Harriman Hiker: Harriman State Park and Beyond: Butter Hill at Storm King

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Butter Hill at Storm King

Storm King State Park,
Orange County,
New York

Hiking Trails:
Butter Hill Trail: Orange blaze
Stillman Trail: Yellow blaze
White Trail Spur: White blaze

Total Time: 1:45 hours
Estimated Distance: 2.3 Miles
Level of Difficulty: Moderate
Level of Recommendation: Highly recommended
Points of Interest: Great views with good scramble
Cons: Walk on road at the end

Hiking Partner:
Shimmy Rosenberg

The day before had been raining very hard, and the forecast was for more rain on Sunday. I had checked the radar in the morning and it appeared that the rain was clearing out. Although the hike started off cloudy and misty, it cleared up to be a beautiful day.

We parked at the parking lot on Route 9W Northbound where it bends by Butter Hill. We parked in the parking area, climbed the Butter Hill Trail on its steep ascent to the view, and then took the Stillman Trail to the top of Butter Hill for an excellent panoramic view. We then turned around on the Stillman Trail alongside the western ridge of Storm King Mountain. A the short White Trail Spur we veered off towards the end of this trail for the view and then turned around back to the Stillman trail.

Towards the end near where the trail hits Route 9W, there are some apparently abandoned interesting items slightly off the trail including a tree tire, balance beam, swinging wire, and climbing wall. I don't know what these are for and what they are doing here. We continued to where the trail hits the road by the underpass, and then walked along the side of the road back to our car.