Things to Do in Beacon

Colossal train engines once pulled hefty freight along the O&W Railway's main line. Today, where the rails lines formerly cut through glistening tree canopies, a 2-mile unpaved trail splices through six rural hamlets, just 90 miles from New York City. It's along this rails-to-trails path that Woodridge Segway Tours whisks its adventurers through beautiful mountain views, clean country air, and the sounds of fresh water trickling. With safety helmets securely atop their heads, tour takers steer the two-wheeled segway transporters with intuitive gestures: leaning forward to go ahead, leaning backward to reverse, and pulling on their ears to make the segways sing.

Situated at the foot of the Ellenville Mountain site, Mountain Wings has readied students for safe, engine-free flying since 1981. A staff of USHPA-certified instructors shares much of its knowledge on the facility's two training hills—a grassy, gently sloped concave for beginners, and a 180-foot hill used by intermediate gliders and a handful of pretty insane paper-airplane competitors. Sprinting, stumbling, and hovering across those hills, groups practice with Condors—slow-flying, easy-to-handle training gliders that work in zero-wind zones. Upon ascending to greater heights and skill levels, students can also snag their own equipment at Mountain Wings' full-service aero-sports shop.

The staff of Pocono Segway Tours leads groups of up to 10 sightseers on segway-propelled escapades through the scenic Pocono Mountains. A battery-powered personal transporter, the segway allows recreationalists of all shapes and sizes to navigate the gyroscopic machine along wooded paths and roadways while taking in the area's picturesque vistas during guided, multimile excursions. With two locations, the company gives tours in mountainous Split Rock; in Shawnee Inn, which presents views of the Delaware Water Gap.

From the water, the fireworks seem close, as though you could open your mouth and catch the glittering cascades of light on your tongue. The humid night envelops the Pink Lady as she bobs gracefully in the Hudson River, her passengers oohing and ahhing at the display unfolding in the starless sky above. Freedom of New York's seasoned captains and crews pilot yachts along fluvial highways during scenic cruises on holidays and sightseeing journeys throughout the week.

The company’s roster of aquatic sojourns—including the comprehensive three-hour New York Harbor Sightseeing Cruise Tour—enables guests to take in the city’s most iconic buildings from a unique perspective without holding a helicopter pilot’s collection of sunglasses the whole time. Yachts hosting the weekend Brunch Cruise on the bay leave the sounds of live DJs and popping champagne corks in their wake as they float past Coney Island, and groups of revelers can rent out the Pink Lady for private parties celebrating all manner of milestone.

Artist Peter McGouran opened his screenprinting studio and school to fulfill his passion for creating 2-D images layered with emotion, nuance, and color unattainable by computers. Featured on BushwickBK, the artist has worked with Alternative Apparel, American Apparel, Fruit of the Loom, and Hanes to emblazon fashion with artful images and exuberant hues. The pro teaches workshops for learners from beginner to advanced, infusing them with an enthusiasm for the eclectic art form via increasingly complex lessons, hands-on art projects, and freeze-frame group high-fives at the end of every class.