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.

From the Everett Turnpike: Take Nashua exit 7 or 8 and travel west on Route 101A for about 5 miles. Turn right onto Boston Post Road in Amherst. After traveling 2 miles, turn left onto Stearns Road. Drive about 0.3 miles until you see Rhodora Drive on the left. Turn left onto Rhodora Drive and drive straight ahead to park for the Sanctuary. 

From the junction of Routes 101 and 101A in Amherst: Drive east on Route 101A for about 0.5 mile, then turn left on Route 122. Take a quick right onto Stearns Road, and drive 1.1 miles to Rhodora Drive on the right. Turn onto Rhodora Drive and drive straight ahead to park for the Sanctuary.

We will meet in the parking lot and head in together.  Here is the trail guide of the Ponemah Bog.