Clark Bog Trail

Forge Pond Park, 245 King St, Hanover, MA 02339, USA

781-826-5000

recreation@hanover-ma.gov

https://www.hanover-ma.gov/parks-and-recreation/pages/forge-pond-park

Owned By: Town of Hanover

• Directions
• Trail Map

1-mile trail network around a former cranberry bog and into a former industrial area. Continue through the woods to the Old Rockland Fireworks Loop. Access from Forge Pond Park in Hanover.

Features

This small network of trails around a former cranberry bog features water views and captivating landscapes, plus a link to the Old Rockland Fireworks Loop Trail.

Please see separate listings for more details on:
• Forge Pond Park
• French’s Stream Trail
• Summer Street Conservation Lands
• Old Rockland Fireworks Loop Trail

Trail Description

Look for the trailhead at the green Clark Bog sign in Hanover’s Forge Pond Park, near Parking Lot C. There is also access from King Street. Be sure to remain on marked trails (red blazes) and be mindful of Private Property signs. The Hanover Police Department’s Shooting Range is immediately adjacent! A metal gate marks the boundary between the Clark Bog Trail and the Old Rockland Fireworks Loop Trail.

Habitats and Wildlife

This property used to be a cranberry bog and a fireworks, so it features relatively wide, sandy paths around ponds and wetlands. Of particular interest is the extremely dense new growth of young trees where the cranberries used to grow.

It is part of the watershed of the Drinkwater River, which flows south through Forge and Factory Ponds. According to Martha Campbell’s Remembering Old Abington, the name “Drinkwater River” is said to be an Anglicized version of the original Native American name for the stream, Nannumackeuitt, “which meant that a hollow stem had to be used as a straw when sucking up water from this shallow, sluggish stream.”

The Indian Head River rises from the Drinkwater River and Factory Pond in West Hanover. It forms the boundary between Hanover and Hanson, and merges with Pembroke’s Herring Brook, a short distance downstream of Ludden’s Ford Park, to form the North River at a spot called The Crotch. The North River flows 12 miles through Pembroke, Hanover, Norwell, Marshfield and Scituate, eventually making its way to Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.