Adirondacks: Spring Pond Bog Preserve

Clickable map

Why You Should Visit
Spring Pond Bog, the second largest open expanse of peatland in New York, contains a patterned peatland with ridges (strings) and wet depressions (flarks). In addition to providing habitat for a variety of plants and animals, this peatland provides the unique conditions for plants not seen in other areas of New York.

Location
The Town of Altamont, near Lake Clear, beyond the St. Regis Canoe Area.

Size: The open bog mat is 500 acres, and the entire preserve is 4,200 acres.

What to Expect
The half-mile trail leads through a hardwood forest, along an esker with views of the spruce swamp, to a point with magnificent views of Spring Pond Bog. There is also a boardwalk trail through a smaller "teaching bog" off the main trail. Built by volunteers during the summer of 1998, it allows visitors to take an up close look at the bog without disturbing the plants. A preserve guide is available from the Adirondack Nature Conservancy office and at the trail register.

How to Prepare for Your Visit
Because it is located beyond a private gate, access to Spring Pond Bog requires written permission. Contact the Adirondack Nature Conservancy & Adirondack Land Trust office for a gate pass. Please see Preserve Visitation Guidelines.

Directions

From Route 30 between Lake Clear and Tupper Lake, turn west onto the Floodwood Road (just south of the Saranac Inn Golf Course).
Travel approximately 9 miles on the dirt Floodwood Road, passing through a locked gate (where you must present a gate pass).
Beyond the gate, at the "T" turn right and travel ½ mile.
Turn left and travel one mile.
Trailhead is on the left.

What to See: Plants
The bog contains a variety of typical northern bog plant species such as pitcher plant, leather leaf, bog laurel and Labrador tea, as well as several rare species. Plants must adapt to this nutrient poor environment. The pitcher plant actually traps and "eats" insects. The leaves of the pitcher plant form a vase that holds water. Insects that venture in are trapped by downward pointing hairs, fall into the water, and are digested by the plant.

What to See: Animals
The wetlands and surrounding forest are habitat for 130 species of birds, including boreal species such as spruce grouse, black-backed woodpecker, gray jay, and short-eared owl.

Why the Conservancy Selected this Site
Spring Pond Bog is a peatland composed both of bogs and fens. Bogs rely on water from the atmosphere and are thus poor in nutrients and have low species diversity. Fens, in contrast, receive both surface and groundwater, and tend to be more diverse than bogs. It is important to preserve areas like Spring Pond Bog because they are essential to the area's biodiversity.

What the Conservancy Has Done/Is Doing
From researchers to professional and amateur ornithologists, this site provides unparalleled opportunities for scientific study and nature observation. A team from SUNY Potsdam has been researching spruce grouse (endangered in New York) here. In addition to the 4,200 acres that make up this preserve, the Conservancy holds conservation easements on more than 1,000 acres of surrounding private lands.