Trail Guide About the Visitor

Bear MountainWildlife Sanctuary

Hebron, New Hampshire

New Hampshire Audubon

The 73-acre Bear Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary,located on the north side of Bear Mountain, is arelatively rugged forested property with somefairly steep slopes. The trail gains 600 feet inelevation from its start on West Shore Road(elevation 640 feet) to the highest point on theSanctuary (elevation 1,240 feet), where there areviews of Newfound Lake through the treetops.Although the Sanctuary is generally closed-canopymixed forest, the e�ects from the changes inaltitude can be seen in tree species compositionas one walks up the trail: for example, there is anoticeable increase in red spruce and balsam �r athigher elevations.

The Sanctuary was donated to Audubon in 1999by Jon McKee and Joan Belden, both summerresidents of Hebron. The property had beenpurchased 30 years earlier by McKee and hisbusiness partner, Rod Belden, for the purpose ofcreating a modest �ve-home development.Sensitive to the increase in development in theNewfound Lake area, McKee and Belden decidedto forego their plans in favor of protecting theproperty as open space. They chose to donatethe property to N.H. Audubon because theorganization protects other land in the area.

1. Only foot travel is permitted in the Sanctuary.

2. Swimming, camping, �res, hunting, and trapping areprohibited.

3. Please stay on the marked trails and do not collect or inany way disturb any plants or animals in the Sanctuary.

4. Pets must be kept on a leash.

5. Please carry out all trash and litter.

6. Be prepared for country walking.

About the Newfound Audubon Center

The Newfound Audubon Center includes Paradise PointNature Center and Wildlife Sanctuary, the Hebron MarshWildlife Sanctuary, and the Bear Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary.The Nature Center at Paradise Point and the AudubonNature Store at the Hebron Marsh Sanctuary are open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. seven days a week during July and August.Educational programming is provided for adultsand children at Paradise Point and Hebron Marsh in thesummer; call the Center at 744-3516 for information.Programs for groups are available. Sanctuary trails are opendawn to dusk year-round.

Paradise Point Nature Center & Wildlife SanctuaryNorth Shore Road, PO Box 142East Hebron, N.H. 03241(603) 744-3516 (July 1-September 1) or(603) 224-9909 (September 1-July 1)

Hebron Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary & Nature StoreNorth Shore Road, Hebron, N.H.(603) 744-1090 (July 1-September 1) or(603) 224-9909 (September 1-July 1)

How to get to Bear MountainWildlife Sanctuary

From Bristol:Drive north on Route 3A for 9 miles toward East Hebron.Turn left onto North Shore Road and drive approximately2.6 miles (past Audubon’s Paradise Point and HebronMarsh Wildlife Sanctuaries) to Hebron. In Hebron, turn leftonto West Shore Road and drive 0.4 mile; the trailhead ison the right. Park on Cross Street, one-tenth of a milenorth of the trailhead.

The Audubon Society of New Hampshire is an independentstatewide membership organization. It operates naturecenters throughout the state that provide educationalprograms for children and adults. It also protects thousands ofacres of wildlife habitat through its sanctuaries program andmonitors many of the state's endangered species. Forinformation on the Audubon Society of New Hampshire,membership, programs, and publications, contact:

New Hampshire Audubon84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301

PH (603) 224-9909, FAX (603) 226-0902EMAIL asnh@nhaudubon.org www.nhaudubon.org

If you do not want to keep this guide, please return it to themailbox at the trailhead.

Printed on recycled paper.

Text, map, and cover art (black-throated green warbler) by Mike Milligan

Trail Guide About the Sanctuary Visitor Information

Paradise Point Nature Center

Hebron Marsh

HebronEastHebron

toPlymouth

Bridgewater

N. Shore Road

NewfoundLake

Sanctuary

P Cross Street

W. Shore

Road

Bear Mountain TrailYellow markers, 2.1 miles round-trip

The Bear Mountain Trail, which begins at West ShoreRoad, takes about 1.5 hours to walk. Because of therather narrow shape of the property and its relativelysteep slopes, this is the only trail, although at 0.83 mile,there is a half-mile loop around the higher elevations ofthe Sanctuary. The trail also crosses a snowmobile trail.

The trail begins in fairly mature, shady, mixed woods oflarge hemlock, white pine, red oak, white and yellowbirch, and red maple, with smaller individuals of beechand red spruce. Here, American redstart, black-and-whitewarbler, and early successional forest bird species can befound. Going uphill on a slope of approximately 30degrees, the trail here is on an old logging road. Fivehundred feet up the trail, the forest is comprised ofyounger, smaller trees and includes gray birch, bigtoothaspen, white ash, and a few pitch pine on a gentlerslope. In another 200 feet, the mixed forest trees areagain larger, more mature individuals. Soon the trailcrosses a small woodland creek that passes throughalmost the entire length of the Sanctuary and flows intoNewfound Lake. Stream salamander species such asnorthern two-lined salamander inhabit these types ofwooded mountain streams. Raccoons, fishers, and ermineare among the several mammals that use this stream as acorridor for travel and feeding. The forest then becomesdominated by hemlock, with the gradual appearance ofbalsam fir, more red spruce, and fairly large stripedmaple.

Lookout

NewfoundLake

Bear MountainWildlife Sanctuary

To Hebron

West Shore Road

TRAIL LENGTH

Trail Yellow blazes 2.1 mi.

The uphill slope noticeably flattens, and the forestbecomes dominated by red maple and red oak.Understory plants, such as hobblebush, become moreabundant in the decreased shade. Scarlet tanagers, broad-winged hawks, black-throated blue warbler, and thrushesare among the dozens of bird species that inhabit this areabetween May and August.

The creek is again crossed and the slope generallyremains gentle as the trail crosses the snowmobile trail.From here, the slope becomes steeper, crossing thecreek a third time. Beech becomes more abundant, and,as elevation is gained, so do red spruce and balsam fir.

The slope again moderates as the trail progressesthrough shady woods full of large hemlock to the trailloop junction. Black-throated green, pine, and blackburnianwarbler, and dark-eyed junco nest in the conifers atop thisrise. Listen for winter wrens on the steeper hillside alongthe trail.

Veering left (east) at the junction, the last uphill section oftrail leads to glimpses of Newfound Lake, with the bestview about 580 feet from the junction. Evidence ofmoose browse is common, as is the tree damage fromweather, such as blowdowns. The openings in thecanopy from blowdowns allow more understory plants,such as serviceberry, blackberry, and hedge bindweed,to grow.

The trail turns right (west) at the Sanctuary's southernboundary, from where one can see Mt. Cardigan about5.5 miles to the southwest. The trail is basically alldownhill from here. These wetlands support amphibianssuch as wood frog and American toad, and the Canadawarbler.

At the Sanctuary's southwest corner, the trail passes by asmall, rather open, mossy wetland area of cinnamonfern, sedges, and grasses, which feeds the creekcrossed earlier. The trail returns to the loop junctiondown a gentle slope with sugar maple, striped maple,and some Christmas ferns. At the loop junction bear leftto return downhill to West Shore Road.

PPPPP

Map KeyParking

NHABoundary

NHA Trail

SnowmobileTrail

Stream

Lookout

P

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Snowmobile Trail

Trail

Stream

400 FEET

Park on Cross Street

N

Trail Information