March calendar
Cape Ann dog calendar: March (mud season and the last Good Harbor dog days)
March on Cape Ann is thaw, mud and a countdown: the plover fencing goes up, the Manchester license year ends, and every dog comes home brown. Here is how to spend the last Good Harbor days and keep the house clean.
Beaches this month
Beaches this month: fifteen last chances at Good Harbor
Good Harbor takes dogs on even-numbered dates through March 31 and then closes for the plover season on April 1, so the 30th is the last dog date there. Crane Beach in Ipswich closes to dogs after March 31 as well. Wingaersheek keeps its odd dates through April 30, Plum Cove and Cressy stay open any day, and the Rockport and Essex beaches run into late spring.
The March beach is soft: thawing sand holds water, the creek runs high with melt, and the wrack line is a buffet of winter storm leftovers. Use a long line for recall practice on the low-tide flats and rinse salt from the coat at the car.
- Good Harbor: even dates only, last day March 31
- Crane Beach: leashed dogs until March 31
- Wingaersheek odd dates and Singing Beach continue into April
Rules and deadlines
Rules and deadlines: Manchester tags expire, plover fencing goes up
Manchester-by-the-Sea's dog license year ends on March 31, so a Manchester dog needs its new tag this month: $20 for a neutered dog, $25 otherwise, with a rabies certificate, at the time of writing. Gloucester owners have until April 30 before the $20 late penalty, but the City Clerk at 9 Dale Ave is quieter in March.
The other deadline is the birds. Piping plovers return to Cape Ann beaches in late March, and the fencing that follows closes sections of sand even where dogs are otherwise allowed. Our piping plover page explains what the fencing means.
Weather and hazards
Weather and hazards: mud season, melt water and the first ticks
Mud season begins when the ground thaws but the trails do not drain, and Dogtown Common, Ravenswood Park and the Goose Cove paths turn to soup. Melt puddles are also where leptospirosis bacteria collect, so keep dogs from drinking standing water; our leptospirosis page covers the vaccine question.
Ticks wake before the leaves do. Cape Ann's tick season runs April to November, but the first warm March week brings adult deer ticks out of the leaf litter, so start the monthly preventive now and run a hand over ears, armpits and toes after every trail walk.
- Fresh water on every walk, none from puddles
- Start tick prevention before April, not after the first tick
- A towel and a spare leash by the door for mud season
At Dogtown this month
Events and at Dogtown this month: mud baths and the garden gets ready
The Cape Ann festival calendar is still empty in March, and at Dogtown the month is about mud. A bath-only groom runs from $55 for a dog up to 25 pounds to $95 for an extra-large long-haired coat, with no evaluation required, and a bath booked onto a daycare day means the brown dog you dropped off comes home clean.
Dogtown Academy days keep running through the thaw, $89 for a full day and $69 for a half, with the sensory garden waking up for April. Daycare stays $42 a day, with weekday windows 6:30 to 9:30 AM, 12 to 1 PM and 4 to 6:30 PM. Expect some turf-yard mud at pick-up.
- 01
Use the last even dates at Good Harbor before April 1
- 02
Renew a Manchester-by-the-Sea license before March 31
- 03
Start the tick and flea preventive
- 04
Book a bath onto a daycare day for the muddiest week
At Dogtown
Mud season at Dogtown
A bath priced by size on a daycare day, and Academy days that run through the thaw.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
When is the last day for dogs at Good Harbor Beach?
Does my Manchester dog license really expire March 31?
How often should a muddy dog be bathed in March?
Are ticks out on Cape Ann in March?
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 mud-season bath onto a daycare day.
Grooming needs no evaluation and can be booked online or in the Dogtown app. Daycare, Academy, overnight stays and walks begin with a free weekday-morning evaluation.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
