Massachusetts - State and Local Parks

Bash Bish Falls State Park
Route 41
Mount Washington, MA
Phone: 413-528-0330

This small, undeveloped park offers fishing and scenic hiking trails, featuring an 80-foot waterfall. This park is within the Mount Washington State Forest.

Beartown State Forest
69 Bluehill Road
Monterey, MA  01245  
Phone: 413-528-0904

More than 10,000 acres of woodlands, featuring fishing, swimming, and picnic areas, in addition to hiking and cross-country ski trails. A public campground is available.

Brimfield State Forest
Dean Pond Road
Brimfield, MA
Phone: 413-267-9687

Visitors to this forest will enjoy cross-country ski trails, fishing areas, swimming, and picnic spots.

C.M. Gardner Park
Route 112
Huntington, MA
Phone: 413-354-6347

This small 29-acre park offers canoeing, fishing, and swimming areas. Riverside picnicking is available.

Chester-Blandford State Forest
Route 20
Chester, MA
Phone: 413-354-6347

This state forest sits on more than 2,000 acres, and features fishing, picnicking, and a waterfall, in addition to trails for cross-country skiing and hiking. Public campgrounds are available.

Chesterfield Gorge
River Road
West Chesterfield, MA
Phone: 413-684-0148
Email: westregion@ttor.org

Visitors to Chesterfield Gorge will enjoy a half-mile trail along cliff tops that offer views of the seventy-foot-high walls of the gorge, the Westfield River, and the surrounding forest, home to bears, bobcats, and turkeys. Stone abutments of a ca.1770 bridge that spanned the river are all that remain of former post road between Boston and Albany, NY. During the Revolutionary War, redcoats marched over this bridge toward Boston following their defeat at Saratoga, NY. Chesterfield Gorge is also the entrance to an extensive natural recreation area along the Westfield River that features catch-and-release fly-fishing and access to a mountain bike corridor.

Chicopee Memorial State Park
Burnett Road
Chicopee, MA
Phone: 413-594-9416

Visitors will enjoy fishing and swimming areas, park biking, and cross-country skiing. Site was formerly known as the Cooley Brook Reservoir and Watershed.

Clarksburg State Park
Middle Road
Clarksburg, MA
Phone: 413-664-8345

Park has areas for canoeing, swimming, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, and public camping. The park features Mauserts Pond and an unspoiled forest offering scenic views.

Connecticut River Greenway State Park
Damon Road and Route 9
Northampton, MA
Phone: 413-586-8706 ext. 12

This park features canoeing, hiking trails, and picnic areas. Rest facilities are available. One of Massachusetts’ newest state parks.

D.A.R. State Forest
Route 112
Goshen, MA  01032  
Phone: 413-268-7098

This forest offers swimming, canoeing, and fishing areas. Trails for hiking and cross-country skiing are available. There is a public campground with wheelchair-accessible campsites. Regular visitor programs are scheduled.

Erving State Forest
Route 2A
Erving, MA
Phone: 978-544-3939

The forest has swimming, paddling, fishing, motorboating, and picnic areas. There are hiking and cross-country ski trails. Public campgrounds and handicapped accessible restrooms.

Granville State Forest
323 West Hartland Road
Granville, MA  01034  
Phone: 413-357-6611

This 2,397-acre forest along the Hubbard River has facilities for fishing, cross-country skiing, hiking, swimming, and picnicking. A public campground is available.

Hampton Ponds
Route 202
Westfield, MA
Phone: 413-532-3985

This 42-acre park features water activities, such as with swimming, fishing, canoeing, and motor boating. Rest facilities are available.

Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest
Route 8A
Hawley, MA  01339  
Phone: 413-339-5504

This 7,882-acre forest features programs for visitors, in addition to fishing, swimming, and picnic areas. There are snowmobiling, horse, hiking, and cross-country ski trails. A public campground is available.

Lake Lorraine State Park
44 Lake Drive
Springfield, MA
Phone: 413-543-6628

This small two-acre park offers fishing and swimming on Lake Lorraine. There is a picnic area. It also is a regional boating safety-training center.

