Sheryl, we saw 4 of the Hudson River Lights in Sept of '99. The first one heading south is Hudson-Athens. You can see it distantly from either side of the river. When we went it was on a special day that visitors were able to go out to the light from the town park in whichever town is on the west side, check your map I forgot which one.
Go here for info on the Hudson River Lights. Some of the info may be dated but I believe there's a phone number listed for each light that should get you someone to give you updated info.
http://www.pojonews.com/enjoy/stories/hudsonpg.htm#hud Next was Saugerties which is a B&B but is open to visitors also. You park a ways from the light and walk out to it. Believe you should check the tide charts to be sure you don't get your feet wet. Saugerties has it's own website with lots of info:
http://www.saugertieslighthouse.com/ Next is Kingston-Rondout. We thought we could get a boat out to see this one but the day we were there the boat was on the fritz so had to be content with a rather long range view. It's at the end of a long breakwater that is not walkable as it's made from gigantic pointy rocks. And our view wasn't the best as there was some sort of barge in the way but we could see it. We didn't do the museum.
The come Esopus Meadows which is also out in the middle of the river. This one again can be seen distanly from either side. We spoke to Pat Ralston who's name is listed on the above site as the director. She isn't anymore but is still around. She suggested the lawn of the Mills Mansion on the east side of the river to see the front of the light.
That's as far as we went. There's just so many other interesting places to see besides the lights on the Hudson as well. Within this range on the east side are the Mills Mansion, Vanderbuilt Mansion, Roosevelt Homes, Olana to name a few.
Click historic sites on the link for the lighthouses to see info about them and all kinds of other interesting stuff.
I'd be sure to make a contact with each lighthouse you wish to see to get the latest info and best viewing spots. If you don't have one borrow a camera with a big lens to get photos of those you may not be able to get close to.
[This message has been edited by mombo (edited 05-30-2002).]
