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Places We Protect

Spring Pond Bog Preserve

New York

A close up view of red cranberries and sphagnum moss.
Spring Pond Bog Cranberries and sphagnum moss at Spring Pond Bog Preserve in New York. © Harold E. Malde

Explore a unique habitat of bogs and fens found nowhere else in the state.

Viewing

Overview

Description

PLEASE NOTE: Thank you for your interest in visiting Spring Pond Bog Preserve. The preserve is currently closed due to road construction. At this time we are not issuing visitor passes until the re-opening of the preserve in July of 2026. Please reach out in July to request a visitor pass for the 2026 season from adirondacks@tnc.org. Thank you.

The second largest open expanse of peatland in New York, Spring Pond Bog Preserve provides a unique habitat for plants and animals found nowhere else in the state. It contains a patterned peatland with ridges (strings) and wet depressions (flarks).

Why We Work Here

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 vital that we protect areas like Spring Pond Bog because they are essential to the biodiversity of the Adirondacks.

Access

CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

Highlights

130 species of birds, including spruce grouse, black-backed woodpecker, gray jay, and short-eared owl, and 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.

Explore our work in New York

Before you go, view our preserve guidelines.

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.

Note: Because it is located beyond a private gate, access to Spring Pond Bog requires written permission. Contact the Adirondack Chapter of The Nature Conservancy for a gate pass.

The wetlands and surrounding forest provide habitat for more than 130 species of birds, including boreal species like spruce grouse, black-backed woodpecker, gray jay, and short-eared owl.

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.

Before You Go

Check out our preserve visitation guidelines to prepare yourself for a great visit.

View Guidelines

Find More Places We Protect

The Nature Conservancy owns nearly 1,500 preserves covering more than 2.5 million acres across all 50 states. These lands protect wildlife and natural systems, serve as living laboratories for innovative science and connect people to the natural world.

See the Complete Map