Look Memorial Park
300 North Main Street
Florence, MA  01062  
Phone: 413-584-5457

Look Memorial Park is located on the Berkshire Trail (Route 9) in the Florence section of Northampton, in the heart of the Pioneer Valley. The park consists of over 150 acres and is open all year during daylight hours. Memorial Day thru Labor Day the park offers bumper boats, a picnic store, the Christiansen Zoo and a water spray park. Extended thru Columbus Day is a steamer railroad, pedal boats and miniature golf. Enjoy tennis from April thru November and year round playgrounds and walking paths. The Pines Theater also located in the park hosts a Summer Concert Series and the Children’s Entertainment Series. Look Park also holds special events for children throughout the year from an “Annual Easter Egg Hunt” to “Breakfast with Santa.”

Mohawk Trail State Forest
Route 2
Charlemont, MA  01339  
Phone: 413-339-5504

Swimming, fishing, hiking, cross-country ski trails, and a public campground await visitors to this forest. There are six log cabins that can be reserved.

Monroe State Forest
Tilda Hill Road
Monroe, MA
Phone: 413-339-5504

This park is ideal for fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing. The park is known for its scenic beauty. A public campground is available.

Mount Everett State Reservation
East Street
Mount Washington, MA
Phone: 413-528-0330

Enjoy canoeing, fishing, hiking, cross-country ski trails, and picnic areas. The park offers breathtaking views and is adjacent to the Appalachian Trail.

Mount Tom State Reservation
Reservation Road
Holyoke, MA
Phone: 413-534-1186

Visitors to this reservation can enjoy canoeing, fishing, hiking, and picnic areas in the summertime, and cross-country skiing in the winter. One of New England’s best hawk watching spots.

Mount Washington State Forest
East Street
Mount Washington, MA
Phone: 413-528-0330

This forest features fishing and picnic areas, and cross-country and hiking trails. There is a public campground. Bash Bish Falls is part of the forest.

Natural Bridge State Park
Route 8
North Adams, MA
Phone: 413-663-8469

The focal point of this park is a natural bridge, but visitors can also enjoy swimming, hiking, fishing, and cross-country skiing. Special events are scheduled, call for more information.

October Mountain State Forest
Woodland Road
Lee, MA
Phone: 413-243-1778

The largest state forest in Massachusetts is more than 16,000 acres. It offers visitors canoeing, fishing, hiking, cross-country skiing, and a public campground with wheelchair accessible sites.

Pittsfield State Forest
Cascade Street
Pittsfield, MA
Phone: 413-442-8992

A wheelchair-accessible trail highlights this 10,000-acre forest featuring swimming, canoeing, fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing. Programs are scheduled year-round. Two public campgrounds/picnic areas are available.

Robinson State Park
North Street
Agawam, MA
Phone: 413-786-2877

This 811-acre park offers visitors bike trails, fishing, swimming, picnic areas, hiking, and cross-country skiing. This urban park features a small logging demonstration area.

Sandisfield State Forest
York Lake Street
Sandisfield, MA
Phone: 413-258-4774

This 7,785-acre forest offers fishing areas, canoeing, swimming, and picnic areas. There are trails for hiking and cross-country skiing. York Lake has a 300-foot sandy beach.

Savoy Mountain State Forest
Central Shraft Road
Florida, MA
Phone: 413-663-8469

Visitors to this forest can enjoy a variety of activities, including swimming, canoeing, motor boating, fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing. A public campground in an apple orchard is available.

Stanley Park
Western Avenue
Westfield, MA
Phone: 413-568-9312

Set on 300 acres, this park features a Japanese garden, rose garden and arboretum.
Hours: Open seasonally, 8 a.m. to dusk. Fee charged.

Tolland State Forest
Route 8
East Otis, MA
Phone: 413-269-6002

This 4,893-acre state forest offers camping, fishing, motor boating (with boat ramp), swimming, hiking, and cross-country ski trails. In season hunting is permitted.

