Brown's Lake Bog
State Nature Preserve

99 acres - Wayne County

Address

Brown Rd
Shreve, OH  44676

The preserve is owned and managed by The Nature Conservancy - Ohio Chapter.

Lat/Long Coordinates

N40 40.977'
W082 04.054'

Special Feature
-  Kettle-hole lake bog

Facilities

1-mile trail system and parking lot - visit the Preserve site web page.

Learn more

Brown's Lake Bog is one of a handful of sites in Ohio which contain an open kettle- hole lake surrounded by a floating sphagnum moss mat. The bog and surrounding forest were purchased by The Nature Conservancy in 1966. The preserve was declared a National Natural Landmark in 1968.

The preserve lies in the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau region of northeastern Ohio. The bog and lake are glacial relicts, and the knolls in the northeast corner and southern part of the property are glacially formed hills called kames.

The naturally acidic properties of sphagnum and its ability to insulate the water from rapid air temperature changes provides the special conditions needed to maintain the boreal plant community including round-leaved sundew, large cranberry, grass-pink orchid and marsh five-finger. The lowland woods south and northeast of the main bog support shallow ephemeral pools during much of the year.

Local directions

Located in Wayne County 2 miles west of Shreve on Brown Rd. A parking area is located on the south side of the road next to the preserve sign.