Beech Mountain, New York: summit and neighbouring forest

Beech Mountain is the highest point in Sullivan County, in the Catskills (New York State), north-northeast of Debruce. Wikipedia gives 3,117 feet (950 m) and a prominence of 98 feet; the 1991 management plan of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) gives 3,118 feet. According to that plan, the summit was on private land next to the Willowemoc-Long Pond Wild Forest, whose high point, at 3,100 feet, was near the summit.

According to OpenStreetMap, the Beech Mountain Nature Preserve is a private nature reserve operated by the Beaverkill Valley Land Trust. The 1991 DEC plan stated that the State held a conservation easement over the preserve, that in 1991 the public had the right to use it for scientific, educational and recreational purposes, including travelling on foot (hiking, skiing, snowshoeing) on some of its trails, subject to the management of the property, and that the public had a right of way over the private road running south from Shin Creek Road. The plan does not say whether these rights still apply today.

The 1991 plan also proposes building a ten-car parking lot, the Frick Pond Trailhead, on Beech Mountain Road, and designating three loop trails: 2.1 miles around Frick Pond, 4.0 miles by returning along Beech Mountain Road, and 6.1 miles by way of Hodge Pond. That document dates from 1991 and does not say what became of these projects. No source consulted describes a trail to the summit or any dog rules: check with the DEC about current conditions before your outing.