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Massachusetts > Cape Cod >
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State and Local Parks
Massachusetts - State and Local Parks in Cape Cod
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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)
See Map
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).
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Lowell Holly
South Sandwich Road
Mashpee & Sandwich, MA 02563
Phone: 508-679-2115
Open: Year-round, daily, sunrise to sunset
Email See Map
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.
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Nickerson State Park
Route 6A
Brewster, MA 02631
Phone: 508-896-3491
See Map
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.
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Scusset Beach in Scusset Beach State Reservation
Scusset Beach Road
Sandwich, MA 02563
Phone: 508-888-0859
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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.
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Shawme-Crowell State Forest
Route 130
Sandwich, MA 02563
Phone: 508-888-0351
See Map
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.
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South Cape Beach State Park
Great Oak Road
Mashpee, MA 02649
Phone: 508-457-0495
Open: Memorial Day to Labor Day
See Map
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.
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Shawn Colvin -- Salisbury November 20, 2009 |
Trey McIntyre Project -- Cambridge November 20, 2009 to November 22, 2009 |
Bill Blagg III: A Night of Magic -- Springfield November 20, 2009 to November 21, 2009 |
America's Hometown Thanksgiving Celebration -- Plymouth November 20, 2009 to November 22, 2009 |
Tupelo Night of Comedy – Salisbury November 21, 2009 |
Homes for the Holidays Tour -- Gloucester November 21, 2009 |
Harvey Robbins's Royalty of Doo Wopp and Stars of Motown -- Worcester November 21, 2009 |
Sara Tavares -- Cambridge November 21, 2009 |
Dark Star Orchestra -- Lowell November 21, 2009 |
Cuisine of Provençale dinner – Deerfield November 21, 2009 |
Thanksgiving Parade -- Plymouth November 21, 2009 |
Lighting Ceremony at Faneuil Hall Marketplace -- Boston November 21, 2009 |
Open Hearth Cooking Class: A Thanksgiving Menu -- Deerfield November 21, 2009 |
Festival of Wreaths – Nantucket November 25, 2009 to November 29, 2009 |
Thanksgiving Day Celebration -- Sturbridge November 26, 2009 |
That's Amore: A Celebration of Dean Martin and Friends -- Springfield November 27, 2009 |
Vineyard Artisans Holiday Festival – West Tisbury, Martha’s Vineyard November 27, 2009 to November 28, 2009 |
Gallagher -- Salisbury November 27, 2009 |
Not Another Bite. Dining in the Early 19th Century -- Waltham November 27, 2009 |
Parade of the Big Balloons -- Springfield November 27, 2009 |
Season of Thanks 2009 -- Deerfield November 28, 2009 |
Charles Dickens's Great-Great-Grandson Performs "A Christmas Carol" – Sutton November 28, 2009 to November 29, 2009 |
Wynonna Judd Holiday Show – New Bedford December 1, 2009 |
“The Nutcracker” -- Worcester December 4, 2009 to December 6, 2009 |
Hansel and Gretel -- Boston December 4, 2009 to December 6, 2009 |
Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas December 5, 2009 to December 6, 2009 |
A Holiday Celebration for Families – Stockbridge December 5, 2009 |
“A Christmas Carol 2009” – New Bedford December 5, 2009 |
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn -- Worcester December 11, 2009 |
seARTS Wearable Arts Show & Sale – Gloucester December 11, 2009 to December 12, 2009 |
Craft Boston Holiday 2009 -- Boston December 11, 2009 to December 13, 2009 |
Cultural Survival Bazaar – Cambridge December 12, 2009 to December 13, 2009 |
US Air Force Holiday Show – New Bedford December 12, 2009 |
Vienna Boys Choir -- Worcester December 13, 2009 |
New Bedford Symphony Orchestra Family Holiday Pops – New Bedford December 19, 2009 |
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