Coffee Ride to Bank Square Coffeehouse - Beacon, NY
The Ride
Bank Square Coffeehouse in Beacon is the destination for today. My Beeline showed 25.3 miles as the crow flies. See our article on discovering new roads with Beeline.
I’ve been to Beacon many times but found I’m always coming from the south on 9D or from the north by Fishkill through either 9D or Route 42. While 9D is a fine enough back road coming from the south, Fishkill is pretty populated and has the 84 interchanges, so it’s not my first option for how to approach it. While I was on the 50-year-old BMW R75/5, I was still willing to explore another path to get there, with the looming Mt Beacon providing a natural barrier. My typical route is 301 to 9D, so while I hit 301, I explored a few roads to see if there might be an alternative way to cross around Mt Beacon and reach my coffee.
My first excursion was onto Hortontown Road. This is an excellent twisty road, so it looked promising. Although it mostly ran north-south, my Beeline pointed to my left as I progressed north along the route. There was a sign for the Taconic Parkway with a sign saying “Median closed” at a turnoff for Hortontown Hill Road, which headed in the right direction. I figured the Median Closed sign would mean I’d have to get on the Taconic, so I continued along Hortontown Road. Unfortunately, this was short-lived as it came to a T intersection with the dead-end Knapp Ct in one direction and the Taconic northbound in the other.
I got on the Taconic and got off at the next exit, Miller Hill Road, as I was getting close to the 84 interchange. I turned left off the exit heading in the general direction of the Beeline, and came to Hortontown road again, now heading south. I came across a road leading again toward the Beeline direction called Long Hill Road with a sign saying steep incline. I took it nonetheless, but less than a mile in, it turned into a dirt road & I wasn’t keen on taking the R75/5 on the dirt. Backtrack to Hortontown, continue in the south direction I was earlier, and end up at the Taconic Parkway heading South. No escaping the Taconic, I took this, but my next exit was Route 301.
I take 301 to Route 9, hoping there is another route I can find instead of 9D without heading to Fishkill and Route 52. I skip the first road, Fishkill Road, heading roughly west as I’ve tried it before, and it just connects to 301. I take another road up further called Hustis Road, hoping hubris doesn’t get the most of me. This looks promising at first, roughly moving in the right direction as I see the miles to my destination tick down. I turn onto Foundry Pond Road as it aligns with the compass arrow the best, hoping this could be a back way toward Cold Spring (home of the foundry), but it ends at Lake Surprise road, and to my right is a dirt road saying no access to some hiking area but to take 9D instead. I’m only 3.2 miles from the coffeehouse in a Beeline, but I take Lake Surprise, heading south and away from my destination. This leads back to Fishkill Road (the one I’d skipped earlier), and I have no choice but to follow it back to 301 and finally to Route 9D.
REVER is a mobile app designed to help you track, plan, or navigate your ride. With the app, you can easily plan your route, view maps and directions, and track your distance using GPS technology. The app is an excellent tool for anyone who loves to ride and wants to keep track of their progress and distance.
So, there isn’t a back way through Mt Beacon. The Hudson Highlands State Park sits between Route 9 and 9D and encompasses Mt Beacon, so 301-Route 9D is the most direct route. So, with my diversions hunting for an alternate path, my track, as recorded by Rever, ended up with 57.5 miles, or a 2.3 detour index! See the route below.
The Coffee Shop
Beacon is a city on the banks of the Hudson River directly across from Newburgh, NY. It was named for the signal fires on the nearby peaks to alert the Continental Army of British troop movements in the war for independence.
In the 1800s, it became a factory town and, for a time, had nearly 50 hat-making factories. By the 1970s, many factories closed, and a severe economic downturn affected the town, with almost 80 percent of commercial spaces being vacant.
Like its sister city on the other side of the Hudson, Beacon has been working on a renaissance in recent years, throwing off the industrial origins and embracing an art community. This has led to a seemingly endless number of coffee shops in the area, but Bank Square Coffeehouse is just off 9D on Main Street, so it’s easily accessible.
Bank Square Coffeehouse is built into two railroad-style spaces with an adjoining outside seating area. Each room has exposed brick, though some of it has been painted. The side you enter has a counter-style table looking out on Main Street with a few stools. There is another table with a few chairs by it. Two doorways allow you to pass to the other railroad space, which has another counter table on the street with stools and a few couches with coffee tables for lounging. The outside has several metal chairs & tables with a garden-like view toward Route 9D.
They roast their coffee, and you can choose from several lattes, cafe au lait, cappuccino, americano, macchiato, cortado, drip coffee, french press, and many more.
The staff were quick to take my order and prepare the Americano. It was served in a paper cup, as I noticed a significant take-out business when I was there on an early Saturday. The cup had a sleeve promoting Trax coffee roasters and Bank Sq. Coffeehouse.
The day before I arrived, it had rained extensively and was still overcast, so I sat in the area with the couches. I found the space is the draw here. The sofas are well worn but provide a comfortable place to rest after the ride, and they afford plenty of people watching, with lots of natural light coming in from the main window with the Bank Sq Coffeehouse sign on it looking onto Main Street. This could just as quickly be a coffee house in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, as Beacon’s downtown does have a bit of that hipster vibe. The yellow painted brick helps to brighten the space as you head away from the window overlooking Main Street, but above the doorways, it is still the exposed natural brick.
The Refreshments
The staff were quick to take my order and prepare the Americano. It was served in a paper cup, as I noticed a significant take-out business when I was there on an early Saturday. The cup had a sleeve promoting Trax coffee roasters and Bank Sq. Coffeehouse.
The americano was served hotter than my preference, so I let it cool for a bit, which did let the flavor come through a bit more. It became more enjoyable as it cooled.
