Hudson Valley Illustrated

Little Stony Point, Cold Spring

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 02:53:27 +0000

Little Stony Point is one of the most popular beaches along the Hudson River. A short half a mile walk from the parking lot on Rt 9D just north of Cold Spring leads to the beach and stunning views of the Hudson, Storm King Mountain, and the Hudson Highlands. It’s a popular destination to relax after hiking the tough Breakneck Ridge Mountain.

Stony Kill Farm, Wappingers Falls

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Wed, 11 Nov 2015 02:43:09 +0000

Stony Kill Farm is located on Rt 9D in the Town of Wappingers Falls. The farm includes a 19th Century barn and farmhouse, an 18th Century Dutch stone house, a greenhouse, a pond, and community garden plots among other things. The farm is run through a collaborative effort between the DEC and the Stony Kill Foundation. The farm is home to cows, pigs, sheep, deer, rabbits and a wide variety of birds. There are also plenty of short easy trails to hike. The Verplank Memorial Garden is one of my favorite spots at the farm especially when the butterflies come by. It’s a lovely place to spend an hour in the evening after a long day or hangout with your family on the weekends. Also checkout the many festivals hosted by the Stony Kill Foundation throughout the year.

Birds & Animals of Stony Kill

Stony Kill Scenary

DIRECTIONS & PARKING

Plugin in 79 Farmstead Ln, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590 into your GPS. There is plenty of parking available at both ends of the park.

USEFUL LINKS

DEC’s Stony Kill page

Stony Kill Foundation page

Mt. Beacon, Beacon

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 20:04:12 +0000

If you are looking to get in a good workout and want an instant reward for your efforts, Mt. Beacon is what you have been looking for. The hardest mile in the Hudson Valley gets you to the summit of Mt. Beacon from where you are rewarded with some of the best views of the Hudson Valley. For the warm up portion of the hike, you start with climbing about 150 steps. The main course involves hiking up steadily through a series of switch backs. Unlike some of the other challenging hikes in the area, Mt. Beacon can be conquered by most reasonably fit people. It is a steady up hill climb that you can navigate at your own pace with breaks sprinkled in and there isin’t any rock scrambling involved. There aren’t too many great views til you get up near the summit, but the views from the summit make up for it!

On a clear day you can see all the way upto the Catskills on the northern front and New York City on the southern front. The Newburgh Beacon bridge, Storm King, Bannerman Island, Dennings Point, and a lego like view of Beacon are some of the highlights of what you can see from the top. You can see the remnants of the old casino and what remains of the Beacon Incline Railway. The Beacon Incline Railway was a major tourist attractions in the early 20th century and burned down in the 1980’s. The Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society is working on restoring it. Hiking another mile will lead you to a recently restored fire tower offering more stunning views. It should take an average person about 35 – 45 minutes to get to the summit of Mt. Beacon and another 20 – 30 minutes to get back to the parking lot. Make sure to wander around the summit to take in the views from all the lookout points. Some of the best views are not from the most obvious lookout spots. Watch out for loose rock and pebbles on your way down!

DIRECTIONS & PARKING

The trail head starts from a spacious parking lot that is maintained by Scenic Hudson. The lots fill quickly on nice weekend days though. So get there early! To find the parking lot, plugin in 777 Wolcott Ave, Beacon, NY 12508 into your GPS.

USEFUL LINKS

Scenic Hudson’s Mt. Beacon page

Hike the Hudson Valley’s trail guide

Dennings Point, Beacon

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Tue, 10 Nov 2015 02:30:12 +0000

A cool little peninsula in Beacon sticking out in the river offers visitor’s some nice hiking trails, a peaceful cove, awesome bird watching opportunities. Part of the Hudson Highlands State Park, Dennings Point provides a nice trail loop that highlights the industrial past of Beacon. There are still remnances of old factory buildings in a few spots around the park. One of my favorite photography spots in the park is the view of an old abandoned railway track curving towards the soaring Hudson Highlands in the background. The park is also home to the Beacon Institute, a non profit institution that studies the effects of the waterways. Finally this park is also one of the best bird watching spots in Beacon. It is not uncommon to spot Herons and Eagles soaring above. There are also a beautiful mile long riverside trail that connects Dennings Point with Long Dock Park that I would highly recommend visiting!

DIRECTIONS & PARKING

To find the parking lot, plugin in 140 Dennings Ave, Beacon, NY 12508 into your GPS. There is plenty of parking available here. The parking lot is oddly located next to the Beacon Sewage Treatment Plant. From the parking lot walk towards the train tracks and you will see the entrance for the trail.

