Norton Pool Preserve

The Nature Conservancy’s 427-acre Norton Pool Preserve contains a bog and rare plant species as well as the preserve's crown jewel, 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. The best way to visit Norton Pool is by water.

Put your boat in at East Inlet, utilizing the public boat launch and paddle up the feeder brook to the Norton Pool Preserve. In the early mornings, moose frequent the pond and feed on underwater vegetation. Look for pitcher plants along the boggy edges and on stumps in the water. Please note that the paddle up the stream that flows into East Inlet can sometimes be blocked by wood debris and may require some amount of portaging. But paddlers need not venture all the way up the stream in order to enjoy a wild forest experience, surrounded on all sides by forested mountains that extend to the international border.

The wonderfully pristine East Inlet is two miles off Route 3 on a well-maintained logging road. East Inlet has a bog/peat bottom and is an ideal spot for canoeing. 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.