Thorp Pond contains several wetland communities centered around a bog lake, though the most interesting portions of the site are not publicly accessible.  To reach the site, park at dead-end on Quarterline Road East and walk southeast.  You will pass though a shrubbery-covered landscape grading into a pine forest and finally into a wet-mesic forest.  The pond, which is actually a seepage lake, and fen are not within the boundaries of lands open to the public.  The DNR will not confirm to me what the actual boundaries are, though I have done my requisite sleuthing and figured them out.

As one cannot legally explore the lake and fen area, I would not recommend a visit to this site.  The areas away from the lake are benign and as you get closer to the lake, it becomes very wet and mucky.  This would be worth it to pursue if the lake were reachable, but with no reward, it ends up being an excercise in futility.  Forb life was minimal during my late May visit.  Downed trees and branches were omnipresent, intermixed with various ephemeral ponds and low spots.  It may have been more photogenic had the sun been out to any degree, but I was left to make lemonade from lemons.  This would not go on my recommended SNA list, at least with current legal access as it is.

Yellow Forest Violet

Wet Forest

Wet Forest

Wet Forest

Foot Warmer

Lesser Goat’s Beard

Wet Forest

More of my photos (and full-res) from Thorp Pond can be viewed here.

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