Glenerie Falls is a 45-foot series of broad, low stepped cascades on Esopus Creek in Ulster County, New York, roughly halfway between Kingston and Saugerties. It sits on posted private land and is closed to the public.
The falls
The falls are steep tiered cascades with a cumulative drop of about 45 feet and an average width of about 375 feet. The lowest and largest tier has a crest nearly 700 feet long, making Glenerie one of the widest waterfalls in New York. A river reconnaissance report on the lower Esopus measures the whole steep reach more broadly, at about 68 feet of fall over 2,000 feet of channel, with at least five bedrock steps of thin gray shale between steep wooded banks.
Getting there
The falls are on privately owned, posted land and cannot be approached closely without trespassing. No public trail or parking is documented. A second drop of 8 to 10 feet, about a fifth of a mile downstream on the same private property, is easily visible from Route 9W.
When to go
Seasonal flow at the falls isn't documented.
On site
There is no public viewpoint at the main cascades. The smaller lower drop is the part of the falls that can be seen from the highway.
History and name
The falls powered the old Glenerie white-lead mills, and the U.S. Geological Survey's Glenerie rock formation, named by geologist Chadwick, takes its name from those mills. Minutes of the Saugerties Historic Preservation Commission from December 2020 discuss white-lead manufacturing at the falls and the Great Falls Manufacturing Company.
Nearby
Cantine Falls, also on Esopus Creek, is about 3.9 miles away. On the Saw Kill, Saw Kill Falls lies about 3.4 miles away and Zabriske Falls about 3.5 miles.
Distances are straight-line.