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Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area with your dog: leashes and hunting season

Crane Pond WMA

Crane Pond Wildlife Management Area with your dog: leashes and hunting season

Crane Pond is land managed for wildlife and for the people who hunt, fish and watch it, not a park with groomed loops. MassWildlife still welcomes dogs there, under a leash and waste rule adopted in 2018. This page covers that rule, the land and its parking, the 2026 hunting dates, and the clean-up after.

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A beagle puppy on a leash walks beside a person along a path covered in autumn leaves.

Last reviewed October 10, 2026 · by the Dogtown team · rules checked for fall 2026

The rule

Leashed or tethered at all times, and the waste carried off the WMA

MassWildlife's regulation, 321 CMR 3.01(1)(r), is short. No one may let a dog be unattended, roam or be at large on a Wildlife Management Area, and a dog must be restrained on a physical tether or leash by its owner or handler. The exceptions are narrow: dogs actively hunting under the Division's regulations, dogs being trained for hunting by people holding a valid Massachusetts hunting or sporting license, and permitted retriever or bird dog trials. A walk with the family dog is none of those.

The waste rule binds everyone in and within 100 feet of a parking area, licensed hunters included, and every non-hunter everywhere else on the WMA: pick it up and dispose of it outside the boundaries. The Fisheries and Wildlife Board adopted both rules in March 2018 after repeated complaints about unsafe encounters with dogs and dog waste, and MassWildlife says dogs are still welcome. Its staff or an environmental police officer may order a dog removed for breaking the rule.

Leash or tether at all times, unless you are hunting
Waste bagged and taken off the WMA, from every part of it
Hunting dogs with licensed hunters: the stated exception
Break the rule and your dog can be ordered off

The land

Over 2,500 acres of forest and marsh in four towns, with unmarked trails and gated lots

MassWildlife describes low, rolling forest and marshland across Georgetown, Groveland, Newbury and West Newbury, with Crane Pond, Little Crane Pond, more than 50 vernal pools and the Parker River headwaters, which wind four miles through the WMA. Beaver dams widen the floodplain in places. A large, intact forest can be explored on several unmarked trails, and MassWildlife is blunt about it: WMAs are intentionally wild, with natural landscapes rather than maintained trails. Its property page links an online map; open it before you set out.

The WMA is divided into five sections. The property page lists gated parking on JB Little Road, Seven Star Blvd, Thurlow Street, Bear Hill Road, Ash Street, Crane Neck Street and Byfield Road. The Thurlow Street access is a rough dirt track that also reaches the Parker River for canoes and kayaks, and beavers can be seen at work off Forest Street and Crane Neck Road. With that much standing water, the leash keeps your dog out of the ponds as well as off the wildlife.

Hunting season

Pheasant season opens October 17, 2026, with stocking three times a week

Crane Pond is a hunting property, and fall is its busy season. MassWildlife stocks ring-necked pheasants here three times a week and before holidays during the fall, and the 2026 pheasant season runs October 17 to December 31, closed during shotgun deer season. Deer, wild turkey, woodcock, ruffed grouse, hares, rabbits and waterfowl are the other game MassWildlife lists here. The 2026 youth pheasant hunts fall on September 5, 12 and 19 and October 3 and 10.

Every hunter on a stocked WMA must wear a blaze orange cap or hat in pheasant season. MassWildlife asks non-hunters to wear a bright orange vest or hat, avoid earth tones, keep pets leashed and visible, and put an orange vest or bandana on the dog. Hunters are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. Sunday hunting is not permitted in Massachusetts, and MassWildlife names Sundays as an option for visitors who would rather not share the woods.

2026 season	Dates	On a walk with your dog
Youth pheasant hunts	Sept. 5, 12, 19; Oct. 3, 10	Orange on you and the dog
Archery deer	Oct. 5 to Nov. 28	Hunters most active early and late; orange on
Pheasant and quail	Oct. 17 to Dec. 31, closed during shotgun deer	Stocking three times a week; hunters in orange hats
Shotgun deer	Nov. 30 to Dec. 12	Hunters wear 500 square inches of orange; consider a Sunday
Primitive firearms deer	Dec. 14 to 31	Orange for every visitor
Any Sunday	All year	No hunting in Massachusetts

Walking it

A short leash, orange on both of you, and a turnaround before the swamp

Pick one gated lot and a short out-and-back, and turn around where the ground turns to swamp. With unmarked trails it is easy to wander farther than you meant, and a leashed dog plunging into beaver-flooded ground pulls you in after it. Ticks thrive in brushy, wet woodland like this, and on the North Shore they are active from April to November, so check ears, armpits, groin and toes before the dog gets back in the car.

