Butter Hill/Stillman/By-Pass Trail Loop from Route 9W

Storm King State Park

This loop climbs to the summits of Butter Hill and Storm King Mountain, with many spectacular viewpoints over the Hudson River and the Highlands.

41.423196, -74.000773

From the parking area, walk north along the grassy shoulder of the road. Soon, you will see a triple-orange blaze, which marks the start of the Butter Hill Trail. Follow the orange blazes as they bear right, away from the road, and begin to ascend steeply. Soon, views over the Hudson River begin to appear to the right. The mountain across the river is Bull Hill (Mt. Taurus), and the point of...

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Trip Reports

rate experience
August 29, 2018
5
Challenging hike with terrific views
This is a very challenging hike with many great views of the Hudson River, the Central Valley, and NYC on a clear day. Trails are well marked. Definitely a hike worth checking out!
alex.truncale
March 22, 2017
5
Awesome views!
Did this hike on the first day of Spring, however it was a week after a major snowstorm and it was more like a midwinter hike. The previous postings all attest to the tough ascent at the start. It was definitely hard, made more so by the 2 feet of snow. Still, taking one's time and using trekking poles made it enjoyable. The views from the two summits were a great reward for the work. Total time with stops for pics, etc.: 2 hours, 10 minutes.
tbtrail
August 28, 2016
0
Very nice
<p>Did this yesterday. Enoyable day out. I say people with dogs, baby carrier on the back, kids all make the trip. Think it'll be taxing for the kids/dogs...but for adults (even out of shape ones) it should be manageable.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Identifying the parking lot may be a bit of a problem, but after that it's all simple.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Follow the Orange Trail. The starting 15-20 mins is the tough part and has a bit of ascends and rock scrambling. Nothing really difficult though. Near the end of Orange trail you reach woods and safe from direct sunlight rest of the trip.&nbsp;</p> <p>There are 2 overlooks, the first one you see is the smaller one (and most poeple incl us thought that was it) but 5 mins later you reach a ledge with a much bigger view.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Continue on forwards through the Blue/Yellow trail and it leads to White Trail. Continue on the whites and you reach the parking lot again.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Took us about 3.5 hrs at a very relaxed pace.&nbsp;</p>
MaxTrash
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