This list of Massachusetts State Parks contains the state parks and recreation areas in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation as of 2015.
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 (1,820 sq km) 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 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of trails, 87 beaches, 37 swimming, wading, and spray pools, 62 playgrounds, 55 ballfields, and 145 miles (233 km) of paved bike and rail trails.
DCR's Bureau of Urban Parks and Recreation manages the Metropolitan Park System of Greater Boston, the components of which are included in this list.
State parks Name County AreaEstab- lished River / lake / other ImageRemarks acres ha Ames Nowell State Park Plymouth 1959 Cleveland Pond The park is primarily used for boating and fishing. Ashland State Park Middlesex 1947 Ashland Reservoir Bash Bish Falls State Park Berkshire 1924 Bash Bish Falls Massachusetts' highest single-drop waterfall lies within the park borders. Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park Worcester 1981 Blackstone River The park is the midpoint of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor of the National Park System. Borderland State Park Bristol, Norfolk 1971 On National Register of Historic Places Boston Harbor Islands State Park Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk 1996 Boston Harbor Bradley Palmer State Park Essex 1944 Ipswich River The park that features rolling meadows, lush evergreens and old carriage roads lined with rhododendrons. Brook Farm Historic Site Suffolk 1988 C. M. Gardner State Park Hampden 1959 Westfield River Callahan State Park Middlesex 1970 Camp Nihan Environmental Education Camp Essex 1929 Saugus River Part of Breakheart Reservation Castle Island Suffolk Boston Harbor The present fort, built between 1834 and 1851, is the eighth generation of forts and it is one of the oldest fortified sites in British North America. Chicopee Memorial State Park Hampden 1893 Cooley Brook Reservoir The park includes two ponds. Clarksburg State Park Berkshire Mauserts Pond Adjoins acre Clarksburg State Forest Cochituate State Park Middlesex Lake Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway State Park Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire 1986 Connecticut River Multiple state land holdings in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts Constitution Beach Suffolk 1952 Boston Harbor Demarest Lloyd State Park Bristol 1953 Buzzards Bay Dighton Rock State Park Bristol 1955 Taunton River Dighton Rock is an high glacial erratic covered with petroglyphs and has since been moved to a museum at the park. Dunn State Park Worcester 1915 Dunn Pond Ellisville Harbor State Park Plymouth 1991 Cape Cod Bay Walking trails overlooking a tidal marsh, sandy/rocky beach at trail end Fall River Heritage State Park Bristol 1985 Taunton River Fort Revere Park Plymouth 1976 Atlantic Ocean On Telegraph Hill in Hull, Massachusetts. Remnants of two seacoast fortifications, water tower with observation deck, military history museum and picnic facilities Francis D. Martini Memorial Shell Park and Moynihan Recreation Area Suffolk Neponset River Outdoor theatre and play fields Great Brook Farm State Park Middlesex 1967 Meadow Pond Greycourt State Park Essex 2001 The park is built atop the restored ruins of the Charles H. Tenney estate. Halibut Point State Park Essex 1981 Features a former granite quarry and tower with coastal views Hampton Ponds State Park Hampden Pequot Pond Holyoke Heritage State Park Hampden 1986 The park features include a visitor center with exhibits about paper manufacturing and Holyoke's industrial and cultural history. Hopkinton State Park Middlesex 1947 Hopkinton Reservoir The park features a bathing pond for swimming that is physically separated from the reservoir, where nonmotorized boating is permitted Lake Dennison Recreation Area Worcester Lake Dennison The park is an extension of Otter River State Forest Lake Wyola State Park Franklin 1997 Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage State Park Essex 1980 Lowell Heritage State Park Middlesex 1975 Merrimack River Precursor to Lowell National Historical Park; preserves the city's seminal role in the American Industrial Revolution Lynn Heritage State Park Essex 1986 Massasoit State Park Bristol Lake Rico, Furnace Pond, King's Pond, Middle Pond, Little Bearhole Pond, and Big Bearhole Pond Maudslay State Park Essex 1985 Merrimack River Moore State Park Worcester Eames Pond Mount Holyoke Range State Park Hampshire 1940 Natural Bridge State Park Berkshire 1985 Hudson Brook 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. Nickerson State Park Barnstable 1934 Cliff Pond Pearl Hill State Park Middlesex Park Hill Brook Pilgrim Memorial State Park Plymouth 1920 Site of Plymouth Rock Quinsigamond State Park Worcester Robinson State Park Hampden 1934 Westfield River Roxbury Heritage State Park Suffolk 1992 The 1750 Dillaway-Thomas House and a small parkRutland State Park Worcester Whitehall Pond Swimming, picnicking and boating. J.A. Skinner State Park Hampshire 1940 Connecticut River South Cape Beach State Park Barnstable A component of the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve with a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch of beach. Southwest Corridor Park Suffolk 1987 Greenway of that runs South End, Back Bay, Roxbury and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods Squantum Point Park Norfolk 2001 Streeter Point Recreation Area Worcester East Brimfield Reservoir Fishing, swimming, picnicking Wahconah Falls State Park Berkshire Wahconah Falls Brook Watson Pond State Park Bristol Webb Memorial State Park Norfolk 1980 Hingham Bay Wells State Park Worcester 1968 Walker Pond Western Gateway Heritage State Park Berkshire 1986 Whitehall State Park Middlesex 1947 Whitehall Reservoir Wompatuck State Park Plymouth 1967 Aaron River Reservoir
