South Beacon Mountain via Casino Trail (Red) is a 3.7 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Beacon, New York that features a lake and is rated as moderate. The trail is primarily used for hiking, nature trips, and mountain biking and is accessible year-round. Dogs are also able to use this trail but must be kept on leash.
The City of Beacon offers a Free Loop Bus that takes hikers from the Metro North Train Station to the South Beacon Mountain via Casino (Red) Trail Head. The train leaves the station every 30 minutes from 6 am to 9 pm Monday through Saturday and takes 15 minutes to get to the trailhead. To view the most up to date schedule, click here https://www.dutchessny.gov/Departments/Public-Transit/Docs/Public-Transit-Route-G.pdf. This is the most popular route starting at Mount Beacon Park. It begins at the base of the mountain at the lower stop of the old incline railroad which went up the mountain, ascending on the Casino Trail (red), initially to the ruins of the casino (as well as the machinery which hauled the railroad up), then continuing the ascent until reaching the old route of the Breakneck Ridge Trail, onto which you turn right to reach the Beacon fire tower, with its incredible panoramic view.
April 15, 2021Fun and heavily trafficked trail. Quite a grind from the lot to the ruins but nothing majorly technical. A more gradual 0.8 mile climb to the summit. Fire tower views were terrific. Top off your water before you hike, since there are no reliable sources from the trailhead to the summit.
April 15, 2021Pretty busy on a Saturday afternoon. The first 2 miles is a steady ascent that may be challenging for beginners. The views from the top of the fire tower are awesome and worth the grind!
April 10, 2021Love it
April 3, 2021Pretty rocky trail and a pretty consistently steep incline. The first half to the ruins is much harder than the hike to the Fire Tower. Tough on knees and ankles if you are not used it. My Apple Watch recorded me climbing 243 flights. Please keep in mind, it’s just as tough going down as it is going up a mountain so for the beginners, be prepared. The views are well worth the pain. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Round trip it took me 3 1/2 hrs with two stops for snack/water/enjoying the view breaks.
April 3, 2021Not too crowded, pleasant weather, lovely views, ruins of the casino
April 2, 2021Loved it! Little bit of a slippery rocky climb at points, but fun and well worth the views. Took me and my 10 and 7 year old kids (with plenty of snacks for bribery!) a little over 3 hours including lunch at the top. Highly recommend!
March 29, 2021March 27, 2021March 27, 2021saturday evening it was a very busy trail about 2 hours before sunset. the abandoned building area was busy, that's where 80% of the traffic goes. Fron there to the fire tower was nice and mellow. Was the only person in the fire tower watching the sunset, what an amazing time!
March 27, 2021March 27, 2021March 27, 2021A little muddy at the very top on the uphills but for the most part just rocky and a quick trip up
March 27, 2021March 25, 2021March 23, 2021March 22, 2021Good hike, the hardest part is getting up to the viewing point. The rest of the way up to the tower is pretty easy, until you get right up to it. Then it becomes a bit of a scramble. Masks are about 50/50
March 22, 20211.5 miles just straight up! Great workout and decent view. Extremely icy and muddy going towards the top. Found a path towards the right side that did not have ice but was very steep
March 22, 2021March 21, 2021March 15, 2021March 13, 2021Way too icy right now to complete without Micro Spikes. Heed the warnings of others and wait till later in the spring to visit. Once you get to the part of the trail where it is an incline of straight ice it is near impossible to complete safely without proper equipment.
March 13, 2021March 13, 2021March 13, 2021Icy toward the top but another day of melting and the trail will be perfect.
March 12, 2021March 8, 2021Would not recommend doing this hike right now without micro spikes. Almost whole way up is ice and snow. 100% manageable with proper gear, could get away with hiking boots only but use caution. Totally empty on a week day. Stunning views!
March 7, 2021It’s too icy right now if you don’t have spikes, beware.
March 7, 2021
