Fourth Connecticut Lake
Pittsburg, NH

Check out the new
brochure for Fourth
Connecticut Lake Preserve.

Why You Should Visit
Located at the northernmost tip of New Hampshire, Fourth Connecticut Lake Preserve is a fun, must-visit destination to the North Country. From the U.S. Customs station at the end of Route 3, you follow a trail that allows you to straddle two countries and two watersheds (the Connecticut and St. Lawrence rivers). In the midst of this spruce/fir boreal forest is the source of the Connecticut River. Where the water flows over the lake's outflow, is the start of New England's longest river, flowing 410 miles to the estuaries of Long Island Sound.

Location
Pittsburg, N.H.

Size
78.1 acres, though it is surrounded on the U.S. side by an additional 4,900 acres protected by a conservation easement held by The Nature Conservancy and owned by the state of New Hampshire (part of the Connecticut Lakes Headwaters Natural Area).

Directions
Route 3 North, 22 miles past Pittsburg village to the US/Canada border. Park across the road from the U.S. Customs station. The trail begins on the same side as the Customs station, about 50 yards on the right of the building. There's a small kiosk at the trailhead.

Straddling the border ... and watershed
on the trail to Fourth Connecticut Lake
Eric Aldrich Photo.

Preparing for Your Visit
Wear sturdy hiking shoes. The trail is steep and can be wet and slippery in places. Bring a camera; you'll need it. When approaching Fourth Lake at the end of the trail, hike quietly; you might see a moose, beaver or river otter. That's when you'll need the camera!

Preserve Guidelines
This natural area is open to the public for recreation and education. Please, for the protection of this area and its inhabitants, and for everyone’s enjoyment:
• Foot travel only
• No pets
• Please carry out trash
• No removal or destruction of plants, wildlife or
minerals
• No camping or open fires
• No hunting, trapping or fishing.

What to See: Plants
The edge of the lake is surrounded by a well-developed floating bog mat of mosses, sedges, grasses, leather leaf, the uncommon buckbean, and a large concentration of insectivorous plants, such as pitcher plant and sundew. The lake’s waters contain bladderwort, an aquatic plant with underwater bladderlike leaves that trap tiny aquatic creatures. The surrounding forest is fragrant with balsam fir. Other species include red spruce, white birch, and some American mountain ash. On the forest floor you are likely to see some northern wood sorrel, creeping snowberry, bluebead lily, and goldthread. Wildflowers abound at the southern end where the Connecticut River flows out of the lake.

What to See: Wildlife
This is a great place to see moose, beaver, waterfowl, spruce grouse, northern three-toed woodpecker and many other species. The trick is to be quiet and patient.

How This Site was Protected
One of the first acquisitions in the Conservancy’s Connecticut River Campaign was the 1987 donation by Champion International Corporation of 427 acres at Norton Pool and East Inlet (also in Pittsburg). Three years later, Champion repeated its generosity by donating the entire 78.1-acre watershed of Fourth Connecticut Lake to the Conservancy in honor of Earth Day. Having long been the target of preservation by several environmental groups, this gift was meaningful and symbolic to the campaign to protect the best of the Connecticut River.

What the Conservancy has/is Doing
The Conservancy’s management goals are simply to preserve the natural character of the land and to provide for passive recreation, nature study and education. To that end, the Conservancy built the existing trail around Fourth Lake in 1995.

Fourth Connecticut LakePittsburg, NH

Fourth Connecticut Lake
Pittsburg, NH