Butler Forest Preserve
Park
23 acres
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Photo: Jerrye & Roy Klotz, MD · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Butler
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park in Butler
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 0.3 miles of mapped trail cross Butler, 0.1 per square mile of land. 58 acres are parks and preserves, 7.1 per 1,000 residents.
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns · #400 of 468 in New Jersey. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
48 acres · of 2.0 sq mi of land
Trails
0.3 mi
0.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
58 ac
7.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Lakes & rivers
1
2 beaches
What kind of outdoors town is Butler?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Butler have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Butler is ahead of 58% of U.S. towns, #400 of 468 in New Jersey. The share of residents near a park holds the grade up; trail miles pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Butler’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical NJ town 11% · U.S. 4%B−Trails0.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (0 mi) · NJ 0.7 · U.S. 0.4C+Park land7.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (58 acres) · NJ 25 · U.S. 13C+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · NJ 98% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 58%
LessMore
New Jersey towns of 2,500+ (468)Ahead of 15%
New Jersey towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 11%; the U.S., 4%), so Butler’s 4% is ahead of 18% of New Jersey towns, while its trails per square mile lead 16% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
48 conserved acres
4% of Butler’s land. Who manages Butler’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Town or city26 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits21 ac
Not recorded3 ac
Local Other or Unknown · 19 acPrivate Conservation · 13 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 12 acLocal Park · 4 acLocal Conservation Area · 3 ac
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Passaic River Coalition Unknown Private Other or Unknown | Land trusts & nonprofits | 12 | Open |
| Passaic River Park Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 7 | Open |
| Yapewi Park Local Conservation Area | Town or city | 7 | Open |
| Athletic Field Local Park | Town or city | 2 | Open |
| Butler Forest Preserve Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 2 | Open |
| Westernavenue Park Local Other or Unknown | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Butler Borough Park Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
| Boonten Avenue Local Park | Town or city | 1 | Open |
Things to do
7 places to go in Butler
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Butler
2 beaches without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Playgrounds in Butler
4 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Picnic areas in Butler
1 picnic area without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Trails & water
1 named trail and 1 lakes & rivers
Named trails
River Place Walkway0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
0.0 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
Courts & fields
2Multi-sport
1Football
1Baseball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
New York Susquehanna & Western Railroad StationBuilding · listed 2002
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Butler: April to September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.5 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.3 | 14.5 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.2 |
| High (°F) | 37 | 40 | 48 | 61 | 71 | 79 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 63 | 52 | 42 |
| Rain (in) | 3.5 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.9 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 3.6 | 4.4 |
February is the driest month (2.7 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Butler →
Next door
Butler and its neighbors
Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler | 4% | 0.1 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
| Bloomingdale | 10% | 2.3 | 20 | 90% | A |
| Kinnelon | 33% | 2.3 | 383 | 98% | A+ |
| Riverdale | 2% | 0.2 | 7 | 99%+ | B |
| Macopin | — not graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town | ||||
| West Milford Township | 59% | 3.1 | 592 | 80% | A+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Butler
Where can I hike in Butler?
The longest trail networks: Butler Park, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Butler is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 11% for a New Jersey town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Butler’s trails?
Butler Forest Preserve and Stonybrook Swim Club don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Is there public land near Butler?
59,957 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Butler or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 58 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Butler have?
Ahead of 58% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #400 of 468 in New Jersey. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Butler neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →