Boat Launch Facility

There is a State of New Hampshire Fish & Game owned boat launch open to the general public. Of note:

• The launch is designed to accommodate boats up to 18 feet in length.
• The pond’s size falls below the threshold required for the use of Personal Watercraft.
• Wake surfing is prohibited.
• Ice fishing is prohibited on the pond.
• Swimming at the ramp is prohibited.
• Pets are not permitted to be in the water at the ramp

Loudon Town Beach

The beach is open only to residents of Loudon and not the general public. Note: There is no other public beach access on Clough Pond.

Activities

Clough Pond is a wonderful place to enjoy swimming, boating, kayaking, paddle boarding, or yes trout fishing.

Pond Inhabitants

Clough Pond is a reclaimed trout pond. The NH Fish & Game Department generally stocks the pond three to four times a year each time with brook, rainbow, and/or brown trout. There are horned pout, shiners, sunfish, and some smelt as well in the pond.

• Many snapping turtles, painted turtles, frogs, and crayfish call the pond home.
• The pond sees a number of hooded mergansers arrive early in the spring and later our long time resident Common Loon shows up.
• Common sightings around the pond include bear, deer, mink, beaver, muskrat, turkeys, herons, and even bald eagles and ospreys looking for food.A few Canadian geese stop by each spring and fall on their annual migrations

Fun Facts

• Clough Pond has a surface area of 18 hectares (46 acres)
• It sits within a 93 hectare (230 acre) watershed
• It has a maximum depth of 18.2 meters (59 feet)
• Is 142 meters (466 feet) above sea level
• The length of the shore line is just under a mile at 1,600 meters.
• It is classified as a mesotrophic waterbody
• The pond has a volume of 1,045,000 cubic meters and contains approximately 275 million gallons of water

Invasive Plants and Animals Present in the Pond

No invasive species, plant or animal are known to be in the pond.

We do have a non-native turtle species in the pond! At least one Red-Eared Slider now calls Clough Pond home. It is the most common species of turtle sold as pets and was likely released in or near the pond by a person who no longer wanted it as a pet. Our winters are a lot colder than the winters in its native south-central United States and that may be a key factor in it not yet being classified as an invasive species.