Nature in the Northeast Kingdom
 

If nature is your interest, than the Northeast Kingdom offers some of the best in the states. The Mollie Beattie Bog located in the unorganized town of Lewis just outside Island Pond. 

The 76-acre Mollie Beattie Bog includes a flat open bog area covering 20 acres and supports a wide variety of shrubs, stunted trees and other plants. A swamp crowded with tamarack and black spruce surrounds the bog.

An inventory of the bog found at least 13 rare plants and animal species and numerous migratory birds using it for breeding habitat.

A boardwalk allows visitors to get into the bog without damaging the plant life or getting wet. Interpretive signs help viewers know what it is they are seeing. It is my opinion Champion has done a great job in making Mollie Beattie Bog a truly Special Place in the Forest.

GETTING THERE:

To reach Mollie Beattie Bog take Route 105 between Island Pond and Bloomfield. Near Wenlock Station there is a large parking area on the north side of the highway. A sign explains this is the entrance to Champion lands and the Nulhegan Deer Wintering Area. The road is known as the Lewis Pond road. Follow it just over 4 miles to the road on the left. Take it about a mile and a quarter to a parking area that has a sign on the right welcoming you to Mollie Beattie Bog. Enjoy!

In North Troy you can visit the Big Falls. On Burke Mountain you can view a molten rock exposure. In Charleston you can visit the Great Falls of the Clyde River. A Gorge called the "Jay Branch Gorge" in Jay. If it is glacial features you are looking for stop on by in Groton at Pigeon Pond and see an example of Pleistocene glaciating. At Averill Pond in Averill, you will find a glacially scoured basin that has landlocked salmon. On Lake Memphremagog you should visit the Black Island Hemlock Forest. In Derby there is Halls Creek Marsh, which supports a great variety of wildlife. You should also make sure to stop on by and visit Willoughby Cliffs where Mt. Pisgah meets the shores of Lake Willoughby, one of the most famous scenes in Vermont. Stop at the Peacham Bog and you may catch a Moose or two just walking around.