Over twelve days in October 2026, Myles Standish State Forest changes how it works. Archery deer season opens on October 5. The last night of camping is October 11. DCR's interpretive programs end on October 15. Pheasant, quail, grouse and rabbit seasons all open on October 17. If you walk, ride or run a dog in the forest from the Federal Furnace Road side of West Plymouth, fall here means fewer families and more working users: hunters, restoration crews and the long-distance hikers now reaching East Head on a new trail.
| Date (2026) | What changes | Where you'll notice it |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 3 | Free Take Me Fishin' event, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Fearing Pond day-use area |
| Oct. 4 | Barrens and Buck Moths Walk, 1 to 3 p.m., registration required | Myles Standish Complex |
| Oct. 5 | Archery deer season opens, runs to Nov. 28 | Forestwide |
| Oct. 11 | Last night to camp | Campgrounds |
| Oct. 15 | DCR programs end for the season | Nature center, guided walks |
| Oct. 17 | Pheasant, quail, ruffed grouse and rabbit seasons open | Stocked areas, forestwide |
| Nov. 30 to Dec. 12 | Shotgun deer season; bird and rabbit hunting closed | Forestwide |
| Dec. 14 to 31 | Primitive firearms deer season | Forestwide |
The swimming season has been over since September 7, when DCR's swimming-area season ended at College Pond, Fearing Pond and the Barretts Pond and Charge Pond campers' beaches. The two events left on the public calendar fall this weekend. Take Me Fishin' runs today at Fearing Pond, with fishing until 1 p.m. and free parking at the day-use area. Tomorrow MassWildlife and DCR staff lead a walk of about 1.5 miles focused on buck moths and other species that depend on open pine barrens. Space is limited and every adult has to register individually. After that weekend, the forest's own calendar takes over.
Sunday is the quiet day for the rest of the year
Massachusetts prohibits hunting on Sundays. That single rule matters more to a forest regular's fall schedule than foliage timing or weather. From October 17, some hunting season is open every other day of the week, and that continues long after the leaves drop. Rabbit and snowshoe hare seasons run to February 27, 2027. Gray squirrel season, open since September 8, runs to the same date.
During shotgun deer season, the 2026 summary marks pheasant, quail, rabbit and squirrel as closed, so shotgun deer hunting takes over those two weeks. Deer hunters must wear 500 square inches of blaze orange on the head, chest and back during the youth, shotgun and primitive firearms seasons. MassWildlife recommends blaze orange for everyone in the woods during hunting season, not only hunters, and an orange vest or bandana for pets.
Myles Standish also gets stocked birds. MassWildlife says it stocks about 3,500 northern bobwhite quail across two sites combined, Myles Standish State Forest and the southern parcel of Frances Crane WMA in Falmouth. DCR's trail map describes the 3.6-mile Bentley Loop, which starts at the lot off Upper College Pond Road, as crossing a fall-stocked wildlife management area. The map labels the Cutter Field Road pull-offs as a quail management area. The map dates from around the forest's 2016 centennial, so those labels show where stocking has happened before. They don't confirm this year's release points.
A simple fall kit for a forest regular, built from those rules:
- An orange hat or vest for you and an orange vest or bandana for the dog, from October 5 on
- Sunday for longer outings on the Bentley Loop and near Cutter Field Road once bird season opens October 17
- Extra caution from November 30 to December 12, during shotgun deer season, when orange is required for deer hunters
The machines come back on the same calendar
DCR's pine barrens restoration follows the same fall rhythm. The agency says most heavy machinery work stops during camping season, from mid-May through mid-October each year. With the campground closing October 11, the season for thinning and mowing starts in the same weeks the bird seasons open. DCR says prescribed fires can happen at any time of year when weather, fuel conditions and trained crews line up. It hasn't posted a specific fall 2026 burn date.
At the time of writing, DCR's restoration page lists these areas as closed:
- The paved bike path from East Line Road to Cutter Field Road
- The Pine Barrens Path from East Line Road to New Grassy Pond Road
- The Pine Barrens Path spur from Cutter Field Road to the main trail
- East Line Road from Fearing Pond Road to New Grassy Pond Road
The same page asks drivers to slow down for mowing along Fearing Pond Road and Cutter Field Road. The page carries no posting date, so check it before a ride.
