Boughton River Nature Trail

The Boughton River Nature Trail is located in Kings County on Highway 4 at Bridgetown. It begins at a roadside parking lot beside the fire hall. The trail is built in four interconnected loops, plus a short spur to a lookout, to view the typical drowned estuary of the Boughton River. From here you may also see kayakers and canoeist coming upriver on a paddling trail. The total hiking length available is 8.9 km, but with the loop system there are opportunities to do an early return and an easier, shorter hike.

The Boughton River Nature Trail is an expansion and improvement of a previously existing community trail. It lies entirely on government lands. It is built for foot traffic only, and is not accessible to motorized vehicles.

The trail winds through white spruce thickets, open hardwoods, river flats, steep ravines and grassy meadows. Narrow steep ravines and small rivulets are bridged, and wet spots have boardwalks across them.

In shady areas along the trail you will step over ground pines and other club mosses, and skirting the many wet spots there will be ferns. There are also Trilliums and Indian Pipe in the deep shade of the mixed woods.

Here you will also see songbirds, woodpeckers, and owls. Fur bearing inhabitants include squirrels and rabbits and there may be evidence of foxes and coyotes.

From lookouts to the drowned estuary you will see marsh plants such as cattails, bulrushes, and horse tail as well as other grasses and reeds. Perched on them there may be redwing blackbirds, with bitterns hidden below them, and great blue herons just a bit further offshore. Further out, you can find a variety of waterfowl, and up, you may see an osprey or a bald eagle.