Mount Beacon Fire Tower — Attraction in Town of Fishkill

Great hike including the Railway Summit Overlook. Total of 5 hours with stopping (more than most hikers) while taking the red-blazed trail from the Parking Lot on 9D/Howland Ave through the Overlook until the white-blazed trail for .2 miles to the tower. A harder hike so if you're a beginner I'd recommend doing Anthony's Nose first to get a taste of it, but its really all rocky, uphill paths. The ascent/descent to and from the Overlook was the hardest part. The Overlook gives you clear views west, north and partially south. If you continue to the Fire Tower, it's somewhat flat for half of the journey. Whether you ascend the tower, you'll still have commanding 360 degree views of the region. On a clear day you can see the NYC skyline along with the Tappan Zee Bridge in the foreground, the high grounds of Storm King and the West Point Preserve with Schunnemunk Mtn., Orange/Ulster Counties west to The Gunks and Trapps (and beyond), to the east you can see the Taconic Ranges into Connecticut, and to the north is Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County with the Berkshires in the backdrop (some say you can see Albany). Of course, to the northwest blending between the hills and sky are the Catskills which triumph over the foreground landscape. Bring plenty of water and binoculars so you can try to point out all the ridges...

Definitely a challenging hike yet the views are so worth it! The hike up the mountain from the parking lot you start out walking by the ruins of the old cog railroad which went up to mountain side to the old casino which is no just ruins history… anyway he didn’t climb up a ton of stairs thank you whoever put those in I cannot remember at the moment anyway then you follow a bunch of switchbacks up to the casino ruins for some great views and if you want you can you can continue to follow the trail up to the fire Tower for even more amazing views Remember to bring plenty of water, maybe a couple granola bars or other snacks and a good pair of hiking shoes or at least good sneakers and if you have them trekking poles they come in handy especially on the way back down the mountain! Oh yeah and if you have a camera that would be a good idea too! Ps: There’s a great little deli at the bottom of this mountain by the parking lot if you want to grab breakfast, lunch or something to drink before or after the hike just check the hours before you go can’t promise it will be opened when you get back. Remember...

If you're doing this hike starting from Beacon, its a nice little hike for those of you who are experts. If you're an expert at hiking this probably won't provide the most challenge, nor is it the longest but its a nice little hike to get something in. Especially if you want to maybe even do a speed run through it to make it a lot more challenging.

For those of you who are not in the best shape or experts, this may be a little bit of challenge of a hike. But the rewards is very well worth it. A nice view at Beacon Fire tower is worth it.

To make this challenge much more intense, I would suggest starting from Breakneck Ridge over to fire tower then into the town of Beacon. Or vice versa.

Either way, this is a pretty good hike but I would recommend going on days where there's (week days) less people if you want to avoid crowds. Or even on days where its not only less people but where the weather is just the right amount of inclement where you get most of the trail to yourself. Otherwise, on the weekends you can expect lots of people to be...