Wahconah State Park
Route 9/8A
Dalton, MA
Phone: 413-442-8992

A small park with areas for fishing and picnicking. There are hiking trails along Wahconah Brook leading to a scenic view of Wahconah Falls.

Wendell State Park
Montague Road
Wendell, MA
Phone: 413-659-3797

Visitors will enjoy fishing, canoeing, swimming, and picnic areas in this 7,566-acre forest. In season, trails are open for hiking and cross-country skiing.

Windsor State Forest
River Road
Windsor, MA
Phone: 413-663-8469

Visitors to this forest will enjoy swimming, fishing, and canoeing. Trails for hiking and cross-country skiing are available, in addition to a public campground. Hunters and snowmobilers are welcome.

Boston Common Frog Pond
Boston Common
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-635-2120

The Frog Pond was originally one of three natural mud ponds in the area that became Boston Common, the nation's first public park established in 1634. As other natural ponds were filled in to accommodate the growing city, the Frog Pond became a popular oasis for Bostonians both young and old. Favorite activities included sailing model boats, wading, and ice skating. The renovated Frog Pond features a 16,000-square-foot ice skating surface operable in temperatures up to 55 degrees. In warm weather the Frog Pond features a 70-foot-high spray fountain and wading. During spring and fall it is used as a shallow reflecting pool.

Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area
Boston, MA  02110
Phone: 617-223-8666
Email: Boha_information@nps.gov

Boston Harbor Islands National Park Area offers a quiet place to relax, explore, camp, swim, fish or picnic. Tours to Boston Light ("The ultimate Lighthouse experience," according to the Boston Globe) operate Thursday-Sunday from June to October. Ranger narrated Discovery Cruises and Sunset Cruises are offered on a frequent basis in the summer. Ranger-led activities and special events are offered on many islands for a variety of audiences. Not only are these islands a source of natural beauty and wonder--they're also rich in history and legends, with tales of pirates, shipwrecks, wars, abandoned prisons, and even ghosts! It's all right in Boston Harbor and accessible by boat or public ferry from Long Wharf downtown or the South Shore... so near, and yet so far away!

Castle Island Park
Day Boulevard
South Boston, MA
Phone: 617-727-5250

Fort Independence, built between 1834 and 1851, is the dominating feature of this historic site, surrounded by a small park with fishing and swimming areas, and bike trails.

Hopkinton State Park
Route 85
Hopkinton, MA  01748  
Phone: 508-435-4303

Hopkinton State Park contains 1450 acres, offering many activities, including swimming. A group area that includes a pavilion, playing field, restrooms, picnic tables, and a large grill is available by reservation during the summer.

Make Way for Ducklings
Boston Public Garden
Boston, MA

The Boston Public Garden features a statue group featuring the duck family from the book Make Way for Ducklings. The statue group is right along the path that Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings followed.

The Swan Boats
Boston Public Garden Lagoon
Boston, MA
Phone: 617-522-1966

The Swan Boats were launched in 1877 by Robert Paget, whose family still runs the boats. There are six Swan Boats in service, the oldest built in 1910.

Cape Cod National Seashore
Salt Pond Visitor Center at Nauset Road and Route 6
Eastham, MA  02642  
Phone: 508-255-3421

Open: Daily, 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (longer during the summer)

Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod’s ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon visitors. The park's six oceanside swimming beaches have life guards from late June through August. Eleven self-guided nature trails are open year-round. Parking lots are open year-round, daily, 6 a.m. to midnight.
Salt Pond Visitor Center is Cape Cod National Seashore's main visitor facility, with orientation movies, a bookstore, a museum, and restrooms. The Visitor Center is also convenient to the popular 1.5-mile Nauset Marsh Trail and the Buttonbush Trail, a quarter-mile trail that features a guide rope and text panels in Braille, and the Nauset Bicycle Trail.
The Province Lands Visitor Center is located on Race Point Road, off Route 6, at the northern end of Cape Cod National Seashore, approximately one mile from Provincetown. It is open May 1 through October 31, daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Phone number is 508-487-1256. The observation deck at this Visitor Center provides a 360-degree view of the Province Lands dunes, the Outer Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. Exhibits about local plants and animals and the Pilgrim's landing in Provincetown are featured.
Other highlights of the National Seashore are the Fort Hill Area off Route 6(Eastham); the Coast Guard and Nauset Light beaches, Nauset and Three Sisters Lighthouses off Route 6 (Eastham); the Marconi Station Site(Wellfleet); the Highland Lighthouse (Cape Cod Light) and Highland House (Truro); and the Old Harbor Life-Saving Station (Provincetown).

