In the southern Allegheny Mountains near Hillsboro, West Virginia, the Cranberry Glades include some 750 acres of peat bog and meadows that support plants common to Canada and more northerly latitudes. Cranberries, sphagnum mosses, skunk cabbages, and two carnivorous plants -- sundews and pitcher plants -- are found in the glades.
The glades are protected as the Cranberry Glades Botanical Area, part of the Monongahela National Forest. The botanical area was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1974.
The glades are part of the headwaters of the Cranberry River, a popular trout stream and are adjacent to the nearly 50,000-acre and Cranberry Wilderness, also part of the national forest.
The glades also appear as a locale in the Fallout 76 video game.
Visiting Cranberry Glades
The U.S. Forest Service maintains a boardwalk that circles through part of the glades as well as a series of trails that encircle the botanical area. Visitors are prohibited from leaving trails and boardwalks and wandering into the delicate bog environment. Visit cranberry site.
