Breakneck Ridge

Hudson Highlands State Park is a non-contiguous state park in the U.S. state of New York, located on the east side of the Hudson River. The park runs from Peekskill in Westchester County, through Putnam County, to Beacon in Dutchess County, in the eastern section of the Hudson Highlands. The park's lands, heavily mined, logged and quarried in the past, were assembled over the mid-20th century from different purchases by the state, totaling 7,669 acres (31.04 km2; 11.98 sq mi) as of 2014. They range from riverside salt marshes to mountain summits, including the highest in the Highlands, the 1,610-foot (490 m) south summit of Beacon Mountain. It is managed by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (NYSOPRHP) from offices at Fahnestock State Park to the east. Its parcels adjoin others owned by other public agencies and private preserves, some of which are managed by NYSOPRHP as well and are open to the public. Due to its panoramic views of the river and mountains, and easy access by both automobile and rail, it has become a very popular destination for day hikes. The park's best known trail makes a steep, rocky ascent up Breakneck Ridge. Other trails climb neighboring Bull Hill and follow the cliffs of Anthony's Nose. The Appalachian Trail (AT) also goes through the southeast corner of the park.

Surprise Lake Camp is a non-profit sleepaway camp located on over 400 acres (1.6 km2) in Cold Spring, New York (approximately 60 miles (97 km) north of New York City). It is one of the oldest Jewish summer camps in the United States.

Sugarloaf Mountain is a 900-foot (270 m) peak located in the town of Fishkill near the Hudson River and Breakneck Ridge. One of several similarly named mountains in the U.S. state of New York, it is part of the Hudson Highlands, located entirely within Hudson Highlands State Park. It can be climbed via the Wilkinson Memorial Trail, which has its western trailhead a mile (1.6 km) from the summit on New York State Route 9D along the Hudson River, opposite the Breakneck Ridge station on Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line. The trail climbs gently at first but then steeply as it approaches the summit plateau. At either end there are panoramic views over the river's Newburgh Bay, surrounding mountains and nearby communities.

Bull Hill, also known as Mount Taurus, is a mountain north of the village of Cold Spring on the Hudson River in Putnam County in the State of New York. It is part of the river-straddling range known as the Hudson Highlands. The original name came after a bull that used to terrorize the mountain was chased by indignant inhabitants. A hunting party drove the bull over the hill. In an attempt to flee the mountaineers, the bull plunged out into space and fell down. Its broken and shapeless mass on the rocks was memorialized in the name of the mountain the bull used to haunt.While not as well known as neighboring Breakneck Ridge or Storm King Mountain across the river, it too is part of Hudson Highlands State Park and has an extensive trail system and offers hikers sweeping views of the river and neighboring peaks from rock outcrops near its wooded 1,420-foot (433 m) summit, higher than both neighbors.

Dutchess Manor was a restaurant and catering hall located along NY 9D in the Town of Fishkill, New York, United States, between the city of Beacon and Breakneck Ridge. It is one of the most distinctive Hudson Valley buildings in the Second Empire architectural style, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 2020, the building was purchased by Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail, a nonprofit organization behind the planning of a 7.5-mile linear park in the Hudson Highlands. Francis Timoney, an Irish immigrant, built the house in 1889 of bricks his three yards had made from clay found along the east bank of the Hudson River just below it. The nearby New York Central Water Level Route gave him and the other brickmakers in the area easy access to New York City and other area markets, allowing him to do well enough to build the estate. It has many common elements of the Second Empire style, such as quoining on the corners and a mansard roof.The building was converted into a restaurant starting in the 1940s, with the upper floors used for managerial and residential purposes. It was until 2020 a popular site in the area for functions, especially weddings, due to the views of the river and nearby Hudson Highlands available from the property. The south and west wings were extended to accommodate diners and are no longer considered historic elements of the property. A nearby carriage house built by Timoney, now converted to apartments, has not been altered as much and is considered a contributing property.Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail will adapt the building as its future visitor center, projected to open in 2025.

Breakneck Ridge station is a rail station on the Metro-North Railroad Hudson Line, serving campers and hikers traveling to and from Breakneck Ridge, in Fishkill, New York. Trains stop at the station on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays only.

