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Bradley Palmer State Park with your dog

Bradley Palmer

Bradley Palmer State Park with your dog

Bradley Palmer is the state park a lot of North Shore dog owners name first when a Cape Ann dog needs somewhere new. It is DCR land, so the rules come from mass.gov, and it is a drive from Gloucester, so the outing needs planning. Here is the plan, the skills and the clean-up.

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Last reviewed September 26, 2026 · by the Dogtown team

The park

A DCR park in Hamilton and Topsfield, with the rules on mass.gov

Bradley Palmer State Park straddles Hamilton and Topsfield and is run by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. DCR keeps the park's rules, maps and alerts on the mass.gov location page for Bradley Palmer, and it is the only version we would point a dog owner to. At the time of writing, plan on a leash and on picking up, and read the page the morning you go.

For a Cape Ann dog the park is an outing, not a habit. It is far enough from 210 Eastern Ave that the drive is part of the day, which changes what you pack: water for the walk and the car, a towel, a bowl, and the dog's dinner if you will be back late. A carsick puppy or a stiff senior is better served by Ravenswood or Dogtown Common, closer to home.

DCR park: rules and alerts on the mass.gov Bradley Palmer page
Plan on a leash and clean-up at the time of writing
An outing from Cape Ann, so pack for the car as well as the trail
Puppies and stiff seniors do better on the closer Gloucester walks

The plan

A half-day from Cape Ann, start to finish

The version that works is the morning version. Leave Gloucester after the dog's breakfast has settled, walk while it is cool, and be back for a bath or a nap by early afternoon. In July and August that matters; the AVMA's heat page is blunt about how quickly a dog overheats on a warm trail, and an inland park misses the sea breeze that softens a Cape Ann walk.

Time the return to a Dogtown window if a daycare half day is part of the plan: weekday drop-off windows are 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM; Saturday's are 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM. Sunday is overnight-stay pick-up and drop-off only, so a Sunday trip ends at your own tub.

01
Check the mass.gov page for alerts over coffee
02
Pack water, a bowl, a leash, bags, a towel and a tick tool
03
Walk in the morning, an hour or so, with water breaks
04
Tick check at the car from April to November before the drive
05
Towel and water in the car, then the bath or the nap at home

Woman in green petting a golden retriever on a paved path beside a playground

What it asks

Shared trails ask for manners: pass wide, leash short, leave it

A state park draws walkers, runners, families and other dogs, and the dog that enjoys it can pass all of them without a scene. Pass wide, shorten the leash as you approach, and ask before letting your dog greet another; plenty of leashed dogs do not want to say hello. Our how-to page on greeting dogs politely on trails covers the choreography.

Leave-it earns its keep on a park trail: picnic leftovers, whatever another animal left behind, and the dead things in the leaf litter. Practice it at home with a boring object before you need it on something delicious. And ticks, which need no introduction to a Cape Ann owner: April to November, trail edges and tall grass, a check at the car and again at home. The CDC's tick pages cover removal and the illnesses.

Pass other dogs wide and ask before a greeting
A shorter leash near people, runners and families
Leave-it for picnic leftovers and dead things
Tick check at the car, April to November

How Dogtown fits

Home to Gloucester with a dusty dog: the bath, the check and the quiet day after

Book the bath before you leave the park. Dogtown's bath is priced by size, from $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds to $95 for an extra-large dog with a long coat, and full service with a haircut runs $75 to $120 by the same sizes. No evaluation is needed for grooming, and booking the next appointment at pick-up saves $5. From April to November ask for a tick check on the table.

A dog that has walked hard on Saturday wants a quiet Sunday, and we are closed for daycare on Sundays, so plan the rest day at home. On Monday, a half day at $33 or a full day at $42 in a playgroup of 7 to 10 dogs picks the routine back up, and the Pup Van collects for $10 each way in Gloucester, Rockport, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea. The free evaluation comes first for any dog new to daycare.

In the months the trip is off the table, at-home walks from our team keep a dog fit for the next one: 20, 30 or 60 minutes at $25, $35 and $55, with a photo after each and a 10-pack of 30-minute walks at $315. Whether a walker can reach your street depends on the address and the season; ask us.

Nearby

Willowdale, Crane Beach and the Cape Ann parks that fill the weeknights

Willowdale State Forest in Ipswich is the other DCR property on this site, with the long miles; its page covers building a dog up to them. Crane Beach in Ipswich takes leashed dogs from October 1 to March 31 under The Trustees' guidelines. On Cape Ann, Halibut Point State Park in Rockport is DCR land with a leash rule, and Ravenswood Park and Dogtown Common are the closest woods to a Gloucester door.

For a fenced off-leash run on the way home, the North Shore dog parks page compares Danvers, Salem and Beverly, permits and fences included, and the Gloucester Dog Park at Stage Fort Park is the fenced two acres back on Cape Ann. The Cape Ann dog beach calendar lists every dated beach rule for the winter weeks when sand beats trail.

At Dogtown

After the park

The bath by size, a Monday half day to pick the routine back up, and walks from your door between trips.

Groomer blow-drying a red goldendoodle in front of the Dogtown Grooming sign

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Husky standing on the turf play yard at Dogtown, looking at the camera

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Dogtown walker and dog on a coastal trail at sunrise in Gloucester

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Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.

Are dogs allowed at Bradley Palmer State Park?

DCR publishes the dog rules for Bradley Palmer on its mass.gov location page, and that page, plus any sign posted at the park, is the current rule. Plan on a leash and on picking up after your dog. If the page lists an alert or a closure on the day, it applies whatever any trail app says.

Is Bradley Palmer worth the drive from Cape Ann with a dog?

For a fit adult dog that has run out of new ground at home, yes, as a half-day outing a few times a year. For a puppy, a senior or a dog that hates the car, the honest answer is no; Ravenswood Park, Dogtown Common and the Greenbelt trails give the same sniffing closer to home.

What should I pack for a dog at Bradley Palmer?

Water and a collapsible bowl, a leash, bags, a towel for the car, and from April to November a tick tool. In summer add a second bottle of water and go early; the AVMA's heat page explains why a warm inland trail is harder on a dog than a Cape Ann beach in a breeze.

Can I book a bath at Dogtown on the way home from the park?

Yes, if the slot is there. Grooming needs no evaluation, so book online or in the app for a time that fits the drive back to Gloucester, and message the front desk through the app if you are running late. Grooming appointments cancelled without notice carry a $10 fee.

Park day, bath day.

Book a bath by size online with no evaluation, or book the free weekday-morning evaluation so daycare and at-home walks are ready for the weeks between trips.

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