Mount Beacon: Historical Hike
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Please welcome contributor Dylan Price, a writer/filmmaker and avid outdoorsman who moved to Beacon with his wife from Washington D.C. They were attracted to Beacon for the unique mix of nature, art and food. Dylan will explore and share the more historical aspects of our local trails for our Hiking Series. Forever peering over her town, Mount Beacon is perhaps the first trail in the conversation of where to hike around Beacon. The day hike offers many a chance to take in much of the beauty and bounty of this area, in one spot.
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| Beautiful Views |
The Nuts and Bolts of the Mount Beacon Hike
The trailhead begins in the parking lot off the intersection of Route 9D and Howland Avenue. It is a good day hike, if not strenuous at times, so remember to bring water and snacks. If you happen to forget, Bob’s Corner Store is just across the street. After parking, it is a short quarter mile amble past a creek and wooded area, where at dawn or dusk, you’ll often find deer, woodpeckers, flycatchers, passer birds cutting between the flagging hawks, falcons, and eagles. The hike begins at the ruins of the old incline railway, a specter of the past glory of Beacon running up the mountain like an old rusty back-brace of the bygone city. Climb the metal stairs to your first restful panorama and head up the trail from there following the red burn Casino trail markers.
Mount Beacon is a hike full of switchbacks and graceful views from various plateaus as you make your way up the 1000 plus vertical ascent. Early on in the hike, a spur off a connecting switchback leads you to a small outcrop observation deck built by volunteers. Much of the hike is covered under a canopy of various deciduous and coniferous trees. As you reach the summit, the topography gets a bit more rocky and open. The summit of Mount Beacon is certainly a pay-off with viewpoints of almost the entirety of the region.
Allow around three hours for the out-and-back on just the mountain itself, and on a nice day, expect company on the trail (including dogs). The hike is sometimes strenuous, but it is certainly rewarding. During the fall and early spring, views are expansive and follow you up the mountain when the leaves are down and the crowds aren’t as great.
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| The Incline in its heyday |
Standing on the foundation of the old Mountain Top casino and Beacon Crest hotel (both having succumbed to fire), your views are limitless and awe-inspiring. History surely unfolds in a panorama at this point. The Daughters of the American Revolution, in 1900, dedicated a monument here for the soldiers of the continental army who lit bonfires (beacons) to warn of British troop and ship advances. Vernon Benjamin, in his great book “The History of the Hudson River Valley: From Wilderness to the Civil War,” discussed certain…crafty European businessmen who, during the colonial era, purchased the land from the Wappinger Indian tribe in the area. They made a deal that they could buy all the land they could see, and after agreeing to those terms, promptly hiked Mount Beacon and claimed their lands. Standing there, you can appreciate the cunningness of these men and the vast beauty of the Hudson Valley. When you reach the top, you really get a sense of the vastness and history of the valley. Explore the uneven summit and the various relics of the past up here, but don’t forget to take in the panoramic views reaching far across to the Catskills and bending along the river, as Mount Beacon is the highest peak in the Hudson Highlands.
Thousands would flock on grand ferry's up the much-traversed Hudson, or take a long train ride into Beacon or Newburgh. Combo-tickets were sold by the hotel for travel by ferry via Newburgh, to the trolley on the other side of the river which took them to the incline, then bringing them up a 65% graded rail to the top. The incline opened on Memorial Day, 1902. The first year alone, 60,000 people came. Life atop the mountain was grand, packed with party-goers, the cool breezes lifted people from the sweltering heat in Beacon and Newburgh, and attendees to the hotel and casino enjoyed long walks around the park, spring-fed aquifers and plenty of games, food and dancing, all while dressed to the nines. Some would stay for weeks at a time. The casino held many big-band dances, some of the most famous names at the time performing there, and every Saturday during the summer grand parties were held. At one point during its golden age, the entire incline was fully illuminated, and the lights leading up to the summit could be seen from miles away. Cottages were built scattered along the mountainside for summer retreats, and a popular radio station was broadcasted from the top as well called "The voice from the clouds."
In its heyday, with the casino and hotel garnering hundreds of thousands of tourists, Hollywood stepped in to utilize the natural beauty of the mountain. The top of Mount Beacon was used for several silent movies in the 1920's including a popular Western silent film, D.W. Griffith’s “The Red Man's View” which was meant to depict a long march in the rugged western lands.
In 1927, a year after the summit attained its most visitors in one year, a midnight fire in the casino burnt the complex down. They began new construction the following year, but the nation fell into the Great Depression and it went unfinished. In the following decades, the incline remained in operation, but business fell off despite the steady flow, and touristy-draw of being the world’s steepest incline railway at the time. Fire struck three more times, once in 1934 destroying part of the track, and again in 1967, this time burning the lower station and rail car. The last fire, in 1983, finally took the great railway down for good.
The historic mountain, which is depicted on the New York State flag, has seen many changes come its way throughout the centuries. Take your time exploring, appreciating, and conserving the beauty and history of this hike. There is an active group restoring the incline railway, which you can learn more about via their website, and the conservation group (and owners of the land), Scenic Hudson.
Extend Your Stay on the Trail…
Expand the 2.4-mile out and back hike by pressing on to the old fire tower, which offers even more impressive views and further seclusion. When you are at the summit of Mount Beacon, turn from the river to look at North and South Beacon Mountains. The tower is set on the southern mountain, which you can see from there. The hike to the tower will almost double your outing, and allow you to ascend another 500 plus feet over the extra mile out. On a clear day, you can see all the way from Manhattan up to Albany.
If you are after an even longer hike, try for the Beacon Reservoir nearby, which sunders Mount Beacon and Scofield Ridge in Putnam County. And even farther yet, the connecting Fishkill Ridge via Wilkinson Memorial trail, which connects to the mountain via yellow burns. This will tack on another 3 plus miles and over 1,000 feet more in vertical ascent, but will give you an ecological study of nearly the entirety of the Hudson Highlands. For now though, allow the scripting vultures and eagles to mark this long ridgeline for you from atop Mount Beacon as you rest and refuel for the trip back.
