The Bower

Pine Knob Farm is home to The Bower – an ecotherapy trail open to visitors. Welcome to our peaceful field on a historic 7th-generation farm in Whitefield, NH – nestled in the heart of the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire. Just minutes from downtown Bethlehem and Littleton, NH, and surrounded by lakes, rivers, trails, breweries, and local eats, our location is perfect for outdoor explorers and weekend wanderers. We’re near the Heritage Trail and right on the Cross New Hampshire Adventure Trail route—great for bikers and hikers. Our field offers star-filled skies, monarch butterflies, and frequent visits from deer and other wildlife. We intentionally keep the area wild and unmowed to support native species and maintain the natural beauty of the land.

Visitors will experience five distinct landscapes and ecological features that together reflect the full arc of this land’s history. The trail begins at The Bower meadow and proceeds on a level private ledgepack driveway through our Colonnade of white pines; descends gradually on a wide, relatively smooth logging road to our Big Sky Meadow surrounded by a mixed hardwood stand; crosses a mostly level but somewhat uneven (and in wet seasons puddle-rich) trail section that gives access to the vernal pools and springs of our wetland complex; and returns to the trailhead via a gentle climb on a mossy trail that was once an unpaved county road connecting the hilltop Bower homestead to Main Street Bethlehem. Soils are post-glacial in character—stony loams on the higher ground, wetter and more organic near the low areas—and support a high diversity of native trees, plants, and fungi. The loop travels through a forest-wetland complex comprising prime habitat for black bear, moose, bobcat, snowshoe hare, American marten, ruffed grouse, northern woodcock, and dozens of breeding songbird species. Pink lady slipper orchids and many spring ephemerals bloom along the trail edges in late spring.