Mount Beacon Fire Tower, Beacon, NY
Mount Beacon is one of the most popular trails along the Hudson River. It offers different terrain for a good workout, old railway landmarks, and incredible views of the Hudson Valley as well as the Catskills and NYC on a clear day. Most people will hike to the top of the mountain overlooking Beacon. However, adding the fire tower to this hike is worth it. Check out the blog for details and pictures!
Trail Description: Mount Beacon offers gorgeous views of the Hudson Valley and you can see as far as NYC and the Catskills from the fire tower.
Trail Info:
Where: Beacon, NY Distance: 4.4 miles (3-3.5 hours) Difficulty: Moderate Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Views, Hudson River, Fire Tower, Mountains, Valley, Reservoir, Railway
How to get there:
788 Wolcott Ave Beacon, NY 12508
You will see the parking lot located the intersection of Route 9D and Howland Avenue in the City of Beacon. Parking can be limited here. For more info, https://www.scenichudson.org/mountbeacon.
Hiking Tips
Get there early for parking on weekends.
First half mile is the toughest. After that, it’s a breeze. Keep going!
Once you reach the white-blazed trail, take that up to fire tower. The White Trail is not marked as well as the Red Trail, look for faded markings on the rocks.
The Hike
Mount Beacon is one of the most popular trails along the Hudson River. It offers different terrain for a good workout, old railway landmarks, and incredible views. The trail head starts at the parking lot where we found the information kiosk. From here, walk past the wooden gate and proceed along the gravel path on the red-blazed Casino Trail. We arrived at the ruins of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway. The railway was used as a tourist attraction for the views of the Hudson River as well as visiting a Casino Hotel at the top of the mountain in the early 1900s. This was the steepest railway in the world during its operation. Pretty wild! If you want to know more historic details, click here. After passing the ruins, we started making our way up the metal staircase continuing onto the red-blaze trail.
The tough part begins here, only for about a half mile. This is where you see happy faces coming down and not so happy faces going up. The hike will slowly begin to ascend up the mountain following the switchbacks. There may be areas that look unmarked but keep your eyes on the red markings. Eventually, the terrain will become rockier and even steeper uphill. Huffing and puffing our way up, the first glimpse of a view appears as we came up on the first landmark. The motor house of the railway has brick walls still standing and there you will find huge rusted gears and the motor. Past the motor house lies the foundation of what used to be the casino, which is where the first scenic view of the hike can be seen. The view from Mount Beacon stretches across the Hudson with stunning views overlooking Beacon. It is awesome that you can get this view only after hiking just over a mile. The hike started with overcast but amazingly the sky started opened up once we reached the overlook.
It was time to head toward the fire tower. We turned around from the look out, walked across the old casino ground toward the tower. Eventually, we noticed a red marking on a tree and followed that dirt road through two metal poles and continued on the red-blaze trail. We passed what looks to be a door or frame of an old car or truck on the trail. Additional steep climbing ensued for about 10-15 minutes until there is a clearing with a view of the fire tower. Shortly after, we arrived to the White trail. Before we reached the White Trail, we did notice an unmarked trail leading up the hill toward the fire tower but thanks to research we did not take that path. About 15 minutes later, we found ourselves making our way up the fire tower. This fire tower is pretty high. I was actually getting a bit nervous going up. By this time, the sky opened up completely and the views were an unbelievable 360 view. From the top, you will see Beacon Reservoir and Catskills to your northwest, the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge and Shawangunk Ridge to the west, and, to the south, the southern Hudson Highlands. Even as far down as NYC. And, probably more stuff I don’t even know! My girlfriend had to pry me off the tower. It was super windy but I just kept saying, “This is awesome”. Very fortunate to be able to have access to great hikes like this in the Hudson Valley. Oh, and there’s a donut shop 5 minutes away that is amazing for post hike donuts (Glazed Over Donuts blog post). I cannot recommend this hike enough!
More pics of the hike:
HIKING FOR DONUTS
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every change I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
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Walkway over the Hudson
Walkway Over the Hudson. What an amazing view! This isa bridge for walkers and runners and bikers only in the Hudson Valley in NY. A beautiful view of the Hudson River.
Trail Description: The Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park is the world’s longest elevated pedestrian walkway.
Trail Info:
Where: Walkway over the Hudson, Poughkeepsie, NY Distance: ~2.5m (1.5-2 hours) Difficulty: Easy Trail Type: Out and Back Features: Bridge, Hudson River, Views, Beach
How to get there: This is the address I used for the West entrance on the Highland side. Once you approach the area, you will see the parking.
87 Haviland Road
Highland, NY 12528
If you would like to park at the East entrance in Poughkeepsie, this is the address to enter:
61 Parker Ave
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
This link is helpful also, https://walkway.org/visit/frequently-asked-questions/.
Hiking Tips:
The Highland side has more parking.
Can be very crowded. Plan accordingly.
The Hike:
You know what they say, your girlfriend is always right. I can’t argue with that. While in upstate NY recently, Nichole suggested we would visit the Walkway Over the Hudson over a local hike. A simple walk over a bridge I say. Come on, I need stouter material for the blog. Some knowledge I was not aware of, the Walkway Over the Hudson State Historic Park is the world’s longest elevated pedestrian walkway. You read that right, in the whole entire world! The walkway extends 1.28 miles and hovers 212 feet over the Hudson River connecting Ulster and Dutchess counties in Poughkeepsie, NY. On this walkway you will see great views of Poughkeepsie, Mid-Hudson Bridge and Hudson Highlands. This has been open to the public only since 2009. I was skeptical but once I got there I was enthusiastic. I said to her, “Why haven’t we done this already?!? This is awesome!”
We decided to park on the Highland side as this tends to be easier to park with less of a crowd and ample parking. As I say about most outdoors activities in the Hudson Valley, prepare for a crowd. We went later in the day on a Sunday, so it wasn’t too bad. The NYC visitors probably needed to jump on a train to head back to the city.
As we made our way through the parking lot, we crossed train tracks and strolled through an open area where restrooms are located, multiple food trucks, and other vendors. A very cool spot to hang out before or after your walk.
Soon after we stepped on the bridge, I immediately saw the amazing views of why so many people visit this walkway. I saw the Mid-Hudson Bridge to my right and an open view of the Hudson to my left. The entire walk consisted of wonderful views. My head was on a swivel. For those curious about being on a bridge so high up, it feels very secure. The concrete makes this feel like just another sidewalk. Aside from the amazing landscapes views, this is definitely some great people watching material. You will see people walking dogs, baby strollers, running, power walking, bike riding, roller blading, you name it. And, lots of selfies. Beneath the bridge, you may see barges, boats, or some annoying person on a loud jet ski perusing the Hudson.
The walk can be as far as you like. You can stop anytime bridge and turn around to head back. We walked to the end of the bridge and back. If you live nearby, this is a great way to get exercise and enjoy the outdoors without too much demanding activity. Also, this is ADA compliant. There is an area to take an elevator up (closes certain times of the year). I would be a regular for sure. There are great pictures to be had here. Another successful exploration in the books and more lessons learned. Always listen to your girlfriend.
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
If you are looking for posts in a particular place, search by city or state here.
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