Hayes Lookout

Hayes Lookout sits at 1,474 feet along the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway, facing 120° with land dropping 600 feet within 600 meters of the overlook. The view opens toward lower ground to the east and east-southeast, taking in Blueberry Fields at 3.6 miles, Moriello Park and Pool at 3.9 miles, Hasbrouck Park at 3.9 miles, Peace Park at 4.0 miles, SUNY New Paltz Student Garden at 4.1 miles, and Mill Brook Preserve at 4.5 miles, all well below the overlook's elevation. Because the facing direction points roughly toward sunrise, offset by about 30 degrees, morning light comes in fairly directly across this view, with sunrise times ranging from 05:23 at the June solstice to 07:21 at the December solstice. The towns of Yorktown and Cortlandt lie about 37 miles to the south-southeast, and Danbury is 44.4 miles to the southeast, though these are far enough that they are context rather than visible landmarks. This stop falls between Thurston Rock and Sentinel Rock on the byway route.