NH Audubon owns and manages 40 wildlife sanctuaries throughout all 10 counties of New Hampshire. In addition, there are several other properties on which NH Audubon has a management agreement with another entity. These lands, covering over 8,000 acres of important wildlife habitat, provide opportunities for recreation, education, and aesthetic experiences. Three of our sanctuaries have associated nature centers, and many have interpretive trail guides and well-developed trail systems. A variety of wildlife management techniques are ongoing at our sanctuaries, and others are left to natural processes. Through habitat management, research, education, and continued land protection we are working to ensure that New Hampshire’s wildlife and natural heritage is protected for us all.
Make a donation in support of NH Audubon Sanctuaries.
Photo, top: Semipalmated Sandpipers in Hampton, by Pam Hunt.
NH Audubon owns and manages 40 wildlife sanctuaries throughout all 10 counties of New Hampshire. In addition, there are several other properties on which NH Audubon has a management agreement with another entity. These lands, covering over 8,000 acres in all of important wildlife habitat, provide opportunities for recreation, wildlife watching, education, and reflective experiences. Three sanctuaries have associated nature centers, and many have interpretive trail guides and well-developed trail systems. A variety of wildlife management techniques are ongoing at our sanctuaries, and others are left to natural processes. Through habitat management, research, education, and continued land protection we are working to ensure that New Hampshire’s wildlife and natural heritage is protected for us all.
NH Audubon sanctuaries are open to the public and free of charge. We hope you enjoy visiting them and are interested in helping support wildlife conservation by making a donation.
Some general visitor guidelines pertain to our sanctuaries. Most of our sanctuaries are open to passive recreation only (hiking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc.). Only foot travel is generally permitted, as horses, bikes, and wheeled vehicles are prohibited, except in the case of recognized, existing snowmobile corridors. Dogs and other pets are permitted on some – but not all – wildlife sanctuaries, and must be kept on a short leash at all times.
Please stay on existing trails. Smoking, use of alcohol, fires, camping, and swimming are generally not permitted. Hunting trapping, and carrying firearms are permitted only in designated areas, and landowner permission is required. Please see the Visitor Information section on individual sanctuary pages for usage details about specific sanctuaries.
Trail conditions are always changing, and we make every effort to keep them clear and maintained. If you see something that needs attention, we welcome trail condition reports that help us direct staff and trained volunteers to properties when they are needed. Approximate diameter measurements of obstacle trees/branches are particularly helpful when determining the level of effort required, as well as the trail name, name of the wildlife sanctuary, and approximate location to us.
When hiking our trails, please consider helping us keep them clear if you are physically able to move small branches out of the trail corridor. If branches are too big to move and require saws, please leave that to us and our trained volunteers.
Thanks in advance for filling out a trail condition report to help us understand the dynamic conditions of our Wildlife Sanctuaries throughout the state.
This list of wildlife sanctuaries is organized by region. Those locations with public access are linked to sanctuary pages with more detail, including directions. You can also use the map below to navigate to the sanctuary pages by location.
Great North Woods:
French Wildlife Sanctuary, Pittsburg
White Mountains:
Dahl Wildlife Sanctuary, Conway
Holman Wildlife Sanctuary, Sugar Hill
Lovejoy Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Albany
Pondicherry Wildlife Sanctuary, Jefferson/Whitefield
Scotland Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Landaff
Ines and Frederick Yeatts Wildlife Sanctuary, Warren
Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee:
Ashuelot Wildlife Sanctuary, Washington
Stoney Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, Newbury
Lakes:
Alice Bemis Thompson Wildlife Sanctuary (Thompson), Sandwich
Bear Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Hebron
Charles Henry & Mabel Lamborn Watts Wildlife Sanctuary (Watts), Effingham
Evergreen Wildlife Sanctuary, Moultonborough
Gertrude Keith Hoyt & Edward Eaton Hoyt, Jr. Wildlife Sanctuary (Hoyt), Madison
Less-In-Area Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Meredith
Mary McLane Wildlife Sanctuary, Hebron
Newfound Center/Paradise Point Wildlife Sanctuary (& Hebron Marsh), Hebron
Proctor Wildlife Sanctuary, Center Harbor
Weeks Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Meredith
Merrimack Valley:
Abe Emerson Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Candia
Farley Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Hollis/Nashua
Massabesic Center/Battery Point Wildlife Sanctuary, Auburn
McLane Center/Silk Farm Wildlife Sanctuary, Concord
Ponemah Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Amherst
Popple Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Epsom
Samuel Myron Chase Wildlife Sanctuary, Hopkinton
Smith Pond Bog Wildlife Sanctuary, Hopkinton
Monadnock:
Betsy Fosket Wildlife Sanctuary, Rindge
Deering Wildlife Sanctuary, Deering
dePierrefeu-Willard Pond Wildlife Sanctuary (Willard Pond), Antrim/Hancock
Kensan Devan Wildlife Sanctuary (Meetinghouse Pond), Marlborough
Nye Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary, Stoddard
Sucker Brook Cove Wildlife Sanctuary, Nelson
Seacoast:
Bellamy River Wildlife Sanctuary, Dover
Brookside Wildlife Sanctuary, South Hampton
Kwaks/Smith Sisters Wildlife Sanctuary (Follett’s Brook), Newmarket/Durham
Little River Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, North Hampton
Saltmarshes Wildlife Sanctuary, Hampton Falls/Hampton/Seabrook
Photo, top: Cherry Mountain sunrise, by Phil Brown.
