Scusset Beach State Reservation is a public recreation area located in the

town 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 ...

Sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

in Barnstable County,

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 ...

, at the east end of the

Cape Cod Canal The Cape Cod Canal is an artificial waterway in Massachusetts connecting Cape Cod Bay in the north to Buzzards Bay in the south, and is part of the Intracoastal Waterway, Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The approximately canal traverses the nec ...

on land formerly part of

Sagamore Hill Military Reservation Sagamore Hill Military Reservation was a coastal defense site located in Sagamore Beach, Massachusetts. Today, the site is the location of Scusset Beach State Reservation. History Sagamore Hill Military Reservation was built on state land in 1941 ...

. In addition to its beach and campgrounds, prominent features of the park include Sagamore Hill, a one-time

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

meeting ground and site of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

coastal fortifications, and a stone

jetty A jetty is a man-made structure that protrudes from land out into water. A jetty may serve as a breakwater (structure), breakwater, as a walkway, or both; or, in pairs, as a means of constricting a channel. The term derives from the French la ...

that separates the canal and beach. Unlike most of Sandwich, this section of the town is on the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal. The

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

is managed 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 ...

under a lease agreement with the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

Activities and amenities

*Beach: The park fronts of sandy beach and dunes on

Cape Cod Bay Cape Cod Bay is a large bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Measuring below a line drawn from Brant Rock in Marshfield to Race Point in Provincetown, Massachusetts, it is enclosed by Cape Cod to the south ...

. The beach area is served by an

ADA Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

-compliant boardwalk, wheelchair-accessible restrooms and showers, snack bars, and seasonal lifeguards. *Trails and roads: A trail to Sagamore Hill offers commanding views of the canal's east entrance and the bay. A paved service road along the north side of the canal is used for bicycling, walking, skating, and ship and wildlife watching. *Camping: The park offers 98 camping pitches for recreational vehicles and five for tents. *Fishing is available from a pier that extends out from the side of the canal, a breakwater, and the canal frontage road. Surf casting is possible at dusk along designated sections of the beach. Other park offerings include interpretive programs and restricted hunting.

References

External links

Scusset Beach State Reservation
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{authority control Sandwich, Massachusetts State parks of Massachusetts Parks in Barnstable County, Massachusetts Campgrounds in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1957 1957 establishments in Massachusetts