Sun Feb 01 2026 Peacham Bog Snowshoe Hike by Phyllis Rubenstein

Trip Reports

Sun Feb 01 2026 Peacham Bog Snowshoe Hike by Phyllis Rubenstein

On Sunday, February 1, 2026, a cold but sunny day, 4 of us hiked 4.5 miles round trip to Peacham Bog from Green Bay Loop Road. Most of the hike was along Red Brook Road, an old logging/woods road. The first section had thankfully been packed down by a snow machine. (When I previewed some of the trail a few days earlier, I had to break trail on this section). Then we reached a junction with the VAST Trail, which was well groomed.

We noticed several interesting phenomena during this part of the hike. First, there were snow cones surrounding vegetation. The most likely explanation is that the snow level had been higher when it first fell and then had settled lower. Second, we passed under many trees whose limbs were covered in snow and bent over the trail. All of the bent-over limbs were from birch trees. There were other hardwoods along the trail, but none with bent-over limbs. Third, we saw a large frost crack on a tree; the bark had split open, exposing the wood fibers below. This happens after a warm day, when temperatures drop quickly at night, causing the warmed tissue to cool and contract. Unfortunately, I only photographed the snow cones.

At the pond, we crossed a bridge built in about 2022 above an area where a beaver dam had given out. Soon after the pond, Red Brook Road meets the Peacham Bog Loop Trail, which starts at the Nature Center in Groton State Park. After a few tenths of a mile, the Peacham Bog Loop Trail heads into the woods, where we followed a track made by a skier. In another few tenths of a mile, the trail reaches the bog boardwalk; the ski track continued on the Loop Trail, while we broke trail on the boardwalk to the kiosk. Along the bog boardwalk we saw black spruce, tamarack (a conifer which loses its needles in the fall), branches of wild raisin, and stems of sheep laurel, bog laurel, and leather leaf, poking through the snow.

When the bog is snow-covered, one can travel on it without damaging its vegetation. Due to the fierce wind on the open bog, however, we aborted the plan to walk on the bog and headed back into the protection of the woods. Before the winter is over, on a warmer day, perhaps I will return on snow shoes or skis.