36.5 miles southwest of Albany as the crow flies.
At 300 feet it is among the ten tallest of the 184 New York waterfalls with a recorded height, ranking 6th. By form it is a tiered waterfall, falling in several distinct steps one after another, combined with a plunge character.
The Northeastern Highlands are the mountains of northern New England and the Adirondacks, with spruce-fir on the summits and northern hardwood forest of maple, beech and birch below, and countless lakes and boulder-strewn brooks. Fast mountain streams drop over granite and gneiss ledges in chains of falls and pools.
Greene County holds 55 recorded waterfalls, and several are close by. Delmura Falls, is under a mile away. Five Cascades, a 150-foot tiered horsetail waterfall, is under a mile away. Buttermilk Falls, 100 feet high, is under a mile away.
Santa Cruz Falls is located at 42.1827° N, 74.0817° W. The listing is based on the World Waterfall Database, one of the sources compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in its inventory of waterfalls and rapids of the conterminous United States. The exact position has not yet been verified on aerial imagery, so treat the map pin as approximate. Details on trails, parking and access have not been documented for this waterfall yet.