Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Beacon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Beacon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Beacon
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Beacon:
- 41.505738, -73.968956
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Beacon
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Dutchess County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dutchess County
- Since Beacon is near Ulster County and also Orange County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ulster County
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Communities Also Named Beacon ...
We found five communities that share the name Beacon.
Within New York, the name Beacon is unique.
Beyond New York, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Iowa
- Michigan
- Tennessee
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Beacon ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Castle Point
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Point
- Castle Point is located in Dutchess County
- Cedar Cliff
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Cliff have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Cliff
- Cedar Cliff is located in Orange County
- Cold Spring
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Cold Spring is located in Putnam County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,944 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cold Spring <3>
- Cornwall Landing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Landing
- Cornwall Landing is located in Orange County
- Cornwall-on-Hudson
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall-on-Hudson came from an uncertain source and they still need to be verified:<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall-on-Hudson
- Cornwall-on-Hudson is located in Greene County
- Dutchess Junction
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dutchess Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dutchess Junction
- Dutchess Junction is located in Dutchess County
- Fishkill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishkill have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishkill
- Fishkill is located in Dutchess County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,139 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fishkill <3>
- Fishkill Landing ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fishkill Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishkill Landing
- Fishkill Landing is located in Dutchess County
- Fostertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fostertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fostertown
- Fostertown is located in Orange County
- Groveville
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Groveville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Groveville
- Groveville is located in Dutchess County
- Meadow Winds
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadow Winds have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Winds
- Meadow Winds is located in Orange County
- Middle Hope
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middle Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middle Hope
- Middle Hope is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Middle Hope <3>
- Vails Gate
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vails Gate have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vails Gate
- Vails Gate is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Vails Gate <3>
- Vails Gate Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vails Gate Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vails Gate Junction
- Vails Gate Junction is located in Orange County
How Far From Beacon to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Beacon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Beacon and extending to:
- Poughkeepsie, which is the Seat of Dutchess County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Beacon to Poughkeepsie, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies 80 miles [128.7 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 242 miles [389.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,660 miles [9,108.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,369 miles [10,249.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,245 miles [6,831.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Beacon: www.cityofbeacon.org/
The official website for Dutchess County: www.dutchessny.gov/
The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Beacon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Beacon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5057, Longitude: -73.9690 |
| <2> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | If we found a location and have questions about the accuracy of our information, we will simply say that the marker is 'in the vicinity'. We are not confident about the location and the position of our marker is only a rough guide. If we have too many doubts about the location, we will not include it in our database. |
| <5> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <6> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Beacon to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 305.833 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.522 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.288 degrees. |