The reason for the work is right there on the page. The Myles Standish Complex covers roughly 16,640 acres. DCR says that over the past 50 years, pine and tall shrubs have grown dense enough to raise wildfire risk, and it notes major fires in the area in 1900, 1957 and 1964 that burned thousands of acres. It also names the southern pine beetle, first detected in Massachusetts in 2015, as a threat that thinning and prescribed fire are meant to counter. DCR describes the end state as wider views, clearer paths and low glades of scrub oak, blueberry and grasses. That same open, fire-maintained canopy is what tomorrow's buck moth walk is built around.
Which lots and loops still work from the Federal Furnace side
Some lots follow the summer season and others stay open all year. DCR's map lists three parking areas as year-round: Forest Headquarters, the Bentley Trail lot and the East Entrance. It marks the Charge Pond, Fire Tower, Rocky Pond and College Pond day-use lots as seasonal. Headquarters has year-round restrooms. The College Pond bathhouse and restrooms are seasonal.
From West Plymouth, the usual route in is Federal Furnace Road onto Cranberry Road and down to Headquarters. The bike guide lists Headquarters as lot P1 at 194 Cranberry Road in South Carver. That works out well, because Headquarters is where most of the cold-weather options begin.
| Route | Length | Starts at | Fall note |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Head Reservoir / Healthy Heart Trail | 2.6-mile loop | Headquarters | Year-round lot and restrooms |
| Camping Pond Loop, paved | 6.25 miles | Headquarters | Passes Fearing Pond and Charge Pond |
| Rocky Pond Path, paved | 7.8 miles | Headquarters | Ends at the seasonal Rocky Pond lot on Bare Hill Road |
| Frost Pocket Path, paved | 11 miles | Headquarters | Connects to the year-round East Entrance on Long Pond Road |
| Bentley Loop | 3.6 miles | Upper College Pond Road lot | Crosses a fall-stocked area |
DCR says the forest has more than 15 miles of recommended paved routes in total. Before riding toward Cutter Field Road, compare your route with the current restoration closures.
Closer to home, Federal Furnace Road has its own construction this fall. Eversource is replacing about five miles of its Line 132 transmission wire and replacing or adding structures between Brook Street Substation in Plympton and West Pond Substation off Federal Furnace Road. Construction is listed as starting in fall 2026, and the line is expected back in service by late spring 2027. The company's work update mentions machinery and extra traffic around Federal Furnace Road, with no customer service interruptions expected. It also says schedules can change.
The long way in now ends at East Head
The biggest change on the forest map this year has nothing to do with the season. As of June 2026, 8 Ponds Pass connects to the Myles Standish trail system. The Town of Plymouth built the route with Wildlands Trust and DCR, working through the Friends of Myles Standish State Forest. It now runs 15.22 miles from the Beaver Dam Conservation Area trailhead on Beaver Dam Road to DCR headquarters at East Head Reservoir. The town says nearly 9 miles of existing forest trails were linked for the extension, and no new trail had to be cut.
The name comes from the ponds along the way: Little Island Pond, Great Island Pond, Cotton Pond, Long Pond, Gallow's Pond, Halfway Pond, Doctors Pond and East Head Reservoir. The whole route is marked with yellow 2-by-6-inch paint blazes on trees and boulders. Double blazes mark sharp turns. The town is direct about what to expect:
"There are numerous wooden benches along the route to take a breather-- it's a long walk-- and a number of small kiosks placed along the trail to help show the way and orient hikers... know your way for the entire trail before you set out!"
For a West Plymouth hiker, the East Head end is the useful one. It's the trail's closest point to Cranberry Road, it has a year-round lot and restrooms, and it's where you can start an out-and-back into the newly connected forest section. The town's guidance on the trail fits the fall calendar above. Both the town and the state allow hunting and trapping on their lands along the route, and the town encourages people and their pets to wear hunter orange during hunting seasons. The town also notes that the trail's outer sections are maintained less often than shorter town trails, so expect some downed trees or overgrowth. It asks hikers to report problems through SeeClickFix.
On Sundays from now through February, the yellow blazes from Beaver Dam Road to East Head cross land where no one is hunting, and you can park at the year-round Headquarters lot at the finish.
Knowing which gates stay open in December is the kind of local detail Selling South of Boston keeps track of for West Plymouth homeowners. If you'd like to know how a home near the forest's Federal Furnace Road edge might be valued this season, Kimberly Dawes and the team are glad to put together a free home valuation and talk it through.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