Lowell Holly
South Sandwich Road
Mashpee & Sandwich, MA  02563  
Phone: 508-679-2115
Email: seregion@ttor.org

Open: Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset

Lowell Holly’s 135 acres feature stands of a wide variety of holly trees, rhododendrons, and mountain laurel, but the property’s most intriguing feature may be its two peninsular knolls, jutting into Mashpee Pond and Wakeby Pond. Both vantage points offer spectacular views over these large ponds. Mashpee and Wakeby ponds are renowned for their exceptional trout, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, and bluegill. Four miles of carriage paths and footpaths connect all points of interest, including two small sandy beaches. Activities at the reservation include swimming, fishing, boating, bicycling, birdwatching, hiking, food concessions, restrooms, bathhouses, and wheelchair access. Year-round parking area is free to all. Seasonal parking area is available Memorial Day through Labor Day. Fee is $6 per car or motorcycle. Boat landing fee is $6 for daily landing fee or $40 for seasonal permit.

Nickerson State Park
Route 6A
Brewster, MA  02631  
Phone: 508-896-3491

Travel to the upper campgrounds in Nickerson State Park, you may think that you have been transported to the Berkshire Hills or the piney woods of the Carolinas. Nowhere are the sand dunes and salt marshes usually associated with Cape Cod. Instead, you are surrounded by woods that slope down to the banks of eight crystal clear fresh water ponds, known as kettle ponds.
Nickerson's 1,900 acres offer 420 campsites, yurt camping, an amphitheater, eight miles of roads, hiking trails, an eight-mile bike path that connects to the 25-mile Cape Cod Rail Trail, and ponds stocked year-round with trout. Cape Cod Bay is within walking or bicycling distance. You can swim and canoe at Flax Pond; birdwatch or catch-and-release fish at Higgins Pond; or join the interpretive and recreational programs offered by park staff.
Park amenities include: beaches, camping, fishing, picnicking, restrooms, bike paths, nonmotorized boating, boat ramp, yurt camping, canoeing, hiking, horseback riding trails, mountain biking, showers, cross-country skiing, swimming, trailer and RV dumping, walking trails.

Scusset Beach in Scusset Beach State Reservation
Scusset Beach Road
Sandwich, MA  02563  
Phone: 508-888-0859

Scusset Beach is located on Cape Cod Bay at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal. It is a popular swimming and camping area. The 98 site camping area is popular with trailer campers. For salt water anglers, the area offers a popular fish pier, a breakwater, and 1.5 miles of frontage along the canal. A picnic area and bicycling along the canal are also available. The reservation is also a popular spot for watching the variety of boats and ships passing through the canal.

Shawme-Crowell State Forest
Route 130
Sandwich, MA  02563  
Phone: 508-888-0351

This quiet year-round campground at the beginning of Cape Cod has more than 285 sites in a wooded setting. More than 15 miles of roads and trails provide hiking and equestrian access to more than 700 acres of pitch pine and scrub oak landscape. Parking access to the beach at Scusset State Reservation is provided in camping fee. The regular camping season is from mid-April through mid-October. Amenities include restrooms, camping, hiking, hunting (with restrictions), interpretive programs, picnicking, showers, cross-country skiing, swimming, trailer and RV dumping, walking trails. Off-season camping is available Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

South Cape Beach State Park
Great Oak Road
Mashpee, MA  02649  
Phone: 508-457-0495

Open: Memorial Day to Labor Day

South Cape Beach, located between Waquoit Bay and Vineyard Sound, contains a wide variety of coastal environments, including barrier beach and dunes, salt marsh, scrub oak/pitch pine woodland and "kettle" ponds. A magnificent white sand beach stretches for over a mile. Newly constructed over-the-dune boardwalks, a small parking area and bathrooms make this a lovely place to spend a day at the shore. Interpretive programs are offered during the summer months.

