Balanced Rock is a megalithic, dolmen like structure in New York State, about 53 miles NE of Manhattan, in the town of North Salem. There are conflicting opinions about it being natural or artificial. However, upon traveling there and inspecting it in person, I certainly fall into the latter camp. For it to be naturally left by nature as it stands seems highly unlikely, as the support stones are all of the same rock type – a white limestone or dolomite perhaps, yet the capstone upper portion is of pink granite. Also, as is evident in the photo at the right, most of the supporting rocks are pretty much in a straight line, while one single rock supports the lower portion. That seems too non-random for nature to have done.
The structure sits just off a paved and busy 2-lane road, so it’s not a secret, exactly. I found it by simply “googling” for megalithic stones in North America. It is strange, though, how something this cool, impressive, and possibly ancient can exist without it being common knowledge. The location is 667 Titicus Road, North Salem, NY. Finding it is extremely easy, as it sits right off the road, beside a barn. I’ve included many photos of mine from multiple angles around the rock, so as to give the reader the feeling of actually being there. All the photos were taken with my iPhone XR.
If anyone has info on the history of this structure, please contact me at wadeboman@widertruth.com. -Wade
This is the rock from the uphill side, with its modern accompanying sign. For reference purposes I’ll call this the left side, if we consider the upward pointed, rounded end the front. As can be seen, much of the rock’s mass hangs over the front 4-5 support stones. This helped convince me that nature didn’t accidentally place it this way, as the placement seems a bit precarious and exact. This is me standing at the uphill, or “left” side. The scale is readily apparent. I’m 5′-9″ and 225 lbs. The rock is simply massive. Online estimates are range from 60 to 90 tons. The capstone rock looks to be solid rose granite. This is the same view of the rock, from the uphill or “left” side, but without me in the pic. Bear in mind you’re looking downhill, through the trees. This is no flat area, as the hill continues up, behind the camera. This is another bit of data that makes it hard for me to imagine a glacier gently placing the capstone in its position. It seems much more likely the immense, rounded boulder would have come to rest down below in the valley bottom, rather than becoming perfectly perched on the middle of a hillside. This is another pic from uphill, of the “left” side, with me in the pic for scale. Again, notice how the ground drops off behind me and to the right of the structure. I’m actually kneeling on the present day parking area. Originally, there would have been no level area, only a gently sloping hillside. I can only assume that back then more of the surfaces of the white support stones would have been exposed, making the structure appear taller. Again, one last shot from uphill, looking downhill, at the “left” side. It’s just an idea that I fancy, but to me this side looks like a scrunched-up face to the left, with a sphinx style headdress to the right. That’s just a pet thought, though. This pic was taken from the “front” of the structure, with me in the pic for scale. In the previous images, imagine the camera moving 90 degrees on the ground to the left. Look at how level the “front” bottom side is. Again, this doesn’t look accidental to me. This appears that it was built this way. This is also from the “front,” with me out of the photo. Being from both the Ozarks in Missouri and the interior and south-central Alaska, I’ve seen my fair share of giant boulders. None of them were perfectly perched off the ground atop other, non-matching stones. This shot is from downhill, of the “right” side of the structure. Notice how the “front” support stones are pretty much in a line. These stones being lined up is more data to support the hypothesis that this is an artificial structure.This is also from downhill, of the “right” side, but from a bit closer. Notice how far off the ground the capstone rose granite boulder really is. This is impressive!This pic was taken from the “rear” of the structure. Notice how the “rear” of the capstone is supported by a single rock, and they barely touch. This too is data landing on the side of this being artificial. A 60-90 ton rock becoming so perfectly perched at a single point is possible, but very highly unlikely. It is my assertion that this “rear” support stone was placed last, with the granite boulder being levered off the ground, and the front row of support stones acting as the fulcrum point. This pic is also of the “rear” of the structure. This pic shows well how dramatic the hill slopes away. The leveled parking area can bee seen beyond. Imagine how originally the hill would have continued on, up to the left. These are pieces of rock picked up from beneath the structure. They appear to be bits of the larger rocks. The sample on the right is clearly rose granite, while the piece on the left is a white rock, possibly a quartz or limestone/dolomite. This is a close-up view of the capstone. It is clearly pink granite and is clearly a completely different rock type from the supporting stones. The pink grains are feldspar, the white grains quartz, and the black grains likely biotite or hornblende.This is a close-up view of the “rear” supporting stone, from the “rear” of the structure. It is my view that this would have been the last supporting stone set, after the capstone was cantilevered onto the “front” lined up support stones. And this is a shot rotated back around 180 degrees, to the “front.” It was unclear to me if the “front” support stones are 4 or 5 in number. The one second from left could possibly be a single stone that has split over time.This is a view from the “rear,” looking up the hill. The paved road and a driveway across the road would not have been there in ancient times. As such, it can be easily imagined that originally the slope of the hill seen above the sign and through the far trees would have continued straight to the base of the structure. It is perplexing to me as to why ancient builders would choose the side of hill to erect the dolmen. Wouldn’t flat ground at the top or bottom of the hill have made erecting it much easier? I can only assume its placement was meaningful and/or perhaps served a function. And this is one more view from the “front,” showing how the hill continues down past the dolmen.The bottom of the hill is perhaps 100 yards through the trees. Again, it seems to me that the builders meant for it to be in this specific spot. Why, at this point I can only guess.
