Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features measuring that overlap the City of Lowell, and the

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Dracut Dracut is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town cove ...

and Tyngsborough,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. The forest, which includes some of ponds, swamps and wetlands, is maintained by the

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. Th ...

History

The area that makes up the state forest originally belonged to the Mohawk,

Huron Huron may refer to: Native American ethnography * Huron people, who have been called Wyandotte, Wyandot, Wendat and Quendat * Huron language, an Iroquoian language * Huron-Wendat Nation, or Huron-Wendat First Nation, or Nation Huronne-Wendat * N ...

, and Wowenocks Native Americans. It was later colonized by western settlers before becoming the Pawtucket Falls Indian Reservation. In 1941, Thomas Varnum sold several hundred acres of Hawk Valley Farm to the state for the creation of Lowell-Dracut State Forest.

Activities and amenities

The forest offers fishing and restricted hunting in addition to six miles of trails used for hiking, mountains biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. Motorized vehicles are restricted to seasonal snowmobiles. Park access points are found at Trotting Park Road, Gumpus Road, Totman Road, Fellows Lane, and Althea Avenue.

References

External links

Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro State Forest Trail Map
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{Authority control Massachusetts state forests Parks in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Parks in Lowell, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1941 1941 establishments in Massachusetts