Douglas State Forest
Wallum Lake Road
Douglas, MA
Phone: 508-476-7872

A 4,500-acre forest featuring canoeing, fishing, swimming, and picnic areas. Hiking and cross-country ski trails also are available.

Dunn Pond State Park
Route 101
Gardner, MA
Phone: 508-632-7897

Visitors to this small park will enjoy recreation around the pond: canoeing, fishing, swimming, hiking, and cross-country skiing. Programs are scheduled at the park throughout the year. Rest facilities are available.

Federated Women's Club State Forest
Route 122
Petersham, MA
Phone: 508-939-8962

This park features fishing areas, hiking, and cross-country skiing trails. Part of the forest is a 140-acre wildlife sanctuary. A public campground is available.

James W. Brooks Woodland Preserve
Petersham, MA
Phone: 508-840-4446

Trails criss-cross the landscape of this preserve, which is ideal for bird-watching. Areas for fishing and cross-country skiing also are available.

Lake Dennison State Park
Route 202
Winchendon, MA
Phone: 508-939-8962

More than 4,000 acres offer visitors swimming, canoeing, and fishing areas. Trails for hiking and cross-country skiing are available. There is a public campground.

Leominster State Forest
Route 31
Leominster, MA
Phone: 508-874-2303

This park features spots for canoeing, swimming, fishing, hiking, and cross-country skiing. There also is a beach area. Late June, early July sees the mountain laurels bloom.

Moore State Park
Route 31
Paxton, MA
Phone: 508-792-3969

Enjoy canoeing, fishing, swimming, and hiking and cross-country ski trails. This was the site of grist and saw mills from 1747 through the early 20th century.

Otto River State Forest
Route 202
Baldwinville, MA
Phone: 508-939-8962

This 12,000-acre forest features programs for visitors, in addition to fishing, swimming, and picnic areas. There are hiking and cross-country ski trails. A public campground is available.

Purgatory Chasm State Reservation
Purgatory Road
Sutton, MA
Phone: 508-234-3733

This 900-acre park is set around a natural wonder, Purgatory Chasm. Hiking and cross-country ski trails lead up to and along the chasm. There are picnic areas and events scheduled throughout the year.

Quinsigamond State Park
North Lake Avenue
Worcester, MA
Phone: 508-755-6880

This small park features lake swimming and fishing. There are also picnic areas and rest facilities available.

Spencer State Forest
Howe Pond Road
Spencer, MA
Phone: 508-886-6333

Visitors to this state forest will enjoy fishing areas, canoeing, swimming, and cross-country skiing and hiking trails. Picnic areas are available.

Streeter Point Recreation Area
Route 20
Sturbridge, MA
Phone: 508-347-9257 (winter)

This small 10-acre park offers hiking and cross-country trails, fishing areas, swimming, and picnic sites.

Wachusett Mountain State Reservation
Mountain Road
Princeton, MA
Phone: 508-464-2987

Set on one of the highest peaks in the area, the reservation offers hiking and cross-country ski trails.

Whitehall State Park
Route 135
Hopkinton, MA
Phone: 508-435-4303

Park has mountain biking, canoing/sailing, fishing, hiking on marked trails and motorboating. Scheduled programs are offered for visitors.

Manuel Correllus State Forest
Edgartown, MA
Phone: 508-693-2540

Over 5,000 acres of forest and woodland, with trails for hiking and biking.

