Cranberry Glades

The Cranberry Glades near Marlinton, WV, are an interesting place to visit at any time of the year. The Field Ecology Governor's School visits every year in late June. They are only a small detour on our recent regular trips to Pittsburgh, so we've seen some interesting contrasts as the seasons change.

The Cranberry Glades Botanical Area has a half-mile long boardwalk through two glades, as well as the shrubs and the bog forest. On May 9, the boardwalk was dusted with snow from unseasonably late cold weather.

A month later (June 6) it's clearly late spring/early summer.

By late June (June 28, 2018 in this case) the boardwalk is overgrown - mostly with cinnamon ferns.

Round Glade on May 9.

Round Glade on June 6. Every year the glade has more and more shrubs as the bog fills in and gets drier.

The boardwalk crosses Yew Creek several times. This was taken on May 9.

Yew Creek on June 6. The water is typically tea-colored with tannins from bog vegetation.

Cinnamon ferns were unfurling and their spore stalks were just beginning to mature. (The "cinnamon" name was given because the mature spore stalk takes on a dark brown cinnamon color.)

A red eft on the boardwalk. This is the terrestial juvenile stage of the red-spotted newt, which is aquatic.

Pitcher plants were just beginning to grow new leaves (pitchers).

By the end of June they will have many more new pitchers, as well as their distinctive flowers. (Photo from June 30, 2016)