Ponemah Bog Walk

We had a great group of guys and stunning weather for our Saturday hike.  Ponemah Bog was a very short and easy walk across floating planks laid out on the soft ground, with several viewing platforms around the pond.  The entire walk was barely 40 minutes, and that included leisurely chats at each platform.  Not satisfied with such a short walk, the group decided to go up the street to Horsehill Nature Preserve to extend our times outdoors.  After the hikes, John graciously opened his home for the group to get some hot coffee (spiked with Kaluha) and tea, and then we relaxed any tight muscles with a massage exchange.  All in all, a very nice day in the company of a super group of guys.  I'm looking forward to another excursion already!

The name “Ponemah” refers to the “land of the hereafter” from Longfellow's “Hiawatha.” The 75-acre Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary came under the protection of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire in 1979. Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary features a three-acre pond surrounded by a floating sphagnum mat and encircled by upland oakpine woods. This bog resulted from the last receding glacier, which left a kettle hole pond in the Souhegan River outwash plain. The bog is home to both hardy northern plants, such as spruce, and southern species, such as pitcher plants and sundew. Ponemah hosts a combination of conifers, including white pine, pitch pine, black spruce, and tamarack, all relics of more southern or northern forests. Today, Ponemah Bog is a living museum, a relic habitat for plants far from home and an outdoor classroom for wetland botany and ecology.

This is a short 0.75 mile, 40 minutes’ leisurely walk. The Bog Trail is mostly narrow boardwalk with spur trails to four viewing platforms, where more information about the bog is available.  

For those interested in extending the afternoon, we also have the option of visiting Horse Hill Nature Preserve or Wildcat Falls, both of which are very near Ponemah Bog.