Surprise Lake Camp

Breakneck Ridge is a mountain along the Hudson River between Beacon and Cold Spring, New York, straddling the boundary between Dutchess and Putnam counties. Its distinctive rocky cliffs are visible for a long distance when approached from the south, and together with Storm King Mountain on the opposite bank of the river forms Wey-Gat, or Wind Gate, the picturesque northern gateway to the Hudson Highlands. It has several summits, the highest, some distance inland, reaching approximately 1,260 feet (384 m) above sea level. The southern face of the peak is remarkable for its striking cliffs, the result of quarrying in past years. Lying within Hudson Highlands State Park, it offers many stunning views of the river and region and is quite popular with hikers, to the point that a rail flag stop has been established on the Metro North line which runs right by the base of the ridge along NY 9D. In 1932 a road tunnel was dug below the western slopes of the peak; it is now designated as part of Route 9D. Until the early 20th century, the mountain was also known as St. Anthony's Face or Turk's Face, after a facelike stone formation on the southern cliffs that was destroyed by quarrymen in 1846. (This references a different mountain, “Anthony’s Nose” not Breakneck. )

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.

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.

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.

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.

Beacon Reservoir supplies water to the city of Beacon, in Dutchess County, New York, United States. It is located at 1,285 feet (392 m) above sea level in a hollow between Beacon Mountain and Scofield Ridge, in the neighboring Town of Fishkill, very close to the Putnam County line. It was created in 1922 by damming Dry Brook, a tributary of Fishkill Creek. It holds 125 million US gallons (470,000 m3). A publicly accessible dirt road, frequently used to climb the mountain, runs from the city past it to the summits. No boating or fishing or swimming is allowed in the reservoir. It is the highest lake in Dutchess County.

Beacon Mountain, locally Mount Beacon, is the highest peak of Hudson Highlands, located south of City of Beacon, New York, in the Town of Fishkill. Its two summits rise above the Hudson River behind the city and can easily be seen from Newburgh across the river and many other places in the region. The more accessible northern peak, at 1,516 feet (462 m) above sea level, has a complex of radio antennas on its summit; the 1,595 feet (486 m) southern summit has a fire lookout tower, which was built in 1931. Beacon Reservoir, the city's main water source, is located between North Beacon and neighboring Scofield Ridge, the highest peak in Putnam County. Since much of the land on the mountains and up to the county line is owned by the city to protect the watershed, an extensive system of roads and trails makes it a popular hiking area. Both summits afford extensive views of the mid-Hudson region, and on clear days New York City is visible from the fire tower.

Valhalla Highlands Historic District, also known as Lake Valhalla, is a national historic district located near Cold Spring in Putnam County, New York. The district encompasses 57 contributing buildings, 11 contributing sites, 10 contributing structures, 7 contributing objects and a 900-acre forest in an early second home community established by primarily German/Austrians and Norwegians from New York City. It developed between the early-1930s and mid-1940s, and includes lodges that are typically one or two stories high and have fieldstone foundations. They are characterized by structural stone walls and full log construction and frame dwellings clad with half-log wood siding and fieldstone veneer, chimneys and terraces. The district also includes a boat lodge with a ping-pong room and terrace, a swimming dock, a boat dock, a tea pavilion, a recreation pavilion, a lookout pavilion, shuffleboard courts, a tennis court, a playing field, a picnic area, rustic improvements throughout the forest and the remnants of a hunting cabin.The on-site National Register plaque states: "Valhalla Highlands was initiated in the early 1930s as a stylistically cohesive summer community with individual lodges, shared amenities, including Lake Valhalla, community buildings and a 1,100 acre forest with trails and rustic facilities and Valkyrie, the home of Ludwig Novoting, the creator of Valhalla Highlands. All the lodges were placed on a planned layout with a carefully organized system of boulder-lined unpaved roads, vistas and landscape features. No two lodges were the same and the community was harmoniously placed within its magnificent natural setting. The District was an early occurrence of seasonal retreats for New Yorkers in the rural areas of the Hudson Valley during the early twentieth century. The lodges, roads, common facilities and landscaping were a rustic interpretation of the Storybook Style popular in America between World War I and World War II. With whimsy and creative playfulness, the Valhalla Highlands interpretation was picturesque and nostalgic. These qualities were evident in the buttressed field stone and half-log walls, swooping multi-color asphalt shingle roofs with peaks, asymmetrical roof pitches, prominent field stone chimneys, cantilevered entry canopies, free-standing peeled log arches at the entrances, window awnings, half-log flower boxes, small-paned steel and wood windows, field stone paths and steps, boulder borders, rock gardens with elf figurines and knotty pine interiors. The ensemble blurred the line of fantasy and true reality with an inherent sense of humor. The playful, fairy-tale aesthetic of Valhalla Highlands matched the community’s theme of a Nordic paradise. Eighty years later, on November 12, 2014, when the United States Department of the Interior listed the Valhalla Highlands Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places, the district was essentially unchanged from its time of origin." It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

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.

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.

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.

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.