Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill sits at 1,505 feet on the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway, with the land dropping 493 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The view faces 60°, roughly toward sunrise, taking in a cluster of climbing features and cliffs to the north and northeast. Saw Mill Falls lies 0.4 miles north at 1,132 feet, while Khadeja Wall, Peterskill West Cliff, Breakfast Wall, Peterskill Middle Cliff, Breaker Wall, and Blocky Wall are all within 0.4 to 0.5 miles to the northeast, ranging from 1,126 to 1,170 feet. Farther out, Oops Block and Peterskill East Cliff sit to the east-northeast at 0.6 and 0.7 miles, and Compass Rock, Dickie Barre, and Whale's Head appear to the northeast between 0.9 miles, at elevations from 1,260 to 1,370 feet. Because the overlook faces the sunrise direction, morning light crosses this cliff-and-cluster terrain directly; sunrise times shift from 05:23 at the June solstice to 07:22 at the December solstice. The nearest towns are well removed from the site, with Kiryas Joel 27.3 miles south and Yorktown and Cortlandt over 37 miles to the southeast and south-southeast. Compass Rock is the previous lookout on the byway, and High Falls follows next.