Photograph by Johnathan Esper
From the river, the mouth of OK Slip Brook is little more than a comma in the epic poem of a trip down the Hudson Gorge. For decades, white-water guides longed to beach their rafts here and pause by a quiet pool before shooting the steepest rapid on the Hudson. The guides knew that this little break in the trees was a portal to an alluring but private inner kingdom.
The Nature Conservancy purchased this shoreline and 2,800 acres behind it from Finch Paper Holdings in 2007 and transferred it to the Adirondack Forest Preserve in 2013, when it opened to the public. Now it’s possible for white-water paddlers to pull ashore and clamber up the brook’s slippery boulders for a half-mile to the base of a 250-foot waterfall.
But a much more popular approach is an overland hike that leads to OK Slip Falls from above. In 2014, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation completed construction of a three-mile trail from Route 28 to the precipice of OK Slip ravine. Here, you can sit in the dark woods and look across the light-filled canyon. On the other side, water cascades down a gray wall of rock. The atmosphere at this height also evokes literary journey, specifically the Adirondack classic Last of the Mohicans and the literal cliffhanger scene where the Huron warrior Magua plunges to his death. It’s hard not to think about falling off that edge.
There are easier ways out. Most visitors simply retrace the trail they came in on. But if you are up for more adventure, you can hike across OK Slip Brook above the falls and then down the other side where the gorge is still steep but not a cliff. This 0.8-mile trail leads you to the river at the halfway point of a classic Hudson River Gorge boat trip.
If you made arrangements beforehand, you can board a raft here. Square Eddy Expeditions offers a hike-in/paddle-out tour to and from OK Slip. Guides Lori Phoebe Benton and Linc Marsac begin the hike via a different route, over land they own on Casey Mountain. They provide everything from lunch to wet suits to anecdotes about the area’s mining and logging past. After brownies and tea on shore, you push into the river and get pulled into Givney’s Rift, the first of a half-dozen heart-pumping rapids and monster waves along the eight-mile ride to the take-out in North River.
“The journey is the thing,” Homer wrote. This voyage lasts only a day but it feels epic, wandering through a variety of wild and dramatic country.
If You Go
To hike to OK Slip Falls, park on the south side of Route 28, 7.5 miles east of the hamlet of Indian Lake. The trailhead is on the north side of Route 28, 0.2 miles west of the parking area. Pack map and compass, and follow trail signs for 3.1 miles to the OK Slip overlook. To hike down the gorge to the Hudson River, follow trail signs another 0.8 miles.
To do a guided hike to the falls and raft out on the Hudson River, contact Square Eddy Expeditions, in North Creek (518-251-5200, squareeddy.com).
