Catharine Creek is a roughly 15 mile (24 km) long stream that flows through Chemung and Schuyler counties in New York state. It was named after Catharine Montour. Catharine Creek rises atop a ridge in the Town of Veteran in Chemung County. It flows south to an area known locally as the Holding Point in Horseheads. It then flows back to the north, mostly alongside Route 14, through the communities of Pine Valley, Millport, Montour Falls, and Watkins Glen. While the other waterways of Chemung County are part of the Susquehanna River basin, Catharine Creek is part of the St. Lawrence River basin. It flows into Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes, which drains into Lake Ontario via the Seneca and Oswego rivers. The Chemung Canal 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 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 fishing. The state is undertaking a Rails to Trails project to convert the former railroad bed into a hiking trail from Horseheads to Seneca Lake. A section near Millport opened in 2003.
