Catharine Creek is a roughly 15 mile (24 km) long stream that flows through Chemung

Chemung County, New York

Chemung County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Chemung County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 88,830. Its name is derived from the name of a Delaware Indian village . Its...

 and Schuyler

Schuyler County, New York

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,224 people, 7,374 households, and 5,191 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 people per square mile . There were 9,181 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...

 counties in 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...

 state. It was named after Catharine Montour.

Catharine Creek rises atop a ridge in the Town of Veteran

Veteran, New York

Veteran is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area'. The population was 3,271 at the 2000 census...

 in Chemung

Chemung County, New York

Chemung County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area' which encompasses all of Chemung County. As of the 2010 census, the population was 88,830. Its name is derived from the name of a Delaware Indian village . Its...

 County. It flows south to an area known locally as the Holding Point

Holding Point

The Holding Point is an area in the Town of Horseheads, New York that is the site of the Horseheads Industrial Center.The name dates back to World War II, when the federal government used eminent domain to obtain of farmland north of the Village of Horseheads to store ammunition. The land...

 in Horseheads

Horseheads North, New York

Horseheads North is a census-designated place in Chemung County, New York, United States. It is part of the 'Elmira, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area'...

. It then flows back to the north, mostly alongside Route 14, through the communities of Pine Valley

Catlin, New York

Catlin is a town in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 2,649 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Phineas Catlin, a surveyor and public official....

, Millport

Millport, New York

Millport is a village in Chemung County, New York, United States. The population was 297 at the 2000 census. The name comes from its former status as a canal port....

, Montour Falls

Montour Falls, New York

Montour Falls is a village in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2000 census. A waterfall in the village gives the village its name...

, and Watkins Glen

Watkins Glen, New York

Watkins Glen is a village in Schuyler County, New York, United States. The population was 2,149 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Schuyler County.The Village of Watkins Glen lies on the border of the towns of Dix and Montour....

.

While the other waterways of Chemung County are part of the Susquehanna River

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 basin, Catharine Creek is part of the St. Lawrence River basin. It flows into Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes

Finger Lakes

The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...

, which drains into Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario

Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...

 via the Seneca

Seneca River (New York)

The Seneca River in central New York flows from west to east, from Seneca Lake, through the Montezuma Marsh at the north end of Cayuga Lake to the Seneca's confluence with the Oneida and Oswego rivers at the Three Rivers area north of Syracuse. Much of the river has been channelized to form part...

 and Oswego

Oswego River (New York)

The Oswego River is a river in upstate New York in the United States. This river is the second-largest river flowing into Lake Ontario. James Fenimore Cooper’s novel The Pathfinder, or The Inland Sea is set in the Oswego River valley...

 rivers.

The Chemung Canal

Chemung Canal

The Chemung Canal is a former canal in New York, USA. The canal connected Seneca Lake at Watkins Glen to the Chemung River at Elmira, New York. Its larger significance was to connect New York's Erie Canal system with Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River watershed....

 ran through the valley from Horseheads to Seneca Lake. Some remnants remain in Queen Catharine's Marsh, between Montour Falls and Watkins Glen. The Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 took over much of the canal right-of-way after it was closed for navigation.

Today, Catharine Creek is well-known in the region for its above average 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...

 fishing.

The state is undertaking a Rails to Trails

Rail trail

A rail trail is the conversion of a disused railway easement into a multi-use path, typically for walking, cycling and sometimes horse riding. The characteristics of former tracks—flat, long, frequently running through historical areas—are appealing for various development. The term sometimes also...

project to convert the former railroad bed into a hiking trail from Horseheads to Seneca Lake. A section near Millport opened in 2003.