It’s time to add the High Falls Conservancy Creekwalk to any list of short but nice off-road jaunts.

On Saturday, September 21 County Executive Jen Metzger and Marbletown Supervisor Rich Parete came out for the ribbon cutting as the High Falls Conservancy celebrated the completion of five years of work to turn what had been a littered bushwhack into a smooth, easy walk that opens the High Falls waterfalls to visitors, along with the scenic vistas of the river tumbling down the rocks on its journey to Esopus, Kingston and the Hudson.

The High Falls Conservancy discovered the overgrown walkway, known only to local kids, fishermen and a few geologists about ten years ago. Back then it was a mess with the 19th century ruins of the former Delaware & Hudson “Old Canal” locks, 19, 18, 17 and 16 jutting out of the woods. The canal history at High Falls is complex. The original canal from the 1820s was superseded by a larger canal in the mid-century. The two combined in the center of the hamlet and an aqueduct, originally stone, carried the canal over the Rondout to the northern side. The remains of the D&H Canal Roebling Bridge are still visible too, about a hundred yards downstream. Today there are still quite a few vestiges of the Old Canal visible, ruins from the age when New York City burned mountains of Pennsylvania coal to stay warm in the winter. The “newer” canal’s remains are very visible where it runs up to High Falls and the Rondout.

The conservancy deliberated. The land was owned by the NYS DOT. They weren’t doing anything with it. The conservancy asked if they could have it and repurpose it into a community amenity. The DOT’s response was, essentially, “Okay, but it’ll take five years.” It did, apparently as Richard Eppley, Vice President of Conservancy said at the ribbon cutting.

The land was transferred from the DOT to the Town of Marbletown. Volunteers cleared brush and removed litter and the DOT contributed a smooth surfaced walkway leading down from Main Street (Route 213) and along the path toward the falls. The conservancy has set up park benches and planted native species along the walk.

In her remarks before the ribbon was cut, Metzger emphasized that the work was a community driven project. “This is it!” she said. “This is emblematic of where we live.”

“It’s a special place,” Metzger added. She emphasized that, as a big “outdoors person,” she is very concerned that there be places for Ulster County residents to walk to not necessarily for hikes but just for a nice stroll, or a walk with the dog. The canal locks creekwalk qualifies on that score.

Supervisor Rich Parete also spoke warmly about the creekwalk and what the conservancy has accomplished.

The Reverend Dr. Robert Gram, interim pastor of High Falls Community Church gave an invocation, and to round things out, Evan Pritchard, Professor of Native American studies from the Center for Algonquin Culture gave a prayer of thanks in the Munsee language of the northern Lenape people. The old Canal Locks from the 1820s are two hundred years old, and were built two hundred years after the first Europeans began settling Lenape land.

After the ribbon was cut, guests and visitors moved down towards the river and encountered a small herd of costumed “deer” dressed for the occasion by Amy Trompetter, Director of the Redwing Blackbird Theater.