The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 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.
Massachusetts is the 7th smallest state in the United States with an area of 10,555 square miles (27,340 km2). It is bordered to the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, to the west by New York, to the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Maine. Massachusetts is the most populous New England state.
Holyoke Heritage State Park is history-oriented state park located in the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts. The park opened in 1986 on the site of the William Skinner Silk Mill which was lost to fire in 1980. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Dighton Rock State Park is a public recreation area and historic preserve located on the eastern shore of the Taunton River in the town of Berkley, Massachusetts. The 98-acre (40 ha) state park is the site of a small museum that houses the Dighton Rock, an 11-foot-high (3.4 m) glacial erratic, covered with petroglyphs, that once sat on the banks of the river. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Dunn State Park is a public recreation area surrounding a 20-acre (8.1 ha) pond in Gardner, Massachusetts. The state park covers 132 acres (53 ha) and is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Mount Grace State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features located in the town of Warwick. The state forest centers around Mount Grace, which at 1,621 feet (494 m) is the third highest point in Massachusetts east of the Connecticut River after Mount Wachusett and Mount Watatic. It is bordered by portions of Warwick State Forest to the east and west and is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Lawrence Heritage State Park is a history-themed public recreation area dedicated to preserving the industrial heritage of Lawrence, Massachusetts. The state park comprises three separate units on or near the Merrimack River. It is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Charles River Reservation is a 17-mile-long (27 km) urban preserve and public recreation area located along the banks of the Charles River in Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, and Newton, Massachusetts. The reservation is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is a 114-mile-long (183 km) hiking trail that traverses the Metacomet Ridge of the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts and the central uplands of Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Although less than 70 miles (110 km) from Boston and other large population centers, the trail is considered remarkably rural and scenic and includes many areas of unique ecologic, historic, and geologic interest. Notable features include waterfalls, dramatic cliff faces, exposed mountain summits, woodlands, swamps, lakes, river floodplain, farmland, significant historic sites, and the summits of Mount Monadnock, Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke. The Metacomet-Monadnock Trail is maintained largely through the efforts of the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). Much of the trail is a portion of the New England National Scenic Trail.
Fall River Heritage State Park is a history-themed public recreation area on the Taunton River in Fall River, Massachusetts. The state park encompasses 14 acres (5.7 ha) beside the Charles M. Braga Jr. Memorial Bridge on Battleship Cove, home of the World War II battleship USS Massachusetts. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation is a state-owned, public recreation area managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation located in South Deerfield, just west of the Connecticut River. The state park includes the summits of North Sugarloaf Mountain and South Sugarloaf Mountain, as well as 1.75 miles of frontage on the Connecticut River and two river islands. The park is part of a larger park designation called the Connecticut River Greenway State Park. Portions of the park property along the river are used by the University of Massachusetts Amherst for agricultural research.
Robinson State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area located mostly in the town of Agawam with a small section in Westfield, Massachusetts. The narrow, 1,025-acre (415 ha) state park follows the course of the meandering Westfield River which forms the park's northern border. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Tekoa Mountain, 1,121 feet (342 m), is a dramatic, rocky high point overlooking the Westfield River Gorge at the eastern edge of the Berkshire plateau in the towns of Montgomery and Russell, Massachusetts, USA. Tekoa Mountain, very prominent from the "Jacob's Ladder" section of U.S. Route 20 in the town of Russell, is not a true mountain but a cleaver jutting from a dissected plateau; it was produced by glacial action and through continuous erosion by the Westfield River and Moose Meadow Brook before and after the last ice age.
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.
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.
Demarest Lloyd State Park is a public recreation area located on Buzzards Bay in the town of Dartmouth, Massachusetts. The park's 200 acres (81 ha) include both an ocean beach and seaside marshlands near the mouth of the Slocums River. The state park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.
The Upper Charles River Reservation is a Massachusetts state park encompassing portions of the banks of the Charles River between the Watertown Dam in Watertown and Riverdale Park in Dedham and the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. It includes land in the communities of Watertown, Waltham, Newton, Weston, Wellesley, Needham, Dedham, and Boston. Some of the Charles River Reservation Parkways also fall within the park boundaries. The Charles River Bike Path follows the river through much of the reservation.
Hampton Ponds State Park is a Massachusetts state park located in the northeast corner of the city of Westfield. The park offers water-based activities including swimming, motorized and non-motorized boating, and fishing plus facilities for picnicking. The park is managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.
Gardner Heritage State Park was a history-focused state park located in the city of Gardner, Massachusetts. The facility, which occupied a former firehouse, offered exhibits on Gardner's industrial past as a center of furniture manufacturing. Opened in winter 1985, it was closed in 2002. Following its permanent closure, the Gardner Museum took possession of the center's artifacts and historic holdings.
