Beaverkill River
Encyclopedia
The Beaver Kill, sometimes written as the Beaverkill or Beaverkill River, is a tributary
of the East Branch
of the Delaware River
, approximately 44 miles (70.8 km) long, in the U.S. State
of New York
. The kill
drains a 300 square miles (777 km²) area of the Catskill Mountains
and has long been celebrated as one of the most famous trout
streams in the United States. Its preservation helped establish many of the basic conservation principles of rivers in the United States.
The river has been popular as a trout stream since the early 19th century, when it became one of the first resort destinations in the United States. The subsequent depletion of the brook trout
population by the 1850s led to an early conservation movement to preserve the river, including the introduction of hatcheries for brown trout
. Its popularity as a trout stream arises in part from the many cold springs and deep pools in the upper river that keep the water at an even cold temperature. The fly fishing
industry is centered around Roscoe
, home to several fly-shops and bed and breakfasts catering to fishermen from around the world. More local fly fishing history and information can be found at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum
located in Livingston Manor
.
, beginning at an elevation of 2760 feet (841.2 m) just south of the col
between Graham
and Doubletop
mountain
s, two of the Catskill High Peaks
in the Town of Hardenburgh
. It descends gently from here, first on private land belonging to the descendants of Jay Gould
, then into the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area, part of the Forest Preserve
in the Catskill Park. Shortly after entering state land, it receives its first tributary
, an unnamed stream that flows down steeply from the southeast slopes of Doubletop.
At its first crossing, the Neversink-Hardenburgh Trail, the stream turns west and enters a different state-owned parcel, the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, paralleling the trail for two miles (3 km) to the Quaker Clearing trailhead
at the end of Beaverkill Road. Here it turns southwest again and parallels the road through the minimally developed valley, widening slightly as it does, and receiving from the north tributaries such as Alder Creek. It gradually moves to a more westerly direction until just short of the Delaware County
line it turns southwest again and parallels it just past the small hamlet of Lew Beach
where it enters Sullivan County
.
Here it keeps the same course. The covered
Beaverkill Bridge
crosses it at the Beaverkill State Campground, a popular fishing spot. After briefly bending into Delaware County it reaches the only significant settlement along its length, the hamlet of Roscoe
, where its largest tributary
, Willowemoc Creek
, joins it from the east at the Junction Pool, the Beaver Kill's best-known fishing hole. The confluence
also marks the point where the Beaver Kill becomes part of the Blue Line
, the boundary of the Catskill Park]].
It also starts to parallel another road, the NY 17
expressway slowly being converted into Interstate 86
. Widening and turning westward again, it soon enters Delaware County and the Town of Colchester
for good, passing the small hamlet of Cooks Falls shortly afterwards. The river and the highway remain close, intersecting several times. At the Hancock
town line, the Blue Line leaves the river.
For its last few miles, it bends northward slightly, staying alongside Route 17. At the hamlet of East Branch, it drains into the East Branch
, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of where it joins the West Branch
to form the Delaware's
main stem.
wrote of in 1819, noting that its isolation kept it out of easy reach of city dwellers attracted to the new sport of angling
.
Later in the century the valley's first significant industry adversely affected the water quality the trout depended on. Tanneries
opened up, harvesting tannin
from the bark of the extensive Eastern Hemlock
stands on the mountain slopes. There were eventually eight in the valley, their effluents clouding the river and making it less attractive to trout. Charcoal
makers also released acids into the river, further affecting its quality. The industries were properous enough to sustain the settlements of Beaverkill, where the oldest extant bridge
over the river was constructed in 1865, and Shin Creek (today Lew Beach
).
Those industries faded away due to changes in technology and depletion of forest resources in the 1880s. That same decade, New York created the Forest Preserve
, by which state landholdings in the Adirondacks
and Catskills were to be kept forever wild. This shift to conservation helped the region sustain a new tourism economy, as rail connections, and later the automobile, brought dry-fly fishermen to the valley. Many of the new sport's early publicizers, like Theodore Gordon
, wrote about the trout of the Beaver Kill, particularly the Junction Pool, rich in fish because the trout could not decide which river to swim up, and the waters from there down to the East Branch.
The new attention caused different problems. Overfishing
led conservationists and private clubs to buy large sections of the river's banks all the way up to almost its headwaters. The state built Beaverkill campground in the 1920s, one of its first in the Catskill Park, to concentrate angler impact in one area.