Share the place with the people who came to hunt and fish. MassWildlife suggests talking loudly or whistling so hunters know you are a person, and calling out if you hear shots; it also notes that hunter harassment is against state law, so a polite hello and a wide berth is the whole of the etiquette. Anglers fish Crane and Little Crane ponds from shore, and the Parker River is stocked with trout, so keep a curious dog clear of lines and hooks.

01
Check the 2026 season dates, and pick a Sunday in deer season
02
Put a blaze orange vest or bandana on your dog and an orange hat on yourself
03
Park at a gated lot and leash or tether your dog before the door opens
04
Talk or whistle as you walk so hunters know you are there
05
Turn back where the unmarked trail meets flooded ground
06
Carry every bag off the WMA, from the lot and the trail alike
07
Do a tick check at the car

Afterward

Vernal-pool mud and fall burrs come out in a bath and brush

More than 50 vernal pools and a beaver floodplain mean a dog comes home wet to the belly in spring and stuck with burrs in fall. Our bath and brush at 210 Eastern Ave in Gloucester is priced by weight, from $55 for a dog of 25 pounds or less through $65, $75 and $85 to $95 for an extra-large dog with long hair. An antiseptic or fungal shampoo adds $8, and dematting is $15 per 20 minutes. Grooming needs no evaluation.

The four Crane Pond towns lie outside the Pup Van's set routes, so ask us about pick-up, or book the groom for a day you are heading toward Cape Ann. For a dog that needs a run without hunting season in the way, a daycare day is $42 in a playgroup of 7 to 10 matched by size and temperament, after a free evaluation on a weekday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM.

Bath and brush by size, $55 to $95
Antiseptic or fungal shampoo: $8
Dematting: $15 per 20 minutes
No evaluation for grooming

At Dogtown

After the marsh

A bath and brush by size for the mud and burrs, and daycare days for the weeks the woods belong to hunters.

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

Dog GroomingFrom $55 · Explore

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

Dog DaycareFrom $33 · Explore

Every price on one page

Asked and answered

Questions people ask about this

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

Do dogs have to be leashed at Crane Pond WMA?

Yes. MassWildlife requires dogs on every Wildlife Management Area to be leashed or tethered. A dog may be off leash only while hunting or training for hunting with a licensed hunter, or at a permitted field trial. MassWildlife staff or police can order a dog that breaks the rule removed from the WMA.

Where do I park at Crane Pond WMA?

MassWildlife lists gated parking on JB Little Road, Seven Star Blvd, Thurlow Street, Bear Hill Road, Ash Street, Crane Neck Street and Byfield Road. The Thurlow Street access is a rough dirt road that also leads to the Parker River for canoes and kayaks. Pick up your dog's waste around the lots and take it off the WMA.

When is pheasant season at Crane Pond?

In 2026 pheasant season runs October 17 to December 31, closed during shotgun deer season from November 30 to December 12. MassWildlife stocks pheasants at Crane Pond three times a week and before holidays in the fall. Hunters must wear an orange hat, and MassWildlife asks walkers and their dogs to wear orange too.

Is it safe to walk my dog at Crane Pond in the fall?

MassWildlife says non-hunters can safely visit the woods at any time of year and that accidents involving them are very rare. Its advice: wear bright orange, keep pets leashed and visible with an orange vest or bandana, make your presence known, and consider Sundays, when hunting is not permitted in Massachusetts.

Are there marked trails at Crane Pond WMA?

No. MassWildlife describes several unmarked trails through a large, intact forest and says WMAs are intentionally wild, with natural landscapes rather than maintained trails. Open MassWildlife's map before you go, note which gated lot you used, and keep the first walk short until you know the ground.