Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve
Licking County, Ohio · access permit required
Our take written by Nature Awed
Cranberry Bog sits in Buckeye Lake in Licking County, a floating bog mat that rose 8 feet when the Great Swamp was dammed for a canal reservoir and the rest of the swamp went under.
Here the lake surrounds the bog mat. Visiting needs an access permit from the Division, and ODNR notes that poison sumac is abundant.
Our plain-language reading of the ODNR text quoted on this page. It adds no facts of its own.
Verify current visiting hours and access restrictions with ODNR's page for this preserve and ODNR's permit page before relying on this summary.
What ODNR says about it
Buckeye Lake was once a large wetland complex, called the “Great Swamp” that was to be turned into a reservoir to feed the Ohio and Erie Canal system. The plan however didn't work because the reservoir was too shallow to feed the canal for barge traffic especially during the dry season. Strangely enough, it was the impoundment of the swamp in 1830 which made Cranberry Bog so unique.
As the waters backed up behind the dike, all of the big swamp was inundated and destroyed, except the very youngest and therefore most buoyant segment of the bog mat. Instead of disappearing beneath the mucky waters, as did most of the adjacent swamp forest, a 50-acre upper segment of the bog mat along the north shore stretched and expanded like a giant waterlogged sponge and rose 8 feet with the new water level. No longer did the floating bog mat surround the glacial lake as is typically the case with such bogs. Now the lake surrounds the bog mat, a unique situation.
Visiting
An access permit from the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves is required to visit Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve. Note, poison sumac is abundant at the preserve.
In ODNR's preserve guide
This preserve has no row in ODNR's printed guide. The guide says: Preserves not listed are either unimproved, or require a written permit to visit.
(ODNR: Ohio State Nature Preserves & Natural Areas Guide (PDF)).
Access permit required
Cranberry Bog Licking 11 Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
The permit application must be received by the Division of Natural Areas and Preserves at least 14 days in advance of the requested visitation.
Permits will be issued and emailed to the applicant at least 7 days before the scheduled visit. Maps, directions and any special stipulations concerning the use of the preserve will accompany the permit.
Verify the current application deadlines with ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit before you rely on them.
How the access permit works, and every preserve on the list →
The land on ODNR's map
| LANDS_NAME | COUNTY | PROP_TYPE | SUM_CALC_ACRES | MANAGING_AGENCY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve | LICKING | Dedicated Nature Preserve | 10.29 | Buckeye Lake Historical Society |
| Mapped acres | 10.29 (our sum of the parcels ODNR's GIS layer maps under this name) |
|---|---|
| Access permit | Required, per ODNR's permit list |
| Centre of mapped land | 39.9318, -82.4670 (our calculation; not an entrance or parking lot) |
Statewide rules
Ohio Administrative Code chapter 1501:17 sets rules for nature preserves and natural areas under ODNR's supervision or its designated custodian, on pets, drones, picnics, collecting and more. Can I…? quotes them rule by rule, with their exceptions.
Pets are prohibited at all state nature preserves, except Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve where leashed pets are only allowed on the multipurpose paved trail.
Check before you go. Verify current hours, access and trail information on ODNR: Cranberry Bog State Nature Preserve and ODNR: State Nature Preserves Access Permit; our checker last found the quoted words there on October 14.
Nearest other preserves
Straight-line miles between the centres of mapped land (our calculation), not driving distance.
- Blackhand Gorge State Nature Preserve · Licking County · about 14 miles
- Coyote Run State Nature Preserve · Fairfield County · about 15 miles · permit
- Pickerington Ponds State Nature Preserve · Fairfield and Franklin counties · about 18 miles
- Walter A Tucker (Blacklick Woods) State Nature Preserve · Fairfield County · about 18 miles
- Morris Woods State Nature Preserve · Licking County · about 19 miles