In the years after World War II
, the river faced the prospect of being dammed by New York City
for its water supply, along with the Willowemoc. The fly-fishing community opposed this strongly, and eventually when test borings
showed that the bedrock in those valleys could not support the necessary dams, the city relented. It chose to acquire land along both branches of the Delaware and build Cannonsville
and Pepacton
reservoirs instead.
Anglers later protested the construction of the Quickway, the expressway section of Route 17, along the river. Their efforts resulted in some slight rerouting, and a section near Cooks Falls where the two roadways were stacked on each other in a narrow passage between state Forest Preserve land and the river. It does not appear to have had, by itself, the adverse impact on runoff
and stream flows that was originally feared, although both have increased since the highway's construction.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the East Branch
East Branch Delaware River
The East Branch Delaware River, approximately 75 miles long in the U.S. state of New York, is one of two branches, along with the West Branch, that join to form the Delaware River. It flows through a mountainous area on the southwestern edge of the Catskill Park. For a long stretch it serves...
of the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
, approximately 44 miles (70.8 km) long, in the U.S. State
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The kill
Kill (body of water)
As a body of water, a kill is a creek. The word comes from the Middle Dutch kille, meaning "riverbed" or "water channel." The modern Dutch term is kil....
drains a 300 square miles (777 km²) area of the Catskill Mountains
Catskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
and has long been celebrated as one of the most famous trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
streams in the United States. Its preservation helped establish many of the basic conservation principles of rivers in the United States.
The river has been popular as a trout stream since the early 19th century, when it became one of the first resort destinations in the United States. The subsequent depletion of the brook trout
Brook trout
The brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
population by the 1850s led to an early conservation movement to preserve the river, including the introduction of hatcheries for brown trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
. Its popularity as a trout stream arises in part from the many cold springs and deep pools in the upper river that keep the water at an even cold temperature. The fly fishing
Fly fishing
Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...
industry is centered around Roscoe
Roscoe, New York
Roscoe is a hamlet in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 597 at the 2000 census.Roscoe is in the southwest part of the Town of Rockland, adjacent to New York State Route 17....
, home to several fly-shops and bed and breakfasts catering to fishermen from around the world. More local fly fishing history and information can be found at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum
Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum
The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to: preserving America's fly fishing heritage; teaching its future generations of fly fishers; and protecting its fly fishing environment...
located in Livingston Manor
Livingston Manor, New York
Livingston Manor is a hamlet in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 1,355 at the 2000 census.Livingston Manor is in the south part of the Town of Rockland, adjacent to New York State Route 17.-History:...
.
Course
The Beaver Kill rises in western Ulster CountyUlster County, New York
Ulster County is a county located in the state of New York, USA. It sits in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 182,493. Recent population estimates completed by the United States Census Bureau for the 12-month period ending July 1 are at...
, beginning at an elevation of 2760 feet (841.2 m) just south of the col
Mountain pass
A mountain pass is a route through a mountain range or over a ridge. If following the lowest possible route, a pass is locally the highest point on that route...
between Graham
Graham Mountain (New York)
Graham Mountain is the seventh highest of the Catskill High Peaks and the highest privately owned mountain in the range. It is located in the town of Hardenburgh, New York, United States....
and Doubletop
Doubletop Mountain (New York)
Doubletop Mountain is a mountain located in Ulster County, New York.The mountain is part of the Catskill Mountains.Doubletop Mtn. is flanked to the northwest by Graham Mountain, to the east by Big Indian Mountain, and to the southwest by the Beaver Kill Range....
mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s, two of the Catskill High Peaks
Catskill High Peaks
The Catskill High Peaks are all of the mountains in New York's Catskill Mountains above 3,500 ft in elevation whose summits are separated either by one-half mile or a vertical drop of at least 250 ft between it and the next nearest separate summit...
in the Town of Hardenburgh
Hardenburgh, New York
Hardenburgh is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 208 at the 2000 census.The Town of Hardenburgh is located in the western part of Ulster County. The town is inside the Catskill Park.- History :...
. It descends gently from here, first on private land belonging to the descendants of Jay Gould
Jay Gould
Jason "Jay" Gould was a leading American railroad developer and speculator. He has long been vilified as an archetypal robber baron, whose successes made him the ninth richest American in history. Condé Nast Portfolio ranked Gould as the 8th worst American CEO of all time...
, then into the Big Indian-Beaverkill Range Wilderness Area, part of the Forest Preserve
Forest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
in the Catskill Park. Shortly after entering state land, it receives its first tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, an unnamed stream that flows down steeply from the southeast slopes of Doubletop.
