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Albany Pine Bush Preserve

Albany, Albany Co.

images of the pine barrens, visitors and karner blue butterfly
watchable wildlife binoculars icon

Explore this inland pine-barrens ecosystem (one of the few left in the world) and you might catch sight
of a silvery blue butterfly-the endangered Karner blue! This butterfly is dependent on the wild blue lupine
that grows only in the dry, sandy, open woods and clearings of the pine barrens.

Wildlife to Watch

  • Karner blue butterfly
  • Fisher, white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, red and gray fox, coyote
  • Eastern towhee, American woodcock, prairie warbler, indigo bunting, great horned owl, red-tailed hawk.
  • Eastern spadefoot toad, hognose snake, spotted turtle

Where to Watch

  • Fire-dependent pitch pine-scrub oak barrens
  • Vernal (spring) ponds
  • Hardwood swamps, hardwood forests, deep ravines
  • Sand dunes

Recreational Opportunities

Fully accessible and interactive visitor center
Extensive trail system for hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, horseback riding

Size:

3100 acres

Directions

See Google Maps for step by step directions to Albany Pine Bush Preserve. (This link will open a page outside of the DEC website. Hold Shift down while clicking on the link to open it in a new window.)

Contact information

Telephone: 518-456-0655

Photo Credits: Frank Knight, Wendy Craney, Walley Haley