Menemsha Hills
North Road, Chilmark
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Phone: 508-693-3678
Email: longpoint@ttor.org

The highlight of Menemsha Hills is Prospect Hill, one of the highest points on Martha's Vineyard, whose spectacular view includes the village of Menemsha, the Elizabeth Islands, and Gay Head Light. Former woods roads and footpaths pass through several distinct ecosystems, including perched wetlands that support red maples, cinquefoil, beech, and black cherry. At Menemsha Hills' bluffs, a view of the Great Sand Bank provides a reminder of the Vineyard's glacial origin, and to the northeast stands the remains of a tall brick chimney, the last vestige of a nineteenth-century brickyard that operated along the Roaring Brook.

Callahan State Park
Millwood Street
Framingham, MA
Phone: 508-653-9641

Set on 819 acres, this park is home to fishing, horseback riding, hiking, and cross-country skiing. The park has nearly 100 acres of open fields.

Cochituate State Park
Route 30
Natick, MA  01760  
Phone: 508-653-9641

Cochituate State Park is a popular day park that offers boating, swimming, windsurfing, and fishing on its three large lakes. Picnicking, swimming, and boat launching are limited to the main area of the park on the middle lake.

Upton State Forest
Westboro Road
Upton, MA
Phone: 508-278-6486

Visitors to this state forest can find a fishing spot, eat in one of the designated picnic areas, or just take in the scenery.

Walden Pond State Reservation
915 Walden St.
Concord, MA  01742  
Phone: 978-369-3254

Henry David Thoreau’s life at Walden Pond from July 1845 to September 1847 provided the material for the book Walden. Because of this legacy, Walden Pond has been designated a National Historic Landmark. The reservation encompasses 400 acres, including a glacial kettle-hole pond. The area is popular for fishing, swimming, and walking. The number of visitors is limited to 1,000 people at a time. Visitors are encouraged to call the park in advance and check on parking availability. Floatation devices are prohibited.

Bradley Palmer State Park
Asbury Street
Topsfield, MA
Phone: 508-887-5931

This park features trails for hiking, biking and cross-country skiing. In addition, there is an area set aside for canoeing.

Halibut Point State Park
Gott Avenue
Rockport, MA
Phone: 508-546-2997

Historic park set on the site of an old granite quarry. The park features fishing and swimming areas, along with hiking and cross-country ski trails. Of particular interest is the view from atop the granite bluff, from which visitors can see Maine on clear days.

Harold Parker State Forest
1951 Turnpike St., Route 114
North Andover, MA  01845  
Phone: 508-686-3391

Harold Parker State Forest, 20 miles north of Boston, comprises 3,000 acres of hardwood forest. Swimming at Berry Pond,which has a sand beach, a new wash house, changing rooms, and flush toilets. Open Memorial Day to Labor Day. Lifeguards are on duty 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. Grills and picnic tables are available.

Lawrence Heritage State Park
1 Jackson Street
Lawrence, MA
Phone: 508-794-1655

This historic park features fishing areas, hiking trails, and boating. Open 9 am-4 pm.

Lowell Heritage State Park
500 Pawtucket Boulevard
Lowell, MA
Phone: 978-369-6312

Park features hiking and biking trails, cross-country skiing, swimming, picnic areas, and more.

Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest
Trotting Park Road
Lowell, MA
Phone: 508-453-0592

This is a 1,150-acre park with swimming, canoeing, and fishing areas. Visitors can enjoy hiking and cross-country ski trails, in addition to seasonally scheduled programs.

Maudslay State Park
Curzon Mill Road
Newburyport, MA
Phone: 978-465-7223

Park features trails for hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing. Programs are scheduled in season.

Salisbury Beach State Reservation
Beach Road, Route 1A
Salisbury, MA  01952  
Phone: 508-462-4481

A popular ocean beach that extends 3.8 miles along the Atlantic Ocean, Salisbury beach is part of a 521-acre park that offers swimming, boating, and fishing. Facilities include a campground with bathhouses, parking lot, comfort stations, over-the-dune boardwalks, playground, and pavilion.

