South Mount Beacon Fire Tower
Beacon (Dutchess County)
Why we love it
If you’ve expended the energy to reach the summit of North Mount Beacon — 2 miles, almost all uphill — don’t head back down without ascending South Mount Beacon’s slightly higher (1,610-foot) peak, less than a mile away. Views from the former are spectacular; the panoramic vista from the top of South Mount Beacon’s restored 1931 fire tower will blow you away. On an especially clear day, it encompasses the Manhattan skyline, the Hudson Highlands, the Shawangunks and Catskills, and towers at Albany’s Empire State Plaza. Yes, it’s a trek, but you’ll have no regrets.
More to explore
Check out the shops and eateries along the City of Beacon’s vibrant Main Street as well as the Dia:Beacon museum, which attracts visitors from around the world to its display of late-20th-century art housed in a former factory. Located on a once-contaminated industrial site, Scenic Hudson’s Long Dock Park now offers outstanding opportunities to connect with the Hudson River.
Highlights
- Spectacular views — from NYC to Albany on a really clear day
- Strenuous hike offset by interesting rock formations, historic sites along the way
- Opportunity to connect with Hudson Highlands’ great diversity of wildlife
Directions, hours, etc.: https://www.nynjtc.org/hike/east-hudson-highlands-beacon-ny