At its first crossing, the Neversink-Hardenburgh Trail, the stream turns west and enters a different state-owned parcel, the Balsam Lake Mountain Wild Forest, paralleling the trail for two miles (3 km) to the Quaker Clearing trailhead
Trailhead
A trailhead is the point at which a trail begins, where the trail is often intended for hiking, biking, horseback riding, or off-road vehicles...
at the end of Beaverkill Road. Here it turns southwest again and parallels the road through the minimally developed valley, widening slightly as it does, and receiving from the north tributaries such as Alder Creek. It gradually moves to a more westerly direction until just short of the Delaware County
Delaware County, New York
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of 2010 the population was 47,980. The county seat is Delhi. It is named after the Delaware River, which was named in honor of Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, appointed governor of Virginia in 1609.-History:When counties...
line it turns southwest again and parallels it just past the small hamlet of Lew Beach
Lew Beach, New York
Lew Beach is a hamlet in the Town of Rockland, New York, United States. It is at the northernmost corner of the town and thus also of Sullivan County, near the tripoint with Delaware and Ulster counties, within the Catskill Park...
where it enters Sullivan County
Sullivan County, New York
Sullivan County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 77,547. The county seat is Monticello. The name is in honor of Major General John Sullivan, who was a hero in the American Revolutionary War...
.
Here it keeps the same course. The covered
Covered bridge
A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...
Beaverkill Bridge
Beaverkill Bridge
Beaverkill Bridge, also known as Conklin Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge over the Beaver Kill north of the hamlet of Roscoe in the Town of Rockland, New York, United States, that carries Conklin Road through Beaverkill State Campground...
crosses it at the Beaverkill State Campground, a popular fishing spot. After briefly bending into Delaware County it reaches the only significant settlement along its length, the hamlet of Roscoe
Roscoe, New York
Roscoe is a hamlet in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 597 at the 2000 census.Roscoe is in the southwest part of the Town of Rockland, adjacent to New York State Route 17....
, where its largest tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
, Willowemoc Creek
Willowemoc Creek
Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of Beaver Kill that is a popular trout fishing stream near the Catskill Park in Sullivan County, New York.- Course:...
, joins it from the east at the Junction Pool, the Beaver Kill's best-known fishing hole. The confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
also marks the point where the Beaver Kill becomes part of the Blue Line
Blue Line (New York State)
The Blue Line is the term used in New York state for the boundaries of the Adirondack and Catskill parks, within which can be found the state's Forest Preserve...
, the boundary of the Catskill Park]].
It also starts to parallel another road, the NY 17
New York State Route 17
New York State Route 17 is a state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate regions of New York in the United States...
expressway slowly being converted into Interstate 86
Interstate 86 (east)
Interstate 86 is an Interstate Highway that extends for through northwestern Pennsylvania and southern New York in the United States...
. Widening and turning westward again, it soon enters Delaware County and the Town of Colchester
Colchester, New York
Colchester is a town in Delaware County, New York, USA. The population was 2,042 at the 2000 census.The Town of Colchester is in the southwest part of the county.- History :Colchester was formed from part of the Town of Middletown in 1792....
for good, passing the small hamlet of Cooks Falls shortly afterwards. The river and the highway remain close, intersecting several times. At the Hancock
Hancock (town), New York
Hancock is a town in Delaware County, New York, United States. The town contains a village, also named Hancock. The town is in the southwest part of the county...
town line, the Blue Line leaves the river.
For its last few miles, it bends northward slightly, staying alongside Route 17. At the hamlet of East Branch, it drains into the East Branch
East Branch Delaware River
The East Branch Delaware River, approximately 75 miles long in the U.S. state of New York, is one of two branches, along with the West Branch, that join to form the Delaware River. It flows through a mountainous area on the southwestern edge of the Catskill Park. For a long stretch it serves...
, approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) northeast of where it joins the West Branch
West Branch Delaware River
The West Branch Delaware River, approximately 90 mi long in the U.S. states of New York and Pennsylvania, is one of the two branches, along with the East Branch, that join to form the Delaware River...
to form the Delaware's
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
main stem.
History
The combination of its remoteness and contentious disputes over land titles in the Catskills stemming from the Hardenburgh Patent kept the Beaver Kill area unsettled and undeveloped well into the 19th century. Only loggers and trappers visited the area, on a road built in 1815. They told others of the river's clear waters and ample supply of trout, which Washington IrvingWashington Irving
Washington Irving was an American author, essayist, biographer and historian of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short stories "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. His historical works...
wrote of in 1819, noting that its isolation kept it out of easy reach of city dwellers attracted to the new sport of angling
Angling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
.