Closed state parks Name County AreaEstab- lished River / lake / other ImageRemarks acres ha Gardner Heritage State Park Worcester 1985 Restored 19th century fire station with exhibits; closed since 2002 Lake Lorraine State Park Hampden Lake Lorraine Closed to the public
State reservations Name County AreaEstab- lished River / lake / other ImageRemarks acres ha Alewife Brook Reservation Middlesex 1900 Little Pond, Little River, Alewife Brook A major portion of the Alewife Reservation is designated wetland. The Reservation is located at the end of the Minuteman Bike Path in Arlington Beaver Brook Reservation Middlesex 1893 The park includes a cascading waterfall and a wading pool. Belle Isle Marsh Reservation Suffolk 1978 Belle Isle Marsh The reservation includes landscaped pathways, benches, and an observation tower. A portion of the Boston Harborwalk runs through the reservation. Blue Hills Reservation Norfolk 1893 Houghton's Pond, Ponkapoag Pond The reservation has the distinction of being the largest conservation land within a major metropolitan area. Breakheart Reservation Essex, Middlesex 1934 Silver Lake, Pearce Lake, Saugus River The reservation is hardwood forest principally used for birding, fishing and hiking. Bristol Blake State Reservation Norfolk 1959 Kingfisher Pond, Stony Brook Pond, Teal Marsh Adjacent to Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary Charles River Reservation Suffolk, Middlesex 1910 Charles River Includes Charles River Dam, Charles River Basin and Esplanade, John F. Kennedy Park, and Teddy Ebersol's Red Sox Fields. Covers Charles River below Watertown Dam; see also Upper Charles River Reservation Chestnut Hill Reservation Suffolk 1870 Chestnut Hill Reservoir The Chestnut Hill Reservoir Historic District is considered a nineteenth-century masterpiece of engineering, urban planning and landscape design. Cutler Park Reservation Norfolk 1962 Charles River It contains the largest remaining fresh water marsh on the middle Charles, and includes a boardwalk through a cattail marsh out onto an island. Dorchester Shores Reservation Suffolk 1962 Neponset River The reservation comprises two beaches and a park. Elm Bank Reservation Norfolk 1996 Charles River Benjamin Pierce Cheney's property, now run by Massachusetts Horticultural Society Fort Phoenix State Reservation Bristol Atlantic Ocean Revolutionary War fort; 1/2 mile of Buzzards Bay beachfront Hammond Pond Reservation Middlesex 1968 Hemlock Gorge Reservation Middlesex 1895 Charles River Horseneck Beach State Reservation Bristol 1956 Popular for its two-mile (3 km) long sandy beach on the shore of Buzzards Bay. Also camping, fishing and a salt marsh. Lynn Shore Reservation Essex Jug End State Reservation and Wildlife Management Area Berkshire 1994 Middlesex Fells Reservation Middlesex 1893 Bellevue and Spot Ponds Mount Everett State Reservation Berkshire 1908 Guilder Pond Mount Greylock State Reservation Berkshire 1898 Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation Franklin 1907 Mount Tom State Reservation Hampden 1902 Myles Standish Monument State Reservation Plymouth 1920 A tower with 125 steps that overlooks Plymouth Harbor and Duxbury Beach. Mystic River Reservation Middlesex 1893 Mystic Lakes; Mystic River Nahant Beach Reservation Essex Atlantic Ocean Nantasket Beach Reservation Plymouth Nasketucket Bay State Reservation Plymouth 1999 Neponset River Reservation Suffolk Pope John Paul II Park Reservation Suffolk 2001 Neponset River Estuary Reclaimed former landfill and commercial area Purgatory Chasm State Reservation Worcester 1919 The Chasm was created when glacial meltwater from a burst ice dam ripped out blocks of bedrock at the end of the last Ice Age (14,000 years ago). Quincy Quarries Reservation Norfolk 1985 Quincy Shores Reservation Norfolk 1899 Revere Beach Reservation Suffolk 1896 Rumney Marsh Reservation Essex, Suffolk 1992 Saugus River; Pines River Salisbury Beach State Reservation Essex 1931 The park's main feature is its -long beach, one of the most popular in the Commonwealth. Sandy Point State Reservation Essex Scusset Beach State Reservation Barnstable 1957 On Cape Cod Bay at the east end of the Cape Cod Canal, a popular swimming and camping area. Stony Brook Reservation Suffolk 1894 Turtle Pond Upper Charles River Reservation Middlesex, Norfolk, Suffolk Charles River Covers Charles River between Watertown Dam and Riverdale Park, West Roxbury; see also Charles River Reservation Wachusett Mountain State Reservation Worcester 1899 Walden Pond State Reservation Middlesex 1922 Walden Pond Weymouth Back River Reservation Norfolk Site of Stodder's Neck and Abigail Adams Park Wilson Mountain Reservation Norfolk 1995 Winthrop Shore Reservation Suffolk 1900 Atlantic Ocean
State forests