Peekamoose Valley

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The rivers that drain the Catskills to the west follow a similar pattern. These include, shown on the map from left to right, the Delaware, with its West and East Branches (major tributary the Beaverkill shown in purple), the Neversink, with two branches towards its headwaters, and finally Rondout Creek. All of these streams descend from the mountains in a southwesterly direction,  then turn to the southeast where the mountains give way to the lower-relief Allegheny Plateau. They later cascade down into a valley of the Ridge and Valley province behind the Shawangunk Mountains.

Rondout Creek takes this common descent in the shortest distance. Its gradient, though moderate in the grand scheme of things, is steepest among these rivers. Flanked by mountains, its upper half flows down through the narrow and deep Peekamoose Valley, walled by steep slopes 2500 feet and 1500 feet tall. The summits of Table Mountain, Peekamoose Mountain, Lone Mountain, Rocky Mountain and Balsam Cap are all within three miles of the valley floor. Small streams rush down the sides of these Catskill High Peaks. The steepest is Buttermilk Falls Brook, which rises on a shoulder of Peekamoose Mountain, drops 1500 feet in a mile in a half, and finishes with its namesake waterfall.

Rondout Creek in the Peekamoose Valley


This stretch of Rondout Creek has cold water year round, making it an excellent trout stream. Other Catskills rivers laze in wide, sunny valleys fairly close to their headwaters, but Rondout's upper reaches are almost a gorge. Often reaching directly down to bedrock, it has some deep pools that make for great swimming. One in particular, the Peekamoose Blue Hole, is so famous that park rangers have instituted a permit system for weekend visits. It's worth a trip. A pool reaches a depth of probably at least 12 feet below some nice bedrock jumping ledges. The deep water in an otherwise smallish stream has a striking blue color to it.

The small floodplain in the lower part of the valley is home to some great campsites.

Right below the valley, at the Rondout's turn to the southeast, is New York City's Rondout Reservoir.

Here is the valley with some funky colors: 



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