A Winter Visit to Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (Landaff, NH)

Following an appointment in the neighboring State of VT, I had some unexpected spare time.  And so, with only about an hour's worth of daylight remaining in the day, I dropped by the Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (SBWS) on my way home.

Since this was an unplanned visit, my snowshoes were at home.  However, my cross-country skis and boots happened to be in the car, and so that's what was used for this short adventure.  Although snowshoes would have been the ideal footwear, I must say that gliding through the forest on cross-country skis became a pleasant experience after negotiating the bog bridges at the beginning of the trail.

It is sort of difficult to explain the location of  the SBWS.  It's situated at the northern boundary of the Town of Landaff, and is just a short distance east of Lisbon, and south of Sugar Hill.   For those who might find it helpful, here are GPS coordinates for the trailhead parking lot on Jim Noyes Hill Road:  N44.18271 W071.84706.   Also, you can click HERE for a link to a website which provides a few more details about the SBWS.  

Additionally, the map shown below might be helpful in providing some insight about the general location.

Map showing general location of Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (SBWS)

Shown below is a photo of the kiosk at the parking area for the SBWS trails.

Kiosk at the parking area for the Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (SBWS)

Joanne and Kevin Jones do a marvelous job of maintaining these trails, and have indicated that the trailhead parking lot will be plowed throughout this winter season.  It was indeed plowed on the day of my visit!

Another nice amenity at the parking area kiosk is a wooden box containing brochures that include a trail map and trail description (see below).

Trail map and trail description brochure

After parking your car, you make a right and walk down the road for less than a tenth of a mile to the point where the trail system begins at an NH Audubon Sanctuary sign posted on a tree.

Photo taken at starting point for the trails at Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (SBWS)

Although this there are no blockbuster mountain vistas at the SBWS, there are an abundance of attractive woodland scenes as you cruise along the trail system.

One of many attractive woodland scenes as you cruise along the trails at Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (SBWS)

About midway along the Yellow Trail there is a bench overlooking a wetland area which can be a comfortable place for bird watching, or just hanging out in the woods.

A bench along the Yellow Trail overlooking a wetland area

One segment of the Yellow Trail runs along an old stone wall, a reminder of a time many years ago when this was pastureland.

An attractive segment of the Yellow Trail that runs along an old stone wall

To sum it up, the Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary is an off the beaten path destination.  The trails provide access to diverse habitats (a brook, wetlands, northern hardwoods, and spruce-fir forests) which support a variety of fauna (birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians).  And as a side benefit to visiting this location, your drive to/from the trailhead takes you along back roads that provide very scenic vistas of farmland and surrounding hills/mountains.

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