Breakneck Brook, sometimes Breakneck Valley Brook, is a 1.7-mile-long (2.8 km) tributary of the Hudson River located entirely in the Putnam County town of Philipstown, New York, United States. It rises at Surprise Lake and flows southwest towards the Hudson from there, mostly through Hudson Highlands State Park. The name comes from Breakneck Ridge to its north. Two of the park's hiking trails parallel Breakneck Brook for much of its course. Most of the land the brook flows through was once part of the estate of Edward G. Cornish, chairman of the National Lead Company in the early 20th century. He established a large dairy farm on the property, and ruins of structures built for that purpose, including a large cistern, are still visible along the stream.

The Mt. Beacon Fire Observation Tower is located on the summit of South Beacon Mountain in Beacon, New York, United States.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Newburgh Bay is a feature of the Hudson River's west bank, located approximately 60 miles (105 km) north of New York City. It takes its name from the city of Newburgh, New York, for many years the major port on this section of the river. Towns on the bay are Newburgh, New York; New Windsor, New York and Cornwall, New York, all in Orange County. The Roseton and Danskammer power plants are located at the north end of the bay, in the town of Newburgh. The bay is not a protected inlet, but rather a widening of the river with a maximum depth of 80 feet (20 m). It begins roughly at the Hudson Highlands near the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, and extends some 10 miles north to Danskammer Point. Between the city of Newburgh, Orange County on the west bank and Beacon, Dutchess County on the east, the river is almost 2 miles (3.2 km) in width. While not as wide as Haverstraw Bay to the south, the bay makes the river wide enough that it was the last section of the Hudson to be bridged. The Newburgh–Beacon Bridge opened in November 1963. The recently restored Newburgh–Beacon Ferry makes passenger-only trips between the two cities during commuting hours in the morning and evening for riders on the Metro North Hudson Line's Beacon station.

The Peter C. DuBois House is located on Slocum Road in the Dutchess Junction neighborhood of the city of Beacon, New York, United States. It was one of the last significant Greek Revival buildings in the Hudson Valley. In the 20th century, it would be reused as a sanatorium and altered with the addition of a third story. Today it is once again a dwelling. In 2004 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Pollepel Island is a 6.5-acre (26,000 m2) uninhabited island in the Hudson River in New York. The principal feature on the island is Bannerman's Castle, an abandoned military surplus warehouse.

The Mount Beacon Incline Railway was a narrow gauge incline railway up Beacon Mountain near Beacon, New York. A popular local tourist attraction, it operated for much of the 20th century, providing sweeping views of the Hudson River Valley. Efforts to restore it continue today. The Otis Elevator Company and Mohawk Construction opened the 2,200' 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railway on Memorial Day, 1902. Sixty thousand fares were sold in its first year; two decades later that had almost doubled. Riders were often day visitors from New York City who came up the Hudson River by steamboat to Newburgh and then took the Newburgh-Beacon Ferry across the river. After a trolley trip to the base station on Wolcott Avenue (today NY 9D), the railway would take them up to the 1,540-foot (469 m) northern summit via an average gradient of 65% (33°) and a maximum gradient of 74% (36.5°), the steepest in existence while the railroad operated.As was the case of so many other period incline railways, the Beacon funicular was in reality a means to a larger end. The 75-mile (121 km) panoramic views from the summit of Beacon Mountain and natural setting would be the lures to get tourists to the doorstep of several profitable attractions the railway's backers built atop the mountain, including the Beaconcrest Hotel, a Casino, and a private cottage community following land sales. The hotel and casino were in place by 1926, which proved a banner year, with 110,000 passengers riding to the top. Tragedy struck the next year, with fire consuming both the hotel and casino. Though they were rebuilt within a year, this proved the turning point in the rail's history, with the tourism-dampening Great Depression and World War II to follow.Thanks to the automobile replacing historic mass transit to the area - which had brought passengers en masse up the river in excursion boats, via the railroad, and thence trolley right to the base of the lift - recreational patterns changed and the Beacon attraction never regained its popularity. Financial problems and more fires plagued the concern, which was unable to maintain necessary maintenance on either the railway or the summit attractions. In 1978 the railway ceased operations. In 1982 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places. A fire attributed to vandalism the next year completely destroyed the trackway and consumed the lower station, following which the only remaining structure at the top, the powerhouse, was raised. The route still remains and is visible from much of the city. The Mount Beacon Incline Railway Restoration Society is working to rebuild the railroad and restore service.