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Harold Parker State Forest
North Andover, Massachusetts
DCR forest straddling North Andover and Andover. Stearns Pond is the seasonal lifeguarded beach; other ponds are paddle and fish.
At a glance
Overview
Harold Parker State Forest is a 3,500-acre DCR forest spanning North Andover, Andover, Middleton, and North Reading. The seasonal swim beach is at Stearns Pond off Jenkins Road, with a lifeguarded sand beach, bathhouse, and picnic area in summer. Other forest ponds (Field, Collins, Bear, Berry) are fish-and-paddle water, not developed swim. DEP cyano advisories have closed Stearns Pond in past summers; confirm status on the DCR page before a beach day.
- Also known as
- Stearns Pond Beach, Harold Parker Forest
- County
- Essex
- Region
- Merrimack Valley
- Water type
- Pond
Know before you go
Public
Conditions
Conditions snapshot
Check posted signs and official updates before entering.
Getting there
From Route 114 in North Andover, take Jenkins Road into the state forest and follow signs to Stearns Pond. The beach lot is past the contact station; other forest ponds (Field, Collins, Bear) have their own small pull-offs along the internal roads.
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