Later in the century the valley's first significant industry adversely affected the water quality the trout depended on. Tanneries
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
opened up, harvesting tannin
Tannin
A tannin is an astringent, bitter plant polyphenolic compound that binds to and precipitates proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids.The term tannin refers to the use of...
from the bark of the extensive Eastern Hemlock
Eastern Hemlock
Tsuga canadensis, also known as eastern or Canadian hemlock, and in the French-speaking regions of Canada as pruche du Canada, is a coniferous tree native to eastern North America. It ranges from northeastern Minnesota eastward through southern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and south in the Appalachian...
stands on the mountain slopes. There were eventually eight in the valley, their effluents clouding the river and making it less attractive to trout. Charcoal
Charcoal
Charcoal is the dark grey residue consisting of carbon, and any remaining ash, obtained by removing water and other volatile constituents from animal and vegetation substances. Charcoal is usually produced by slow pyrolysis, the heating of wood or other substances in the absence of oxygen...
makers also released acids into the river, further affecting its quality. The industries were properous enough to sustain the settlements of Beaverkill, where the oldest extant bridge
Beaverkill Bridge
Beaverkill Bridge, also known as Conklin Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge over the Beaver Kill north of the hamlet of Roscoe in the Town of Rockland, New York, United States, that carries Conklin Road through Beaverkill State Campground...
over the river was constructed in 1865, and Shin Creek (today Lew Beach
Lew Beach, New York
Lew Beach is a hamlet in the Town of Rockland, New York, United States. It is at the northernmost corner of the town and thus also of Sullivan County, near the tripoint with Delaware and Ulster counties, within the Catskill Park...
).
Those industries faded away due to changes in technology and depletion of forest resources in the 1880s. That same decade, New York created the Forest Preserve
Forest Preserve (New York)
New York's Forest Preserve is all the land owned by the state within the Adirondack and Catskill parks, managed by its Department of Environmental Conservation. These properties are required to be kept "forever wild" by Article 14 of the state constitution, and thus enjoy the highest degree of...
, by which state landholdings in the Adirondacks
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
and Catskills were to be kept forever wild. This shift to conservation helped the region sustain a new tourism economy, as rail connections, and later the automobile, brought dry-fly fishermen to the valley. Many of the new sport's early publicizers, like Theodore Gordon
Theodore Gordon
Theodore Gordon, a consumptive hermit, was a writer who fished the Catskill region of New York State in the late 19th century through the early 20th century. He wrote articles for the Fishing Gazette from 1890 on and published works in Forest and Stream from 1903, sometimes under the pseudonym...
, wrote about the trout of the Beaver Kill, particularly the Junction Pool, rich in fish because the trout could not decide which river to swim up, and the waters from there down to the East Branch.
The new attention caused different problems. Overfishing
Overfishing
Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
led conservationists and private clubs to buy large sections of the river's banks all the way up to almost its headwaters. The state built Beaverkill campground in the 1920s, one of its first in the Catskill Park, to concentrate angler impact in one area.
In the years after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the river faced the prospect of being dammed by New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for its water supply, along with the Willowemoc. The fly-fishing community opposed this strongly, and eventually when test borings
Boring (earth)
Boring is drilling a hole, tunnel, or well in the earth.-Earth boring:Boring is used for a wide variety of applications in geology, agriculture, hydrology, civil engineering, and oil and natural gas industries...
showed that the bedrock in those valleys could not support the necessary dams, the city relented. It chose to acquire land along both branches of the Delaware and build Cannonsville
Cannonsville Reservoir
The Cannonsville Reservoir is a reservoir in Delaware County, New York, that was formed by impounding over half of the West Branch of the Delaware River. It is the westernmost of New York City's reservoirs, being at the western portion of the Delaware Watershed. Placed in service in 1964, it is the...
and Pepacton
Pepacton Reservoir
The Pepacton Reservoir, also known as the Downsville Reservoir or the Downsville Dam, is a reservoir in Delaware County, New York that was formed by impounding over ¼ of the East Branch of the Delaware River...
reservoirs instead.
Anglers later protested the construction of the Quickway, the expressway section of Route 17, along the river. Their efforts resulted in some slight rerouting, and a section near Cooks Falls where the two roadways were stacked on each other in a narrow passage between state Forest Preserve land and the river. It does not appear to have had, by itself, the adverse impact on runoff
Surface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
and stream flows that was originally feared, although both have increased since the highway's construction.