Douglas State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features located in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking *Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, bordering both

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. The

state forest A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory. Background The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example: * In Australia, a ...

's include

Wallum Lake Wallum Lake is a lake that lies in Burrillville, Providence County, Rhode Island and Douglas, Worcester County, Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃ� ...

and a rare

Atlantic white cedar ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' (Atlantic white cedar, Atlantic white cypress, southern white cedar, whitecedar, or false-cypress), a species of ''Cupressaceae'', is native to the Atlantic coast of North America and is found from southern Maine to ...

swamp, of which are designated as a Massachusetts

Wildland Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

. The forest 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, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission i ...

History

The state forest was created through the state's purchase of in 1934. In the 1930s, the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

installed major improvements including a picnic pavilion, an administrative building, and water management infrastructure.

Activities and amenities

Forest trails are used for hiking, biking, horseback riding, and cross-country skiing. A section of the Midstate Trail runs through the forest as does a portion of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail. At the southwest extreme of the park, the tri-state marker, where

, Massachusetts and

are conjoined, may be reached by a short offshoot of the Mid-State Trail.

offers fishing, swimming, and boating. The forest also offers picnicking, restricted hunting, and a group day-use area.

References

External links

Douglas State Forest
Department of Conservation and Recreation
Douglas State Forest Trail Map
Department of Conservation and Recreation {{Protected areas of Massachusetts Massachusetts state forests Protected areas of Worcester County, Massachusetts Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts 1934 establishments in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1934 Douglas, Massachusetts