North Shore daycare
Dog daycare on the North Shore, MA
Most North Shore towns have a daycare closer to home than Eastern Ave, so the drive to Gloucester has to earn its place in your morning. Here are the routes and our estimated drive times from Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem and Ipswich, what a day costs, and how the early window works for a commuter.
Who makes the drive
North Shore dogs reach us up Route 128 from Beverly, Danvers, Peabody and Salem, or along Route 133 from Ipswich
Route 128 is the spine of the trip. From downtown Beverly it takes about 25 minutes outside rush hour, by our estimate: north on 128, over the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge into Gloucester and on to the end of the highway, a short way from our door. Danvers adds about five minutes and Peabody about ten. Salem owners usually take Route 1A north into Beverly and pick up 128 there, which comes to roughly 35 minutes. Every time on this page is our own estimate for a clear road, not a promise about August traffic.
Ipswich comes in from the other side. Route 133 runs east through Essex and the marsh into West Gloucester, where it meets Route 128 for the last few miles; allow about 30 minutes from Ipswich center. The drive makes the most sense when Cape Ann is already part of your week: a job in Gloucester or Rockport, family on the peninsula, a commute that crosses the Grant Circle rotary anyway. If none of that applies, be honest with yourself about doing it five mornings a week.
- Beverly: Route 128 north, about 25 minutes
- Danvers: Route 128 north, about 30 minutes
- Peabody: Route 128 north, about 35 minutes
- Salem: Route 1A into Beverly, then Route 128, about 35 minutes
- Ipswich: Route 133 through Essex, then Route 128, about 30 minutes
The early window
Drop-off opens at 6:30 AM on weekdays, so the day can start before most North Shore offices open
The weekday windows are 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM. For a North Shore commuter the first one is what makes Gloucester workable: a Danvers owner who leaves home at 6:15 can hand over the leash at the front desk, turn back onto Route 128 and be at work by 8. Saturday windows are 8 to 10 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6 PM, and Sunday is closed for daycare. Pick-up after work has the same 6:30 PM edge, so plan the drive home with it in mind.
Check the direction of your commute before you commit. If you drive south to Boston every morning, Gloucester sits behind you, and a round trip of an hour or more before work is a lot to ask of any daycare. If you work in Gloucester, Rockport or Manchester, or along Route 128 north of Beverly, the drive is on the way. A middle path is full days on office days and a shorter day, or none, on the days you work from home.
- 01
Drop off between 6:30 and 9:30 AM and check in with the front desk
- 02
Your dog joins its matched group of 7 to 10 on the turf yard or the indoor play floors
- 03
Play runs in blocks, with rest breaks and water stations through the day
- 04
Any bath, groom or enrichment add-on you booked fits into the day
- 05
Pick up between 4 and 6:30 PM and read the report card and photos in the Dogtown app
What it costs
A full day is $42 and a half day $33, and a 10-pack brings the full day down to $38
The price is the same whichever town you drive from. A single full day costs $42 and a single half day $33. Packs lower the daily figure: five full days are $200 and ten are $380, while five half days are $150 and ten are $290. For a dog who comes most weekdays, the unlimited daycare membership at $700 a month covers Monday through Saturday and adds two enrichment sessions a month, 15 percent off grooming, priority holiday overnight-stay reservations and a birthday enrichment session.
From the far end of the North Shore, the arithmetic favors full days. A half day means drop-off and pick-up a few hours apart, so from Salem or Peabody it is two round trips on Route 128 or a long wait on Cape Ann. An owner driving 30 minutes or more usually gets better value from a full day on a pack. The Pup Van, at $10 each way, runs only in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea; for other addresses, ask us for pricing.
| Option | Price | Per day |
|---|---|---|
| Full day | $42 | $42 |
| Full-day 5-pack | $200 | $40 |
| Full-day 10-pack | $380 | $38 |
| Half day | $33 | $33 |
| Half-day 5-pack | $150 | $30 |
| Half-day 10-pack | $290 | $29 |
| Unlimited membership | $700 a month | Monday to Saturday |
| First daycare visit | 15 percent off | Code FIRST15 |
| Pup Van | $10 each way | Four Cape Ann towns |
Why Gloucester
North Shore owners choose Dogtown for small matched groups, certified staff and a building with grooming and training inside
The group is the reason to make the drive. Playgroups are 7 to 10 dogs, matched by size and temperament at the free evaluation, and our certified staff run them, so a regular gets to know its handlers and a steady circle of playmates. The building is 10,000 square feet: indoor play floors for the days a nor'easter comes through, and an outdoor turf yard with pools and platforms for the rest. Since opening in 2023 we have looked after more than 1,500 pets.
The rest of the building saves you a second stop. Dogtown Grooming is on site, so a bath or full groom can happen during the daycare day. Dogtown Academy, at $89 for a full day, swaps open play for a structured day that includes a training session with our trainer. And the Dogtown app holds bookings, report cards and messages to the front desk, which matters more when you are 30 minutes away rather than three.
- Groups of 7 to 10, matched by size and temperament
- Certified staff and a trained team watching every dog
- Indoor floors for storms, turf and pools for fair weather
- Grooming on site, bookable onto a daycare day
- Report cards and photos in the Dogtown app
Getting here
Take Route 128 to its end or Route 133 through Essex; the Pup Van and the Rockport line cover only part of the map
By car, every North Shore route funnels onto Route 128 for the last stretch, and 210 Eastern Ave is a short drive from where the highway ends in East Gloucester. Bring the paperwork to the first visit: Rabies, DHPP and Bordetella records and your own town's current dog license, whether it came from Beverly, Danvers, Peabody, Salem or Ipswich. Evaluations run Monday to Friday between 6:30 and 9:30 AM by appointment, so you can fold one into a morning you were driving north anyway.
The Pup Van collects and returns dogs for $10 each way in Rockport, Gloucester, Essex and Manchester-by-the-Sea; elsewhere on the North Shore, ask us for pricing before you count on it. The Rockport line is rarely a daycare commute. It runs from Salem and Beverly to Gloucester station, but MBTA rules keep larger dogs that do not fit in a carrier off the trains on weekdays from 7 to 9 AM and 4 to 7 PM, the hours that overlap drop-off and pick-up.
At Dogtown
Daycare, and what you can add to the day
The playgroups North Shore dogs drive in for, the Academy day with a trainer, and the grooming studio in the same building.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How long is the drive to Dogtown from Beverly, Danvers or Peabody?
Does the Pup Van pick up in Salem, Peabody or Ipswich?
Which dog license do you need if we live in Danvers?
Can the free evaluation happen on a Saturday?
Is a half day worth the drive from Salem?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Book the evaluation on a weekday morning you are driving anyway.
Weekdays between 6:30 and 9:30 AM, by appointment. Bring vaccine records and your town's dog license; the evaluation includes a few supervised hours in a group.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
