Gateway to Mount Beacon Park
Route 9D, Beacon, Dutchess County, New York
15 acres

Directions:

on Route 9D at the intersection of Howland Avenue and Wolcott Avenue

History:

Revolutionary War – signal fires lit during the Revolutionary War to alert George Washington's forces about British troop movements.

An Incline Railway ran customers up to the heights of the mountain for dining, dancing and enjoying spectacular views.

Late 1970s – end of the Incline Railway.

1999 – Scenic Hudson purchases the land to shield it from development into a 20-lot subdivision. The site includes remains of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway, which, for most of the last century, was the mid-Hudson Valley's most popular tourism destination.

2004 (fall) – the expected date the park will be open to the public. It will be co-managed by Scenic Hudson and the Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society.

See the History of Beacon for more info: Beacon

Facilities:

a 300-foot stairway and kiosks with educational information

Trails:

Trail connections to the summit of legendary Mount Beacon. Mount Beacon trails offer connections to an adjoining 1,900 acres known as the Fishkill Ridge Conservation Area.

http://www.scenichudson.org/press/announcements/details.cfm?ID=121&topic=land&type=REL