Sandy Point State Reservation
Parker River Wildlife Refuge
Ipswich, MA
Phone: 508-462-4481

At the southern tip of Plum Island, this 77-acre park is among the state's most beautiful and popular coastal beaches for fishing and swimming. It also is a nesting area for the endangered piping plover.

Willowdale State Forest
Linebrook Road
Ipswich, MA
Phone: 508-887-5931

Features hiking and cross-country ski trails.

Ames Nowell State Park
Linwood Street
Abington, MA
Phone: 617-857-1336

Visitors to this park will enjoy hiking trails, cross-country skiing (in season), fishing, canoeing and picnic areas.

Borderland State Park
Massapoag Avenue
North Easton, MA
Phone: 508-238-6566

1,772 acre park offers fishing areas, hiking, cross-country ski trails, full rest facilities and scheduled visitor programs.

Demarest Lloyd State Park
Barney's Joy Road
Dartmouth, MA  02748  
Phone: 508-636-8816 (winter)

Broad saltwater beach is backed by hills of beach grass and shaded picnic sites. Buzzards Bay surf is calm and shallow; temperatures are usually warm. Perfect for families with children. Open mid-May to mid-September, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekends and holidays.

Dighton Rock State Park
Bay View Road
Berkley, MA
Phone: 508-644-5522

Small park features canoeing and fishing, hiking and cross-country ski trails, and picnic areas.

Ellisville Harbor State Park
Route 3A
Plymouth, MA
Phone: 508-866-2580

Just over 100 acres, this small park offers fishing areas, as well as hiking and cross-country ski trails.

Fort Phoenix Beach State Reservation
Green Street
Fairhaven, MA  02719  
Phone: 508-992-4524

Near downtown New Bedford, with a half-mile of beachfront on Buzzard’s Bay, the park offers historic features, scenic views, and recreational facilities.

Freetown State Forest
Route 119
Ashby, MA
Phone: 508-597-8802

5,651 acres state forest features fishing, picnic areas and hiking and cross-country ski trails.

Holmes Reservation
Court Street and Robbins Road
Plymouth, MA
Phone: 781-821-2977
Email: seregion@ttor.org

Holmes Reservation is an open, grassy field located in the heart of Plymouth - a treasured piece of open space in an otherwise developed city center. Visitors can take in distant views of Plymouth Harbor, Duxbury Beach, Clark's Island, and Gurnet Point. Before the Revolutionary War, a section of the field was part of a famous "Muster Ground" where Plymouth farmers in the militia would gather to practice shooting their muskets and marching in formation.

Horseneck Beach State Reservation
Route 88 South
Westport, MA  02790  
Phone: 508-636-8816

Located at the western end of Buzzards Bay, the sandy, two-mile-long beach is breezy all year, providing cooling temperatures and excellent wind surfing.

Massasoit State Park
Middleboro Avenue
Taunton, MA
Phone: 508-822-7405

This 1,500 acre park features canoeing and boating areas, swimming and fishing. Hiking and cross-country ski trails are also available. There are picnic areas as well as a public campsite.

Miles Standish State Forest
Long Pond Road
Carver, MA
Phone: 508-866-2580

Forest features 14,651 acres of camping, hiking and biking trails, cross-country skiing, canoeing, swimmiing, and fishing areas.

Norris Reservation
Dover Street
Norwell, MA
Phone: 781-821-2977

A walk through Norris Reservation’s two-mile trail system takes in a cathedral of pines, groves of beech, and scattered American holly. A granite outcrop, set too deep for early farmers to remove, emerges from the forest floor. Stone walls mark former property boundaries, pastures, and croplands, and a rustic boathouse serves as an observation deck over the North River. Visitors can also enjoy bird watching, cross-country skiing, and fishing on the shores of the North River.

Webb Memorial State Park
River Street
Weymouth, MA
Phone: 617-740-1605

Park with swimming and canoeing areas, as well as rest facilities.

Wompatuck State Park
Off Route 128
Hingham, MA
Phone: 617-749-7160

This state park cross-country, hiking and bike trails. Fishing areas and swimming are also available. There is a public campground with picnic and rest facilities.