Massasoit State Park

Massasoit State Park
Middle Pond
Location in Massachusetts Show map of Massachusetts Massasoit State Park (the United States) Show map of the United States
Location	Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	41°52′04″N 70°59′24″W / 41.86778°N 70.99000°W / 41.86778; -70.99000^[1]
Area	1,207 acres (4.88 km²)^[2]
Elevation	39 ft (12 m)^[1]
Established	Unspecified
Governing body	Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
Website	Massasoit State Park

Massasoit State Park is a public recreation area located on the southeast side of the city of Taunton, Massachusetts, with some parklands spilling into the adjacent town of Lakeville. The state park encompasses more than 1200 heavily wooded acres that include six lakes and ponds (Lake Rico, Furnace Pond, King's Pond, Middle Pond, Little Bearhole Pond, and Big Bearhole Pond) and numerous cranberry bogs.^[3]

Features

[edit]

The park has an extensive trail system for walking, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing, and equestrian use. A launch for non-motorized boats is located at the north end of Lake Rico. A fisherman's landing is found on Big Bearhole Pond. Hunting is available on a restricted basis.^[3]

2008 lightning strike

[edit]

A lightning strike in 2008 disabled the park's underground electric system, resulting in the closure of much of the park.^[4] Interior sections were reopened to vehicular traffic in 2015, with the reopening of the park's 126-site campground in remaining as a long-term goal, according to officials.^[5] The park later reopened completely in 2018.^[6]

References

[edit]

^ ^a ^b "Middle Pond". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ "2012 Acreage Listing" (PDF). Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Massasoit State Park". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved July 28, 2013.
^ Larocque, Marc (January 4, 2011). "Taunton's Massasoit State Park's main road gated until spring". Taunton Daily Gazette. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
^ Larocque, Marc (July 8, 2015). "Taunton's Massasoit State Park finally reopens its gates". Enterprise News. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
^ Baker-Polito Administration Reopens Massasoit State Park Campground. Retrieved May 20, 2020

External links

[edit]

Massasoit State Park Department of Conservation and Recreation
Massasoit State Park Trail Map Department of Conservation and Recreation

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

National Historical Parks	Adams Blackstone River Valley Boston Lowell Minute Man New Bedford Whaling
National Historic Sites	Boston African American Frederick Law Olmsted John Fitzgerald Kennedy Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters Salem Maritime Saugus Iron Works Springfield Armory
Other National Park Service units	Appalachian National Scenic Trail Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Cape Cod National Seashore
National Wildlife Refuges	Assabet River Great Meadows Mashpee Massasoit Monomoy Nantucket Nomans Land Oxbow Parker River Silvio O. Conte Thacher Island
Wild and Scenic Rivers	Assabet Concord Sudbury Taunton Westfield
Other protected areas	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

Parks	Alewife Brook Ames Nowell Ashland Bash Bish Falls Blackstone River and Canal Heritage Borderland Boston Harbor Islands Bradley Palmer C. M. Gardner Callahan Castle Island State Park Chicopee Memorial City Square Clarksburg Cochituate Connecticut River Greenway Demarest Lloyd Dighton Rock Dunn Ellisville Harbor Fall River Heritage Gardner Heritage Governor Thomas Dudley Great Brook Farm Greycourt Halibut Point Hampton Ponds Holyoke Heritage Hopkinton Lake Lorraine Lake Wyola Lawrence Heritage Lowell Heritage Lynn Heritage Massasoit Maudslay Moore Mount Holyoke Range Natural Bridge Nickerson Pearl Hill Pilgrim Quinsigamond Robinson Roxbury Heritage Rutland Skinner South Cape Beach Wahconah Falls Webb Memorial Wells Western Gateway Heritage Whitehall Wompatuck
Reservations	Beaver Brook Belle Isle Marsh Blue Hills Breakheart Charles River Chestnut Hill Cutler Dorchester Shores Elm Bank Fort Phoenix Hammond Pond Hemlock Gorge Horseneck Beach Jug End Lynn Shore Middlesex Fells Mount Everett Mount Greylock Mount Sugarloaf Mount Tom Myles Standish Mystic River Nahant Beach Nantasket Beach Nasketucket Bay Neponset River Pope John Paul II Purgatory Chasm Quincy Quarries Quincy Shore Revere Beach Rumney Marsh Salisbury Beach Sandy Point Scusset Beach Stony Brook Upper Charles River Wachusett Mountain Walden Pond West Island Weymouth Wilson Mountain
Other	Appalachian Trail Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Cape Cod Rail Trail Fort Revere Lake Dennison Recreation Area Lower Neponset River Trail Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside Nashua River Rail Trail Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail Quabbin Reservoir Southwest Corridor Park Squantum Point Park Streeter Point Recreation Area Sudbury Reservoir Wachusett Reservoir Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

Wildlife management areas

Wildlife
management areas

Wildlife
sanctuaries

The Nature Conservancy
Black Pond Bog Boat Meadow Francis Newhall Woods Grassy Pond Greene Swamp Halfway Pond Island Hawley Bog Hockomock Swamp Hoft Farm Homer-Watcha Katama Plains McElwain-Olsen Miacomet Moors Reed Brook Roger and Virginia Drury Sandy Neck David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail Stacy Mountain Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

Other
Concord Land Conservation Trust Harvard Forest Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Lloyd Center for the Environment Lynn Woods Reservation Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

Category
Boston
Emerald Necklace
Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
Commons