USEFUL LINKS

Trail map

History of Dennings Point

Beacon Institute

Poughkeepsie Waterfront (Wrayas Park), Poughkeepsie

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Sun, 08 Nov 2015 14:46:21 +0000

The Victor Wrayas park along the Hudson River in downtown Poughkeepsie provides amazing views of the river and two very cool looking bridges. The FDR Mid Hudson bridge connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland blends in perfectly with the surround mountains and offers a very pretty site when lit up a night. The historic Walkway over the Hudson on the other side is probably the most popular tourist attraction in the region. The park has benches to sit down and unwind along the river and is also the home of the Poughkeepsie Ice House, where you are stop by to grab something yummy. The pier at the south end of park is a great place to take in view of bridge and the river.

Riverfront Park, Beacon

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 20:28:40 +0000

A small recreation park behind the Beacon train station is a popular place for little kids to play in the slides & swings and older kids to master their volleyball & basketball skills. The park is also a great spot to take in views of the Hudson River, Newburgh, the Newburgh Beacon bridge, and surrounding mountains.

Croton Gorge Park, Cortland

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Sat, 31 Oct 2015 20:10:41 +0000

Home of the impressive Croton Dam, this park contains some of the most scenic waterfalls in the area. There is a walking trail that lets you walk on top of the dam which provides stunning views of the Croton reservoir and multiple waterfalls. This is also a popular spot for eagle and bird watching. The lower level provides beautiful views of a roughly 50 ft cascading waterfall and up close views of the imposing dam. There is also lots of room to recreational activities below the dam.

Kowawese Unique Area at Plum Point, New Windsor

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 20:52:58 +0000

Located on the western banks of the Hudson River, Plum Point offers magnificent vistas of the Hudson River and the surrounding mountains. The views from this site are hard to beat and provide easy access to watch majestic sunrises and sunsets. The park also offers visitors a lot of recreation options.

Beacon Falls, Beacon

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Fri, 30 Oct 2015 16:00:45 +0000

Beacon Falls is a pretty waterfall located in Beacon and is a perfect symbol of the resurgence of Beacon. This area of town was once a major industrial area early in the 20th century. Once the industries shutdown, the area became ugly and rundown. However Beacon is making a big comeback in the last three or four years and Main St in Beacon is now one of the liveliest places to visit in the Hudson Valley today! Main St Beacon is now filled with amazing restaurants, boutique shops, and brilliant art galleries.

Beacon Falls is located on the east end of the Main Street. It might be small, maybe ten feet, but it is surrounded by stunning beauty all around. Abandoned rail tracks and a small park on one side and the beautifully restored buildings of the Roundhouse on the other, the waterfall is provided with a perfect backdrop by the towering Mt. Beacon. The falls are part of a series of small waterfalls along the Fishkill creek that is capped off by the Tioronda Falls a couple of miles downstream in Madam Brett Park before it joins the majestic Hudson River.

The falls are easy to see from the road and there are a few street parking spots right next to it. A couple of the restaurants on main street in Beacon provide beautiful view of the falls as you dine. The views from the Roudhouse restaurant and patio (open seasonally) offer stunning views of the falls as you fill up your tummy. Recently installed lights provide a different looks and vibe to falls when you visit at night. For those that love to see squirrels in action, the park next to the falls is a must visit. I don’t think I have seen a higher density of squirrels anywhere else in the world! It is pretty to visit anytime of year but like a lot of places in the Hudson Valley, it is special to stop by during Fall.

DIRECTIONS & PARKING

To find the parking lot, plugin in 532 Main St, Beacon, NY 12508 into your GPS. You should be able to see the falls from the road and can park in one of the numerous street parking spots in the area.

USEFUL LINKS

Roundhouse

Poet’s Walk Park, Red Hook

Hudson Valley Illustrated — Thu, 29 Oct 2015 01:32:00 +0000

Poet’s Walk Park in Red Hook is one of the most popular destinations in the Hudson Valley for a nice stroll. It was designed by landscape architect Hans Jacob Ehlers in the mid 1800’s. The park was a favorite place of many literary figures like Washington Irvin of Rip Van Winkle fame and other poets and authors and hence got it’s name, Poet’s Walk. It not hard to see why these great minds used to come here for inspiration. The park contains over 2 miles of easy to moderate hiking trails. The views from the Overlook Pavilion, the signature structure of the park, of the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge and the valley are stunning. The park provides one of the best sunset viewing spots in the entire Hudson Valley!

DIRECTIONS & PARKING

To find the parking lot, plugin in 776 River Rd, Red Hook, NY 12571 into your GPS. The parking lot is reasonably big but this is a very popular destination and parking could be some what limited on nice fall days.

USEFUL LINKS

http://www.scenichudson.org/parks/poetswalk

http://hikethehudsonvalley.com/poets-walk/