Butler Memorial Sanctuary is a 363-acre Westchester County property located around Armonk, NY. Because it is close to I-684, traffic noise is noticeable throughout the trek.
But the paths go through peaceful and solitary locations. Along you will view attractive stone walls and geologic formations. The trek follows the red-blazed Butler Trail. It arcs around the sanctuary in a counter-clockwise orientation.
The craggy boulder-strewn hills and the outcrops of this terrain give a firm basis for running streams. You can also see deciduous woods and flora and fauna-rich marshes.
You will encounter migrating and wintering birds and a range of habitats. At the southern end of the Orange Trail, there is a grandstand where you may see migratory hawks. Trails wind their way through rock outcroppings, marshes, and hardwood forests.
During the fall hawk migration, the Robert J. Hammershlag Hawkwatch is a great place to see a variety of falcons, hawks, and other raptors. White-tailed deer, coyote, red fox, great-horned owls, screech owls, and barred owls are among the other wildlife in the preserve. Songbirds such as warblers, wood thrushes, and scarlet tanagers flock to the area in the summer.
The preserve’s six forest groups include oak-hickory, oak-dominant mixed hardwood, mixed mesophytic, hemlock dominating, hemlock-mixed hardwood, and wetland swamp forest for plant enthusiasts. Plantations of white pine and Norway spruce are present in the region.
Follow the red-blazed Butler Trail into the woods from the northern end of the parking lot. The yellow-blazed Hawk Watch Loop and the orange-triangle-blazed Fern Trail will soon join the red-blazed Butler Trail on the left and right. But you should stay on the red-blazed Butler Trail.
The blue-blazed Long Trail crosses around 0.6 miles from the start, near the bottom of a dip. You will cross the northern end of the Long Trail on the left. Another crossing will be on the north end of the orange-triangle-blazed Fern Trail.
A white triangle trail may be visible a little distance ahead on the left. Turn left and continue on this short route to Sunset Ledge, a west-facing vantage point. Return to the Butler Route and turn left to begin a gradual downhill where the trail bends to the left.
You will cross a massive rock on your right and reach a valley with a boulder-strewn slope on your left and a creek on your right. Finally, you will find your way back to the parking area where the hike began.
The Butler Memorial instructs that you should leave no trace of litter. If any, carry it out of the sanctuary. The conservation of the site will help guarantee future generations will benefit. Hunting, lighting fires, and destroying flora or animals are forbidden activities.