Description
Donated to The Nature Conservancy by a timber company, the 427-acre Norton Pool Preserve contains a bog and rare plant species. The preserve's crown jewel is its lowland virgin spruce-fir forest. Not only is it the only remaining forest of its kind in New Hampshire, but one of the last few remaining virgin stands in the East.
Two miles off Route 3 on a well-maintained logging road, you will find thewonderfully pristine East Inlet. Moose commonly come to the edges to graze on the aquatic grasses. Overhead the Blue Heron flies while small brook trout rise to feed on hatching insects. East Inlet is an ideal spot for canoeing.
East Inlet has a bog/peat bottom. You can fish from the dam but to get out on the water, use a canoe, kayak, kick boat or john boat. Area lodges rent canoes and kayaks.
Early morning paddlers are often rewarded with moose sightings. Moose frequent the pond and feed on underwater vegetation. Look for pitcher plants along to boggy edges and on stumps in the water.
Many visitors seek out Norton Pool, a deep pool in the stream entering the pond upstream in the forest.. Put your boat in at East Inlet to paddle up the feeder brook to Norton Pool Preserve.