Cranberry Glades is a group of bogs in the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia. They are encircled by the Black, Cranberry, and Kennison Mountains. “The Glades” are protected by Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, part of Monongahela National Forest.
This high-elevation (3,400 feet) wetland includes acidic bogs, fens, ponds, and swamps. Cranberry Glades is one of twelve Wild & Wonderful Wetlands in West Virginia.
It resembles the bogs, or muskegs, of northern United States and Canada. Peat and sphagnum moss create a spongy, moist environment. These peat deposits can be nearly 20 feet deep and preserve pollen for thousands of years.
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
A universally accessible half-mile boardwalk loops between two of the bogs. Alder thickets, red spruce swamps, and hardwood forests separate openings for the glades.
The wooden walkway allows visitors to enjoy the complex without negatively impacting the rare plants and animals found there. One cute touch I haven’t seen anywhere else was location markers and phrases carved in the wood. I moved to start the loop to the right (counterclockwise) but then I looked down and saw “OOPS! WRONG WAY”.
Round Glade
Round Glade is the larger glade at 28 acres. From the boardwalk, I beheld the glade with Kennison Mountain and Black Mountain in the distance.
Cranberry plants grow thick on the glade’s open surface, although they are hard to see as they are less than four inches tall. In the fall, bright red berries are more visible.
Yew Creek
Yew Creek runs between the glades, and the boardwalk crosses the creek multiple times. There is a small bench near the creek to soak in the sights and sounds of nature.
Flag Glade
Black Mountain and Cranberry Mountain surround the 8-acre Flag Glade. I circled the boardwalk loop twice, and both times, this was the area that had the most bird songs but the least visible birds.
Wildlife
I saw and heard American goldfinches, black-billed cuckoos, blackburnian warblers, Canada warblers, chestnut-sided warblers, common yellowthroats, gray catbirds, golden-crowned kinglets, northern waterthrushes, and red-breasted nuthatches.
Two of these birds were lifers for me (my first time seeing them) – Canada warblers and chestnut-sided warblers. A chestnut-sided warbler was hopping around in a tree next to a bench on the boardwalk. I initially caught a photo of him surrounded by leaves, but knowing how much he was moving and that he didn’t seem agitated by humans, I stuck around to see if I could get a clearer shot. It took about 20 minutes, but my patience was worth it! He shuffled onto an open branch and gave me a perfect view of the patterns that give the species its name.
Plant Life
Plant life here is similar to the muskegs of the north. Though glaciers did not make it this far south, it is the southernmost point in North America where several species are found. Two unique plants are carnivorous plants – native sundew and purple pitcher plant.
Several species were in bloom during my visit late May visit including chokeberry, marsh blue violet, and swamp buttercup. My favorite were the white chokeberry blossoms which were abundant along the boardwalk.
There were also so many ferns with their fiddleheads. Fiddleheads are the curled heads of fledgling ferns. This name comes from the curled ornamentation on the end of string instruments like fiddles. They eventually unroll into a new frond.
To explore the entire Cranberry Glades area, there is a six-mile Cow Pasture Trail. This trail acts as a border between The Glades and the Cranberry Wilderness.
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area is part of the Highland Scenic Highway which extends from Richwood to U.S. Route 219.