Outdoor Recreation: Parks

Ponemah Bog Preserve

URL: http://www.newhampshireaudubon.org
Address: Rhodora Drive, Amherst, NH 03031
Phone: (603) 224-9909

Ponemah Bog is a “quaking bog,” with a 3-acre pond at its center and a floating mat of sphagnum moss that covers the rest of what was once a 100-acre lake. (Naturalists estimate that the pond may be completely covered by 2065.) Out of the moss grow an assortment of amazing and bizarre plants, including the carnivorous pitcher plant, sundew and bladderwort. At the same time, small shrubs and trees have taken root in the mat, which enables the visitor the remarkable experience of “bouncing” on the mat and watching the trees bob and sway. A boardwalk has been constructed to protect both bog and walker. Please bounce only where indicated on the map (available at the trailhead).