The Plattekill cascades down the eastern Catskill escarpment, pours across the Catskill foothills, and empties into the Esopus at the Saugerties-Ulster town boundary. The drainage area is 43.8 square miles, including the southeast corner of Hunter and southwest Saugerties. Nearly 90% of the watershed area is covered by forest. The main stream channel is 18.5 miles long. Halfway along its length, the Blue Mountain Reservoir supplies drinking water to the Village of Saugerties. The average annual precipitation for the area is 44.7 inches. The headwaters of the Plattekill can be explored from Platte Clove Road via Huckleberry Point trailhead within the Catskill Park as well as Platte Clove Preserve. Characterized by sheer cliffs, deep ravines, and plunging waterfalls, Platte Clove was celebrated by artists Thomas Cole and Asher B. Durand of the Hudson River School of landscape painters.