The Bureau of State Parks and Recreation division of Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts) (DCR) is responsible for the maintenance and management of over 450,000 acres (1,820sqkm) of privately and state-owned forests and parks, nearly 10% of the Commonwealth's total land mass. Within the lands managed by the Bureau of State Parks and Recreation are some 29 campgrounds, over 2,000miles (3,200km) of trails, 87 beaches, 37 swimming, wading, and spray pools, 62 playgrounds, 55 ballfields, and 145miles (233km) of paved bike and rail trails.
On Telegraph Hill in Hull, Massachusetts. Remnants of two seacoast fortifications, water tower with observation deck, military history museum and picnic facilities
The park includes Profile Rock, a granite outcropping which local Native Americans believe to be the image of Chief Massasoit. Also in the forest is a 227-acre (92ha)Wampanoag reservation
Pitch pine and scrub oak forest with sixteen ponds for fishing, canoeing, swimming. Camping on four of the ponds, bicycle trails, equestrian trails, and horse camping.
It contains the only natural white marble arch/bridge in North America. The natural bridge spanning Hudson Brook, was formed by glacial melt about 11,000 BC, from 550 million year old bedrock.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is "To protect, promote and enhance our common wealth of natural, cultural and recreational resources for the well-being of all." The agency is the largest landowner in Massachusetts.
The Mass Central Rail Trail (MCRT) is a partially completed rail trail between Northampton, Massachusetts and Boston along the former right-of-way (ROW) of the Massachusetts Central Railroad. It currently has 59 miles (95 km) open, and 94.5 miles (152.1 km) are open or protected for trail development. When complete, it will be 104 miles (167 km) long through Central Massachusetts and Greater Boston, forming the longest rail trail in New England. Many sections of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path, have been developed as separate projects but serve as part of the complete Mass Central Rail Trail. The Norwottuck Network, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports the build and operation of the MCRT, maintains interactive maps of the MCRT and rail trails that connect with the MCRT, and other Massachusetts trails.
Dorchester Shores Reservation is a Massachusetts state park consisting of three non-contiguous areas totaling 44 acres (18 ha) along the eastern edge of the Dorchester section of Boston. The area is composed of beaches and a park along the extended mouth of the Neponset River: Savin Hill/Malibu Beach, Tenean Beach, and Victory Road Park. Savin Hill is adjacent to Malibu Beach and has been restored to its original Olmsted Brothers design. The reservation is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Douglas State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features located in the town of Douglas, Massachusetts, bordering both Connecticut and Rhode Island. The state forest's 5,525 acres (2,236 ha) include Wallum Lake and a rare Atlantic white cedar swamp, 5 acres (2.0 ha) of which are designated as a Massachusetts Wildland. The forest is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Brimfield State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest located in and around the town of Brimfield in Hampden County, Massachusetts. The forest includes Dean Pond Recreation Area, a popular spot for fishing, picnicking and swimming. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Manuel F. Correllus State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest located on Martha's Vineyard. The forest borders Martha's Vineyard Airport on three sides and is chiefly in the towns of West Tisbury and Edgartown. The forest is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Myles Standish State Forest is a state forest located in the towns of Plymouth and Carver in southeastern Massachusetts, approximately 45 miles (70 km) south of Boston. It is the largest publicly owned recreation area in this part of Massachusetts and is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
Mount Holyoke Range State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area encompassing the eastern half of the Holyoke Range in the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts. The state park is adjacent to J. A. Skinner State Park, which occupies the western half of the Holyoke Range. Both are managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Squantum Point Park is a state-owned, public recreation area located on the Squantum peninsula of Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. The park was created on the site of the former Squantum Naval Air Station, which is preserved in a 2,700-foot-long (820 m) strip of runway, and the former dockworks of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and is associated with the development of the Neponset River Reservation.
Spencer State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest and recreation reserve located in the town of Spencer, managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The 92 mile (148 km) Midstate Trail passes through the state forest. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts also conducts logging in some parts of the property.
The Mystic River Reservation is a publicly owned nature preserve with recreational features located along the Mystic River in the towns of Winchester, Arlington, Medford, Somerville, Everett, and Chelsea in eastern Massachusetts. The reserve is part of the nearly 76-square-mile (200 km2) Mystic River watershed. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Pope John Paul II Park Reservation, officially the Saint Pope John Paul II Park, and also known as Pope Park, is a 66-acre (27 ha) Massachusetts state park bordering the Neponset River in the Dorchester section of Boston. The park was reclaimed from the former site of a landfill and the Neponset Drive-In as part of the Lower Neponset River Master Plan and the development of the Neponset River Reservation. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
Pearl Hill State Park is a 1,000-acre (400 ha) Massachusetts state park located in the town of Townsend about 50 miles (80 km) from Boston. The park lies adjacent to Willard Brook State Forest and is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
Granville State Forest is a Massachusetts state park located in the towns of Granville and Tolland in the southern Berkshire Hills along the state's southern border with Connecticut. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). It is adjacent to Connecticut's Tunxis State Forest.
Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest is a Massachusetts state forest in the northern Berkshire Hills in the towns of Hawley, Plainfield, and Savoy. The forest is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). In 1985, the forest was named in memory of Kenneth M. Dubuque, a former employee of the Department of Environmental Management.
The Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston is a system of reservations, parks, parkways and roads under the control of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in and around Boston that has been in existence for over a century. The title is used by the DCR to describe the areas collectively: "As a whole, the Metropolitan Park System is currently eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places", as outlined on the department's website. The DCR maintains a separate Urban Parks and Recreation division to oversee the system, one of five such divisions within the department—DCR's Bureau of State Parks and Recreation manages the remainder of Massachusetts state parks. Direct design and maintenance functions for the parkways and roads within the system are provided by the DCR Bureau of Engineering.
Harold Parker State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features encompassing more than 3,300 acres (1,300 ha) in the towns of Andover, North Andover, North Reading, and Middleton, Massachusetts. Ponds, swamps, rolling hills, glacial erratics and rocky outcroppings can be found in the state forest, which features more than 35 miles (56 km) of backwoods roads and trails as well as remnants of 18th-century farming and milling operations. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Jug End State Reservation and Wildlife Management Area is a public recreation area located in the towns of Egremont and Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The reservation occupies the site of the former Jug End Barn resort, which has been allowed to return to a natural state. Mount Everett State Reservation is adjacent to the south. It is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Lower Neponset River Trail is a 2.4-mile-long (3.9 km) rail trail running along the Neponset River in the Dorchester section of Boston, Massachusetts. It roughly follows the path of the eastern part of the Dorchester and Milton Branch Railroad from the Port Norfolk neighborhood in Dorchester to the Central Avenue T Station in Milton, passing through Pope John Paul II Park, the Neponset Marshes, and the Lower Mills area.
References
↑ "Massachusetts State Parks". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
↑ "2012 Acreage Listing"(PDF). Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 2012. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
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