Mt. Beacon
Photo: Dutchess Tourism
Overview:
Mt. Beacon was never made for bikes and has just existed as a hiking trail to the fire tower. However, that hasn’t stopped people from riding this wicked fast trail and even hosting an illegal downhill race on it called the MEGAVALANCHE! The trail is 2.5 miles long making it one of the longest descents in the area.
Pros:
One unlikely pro to this place are the hikers. Many of these people have never seen people bike down the trail so they’re always shocked to see a brave mountain biker. So, expect an audience. Obviously, the elevation is another benefit, but the major standout to me is the top section which is filled with big rock slabs that are hard to come by in the region. If the main hiking trail is not hard enough for you (it probably will be), then check out Holy Trail which runs from the fire road onto the hiking trail. This would easily be a pro line at a bike park since both the entrance and exit are extremely technical, and a crash here would take some time from which to recover.
Cons:
The hike up to the top involves lugging your bike up lots of stairs before you reach the trail. While this can be avoided, the alternative is a boring fire road climb to the top that’s longer than the trail. An obvious negative is that there are no jumps or manmade features here since this is a hiking trail. Also, don’t expect any beginner terrain.
Rating: 6.5/10
Beacon makes a great epic adventure ride that’s hard to find anywhere else near the city. While there are no jumps, there are more than enough rocks to keep you on your toes, not to mention some sick rock slabs.
Update (4/10):
I just recently rode Mt. Beacon and it turns out I was pretty wrong about this place. We met a local at the top of the hill who offered to show us a new trail called Bomber that exits off the hiking trail about half way down. It started off super fast, and the bottom part was filled with super fun jumps and berms, so if you ever hit Mt. Beacon, be sure to check this one out so you can combine hike a bike tech and insane jumps and flow into one descent.