South Beacon

South Beacon Information

Beacon Mountain — known locally as “Mount Beacon” — is the highest peak of Hudson Highlands. It’s located south of the City of Beacon, New York, in the Town of Fishkill.

South Beacon has many scenic overlooks. You can also visit the remains of the Mount Beacon Incline Railway, which stopped running in 1978 but has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Mount Beacon Fire Tower

In 1931, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed an Aermotor LS40 tower on the south summit of Mount Beacon. The 60-foot-tall (18 m) structure began operations in 1932. However, with the adoption of aerial detection methods, the use of the tower ceased following the 1972 fire lookout season. Subsequently, the fire tower was included in the National Historic Lookout Register in December 2005. Further on, the Mount Beacon Fire Tower Restoration Committee successfully restored the tower, holding a reopening ceremony on June 22, 2013.