Press Release, Department of Conservation & Recreation | March 2020
In an effort to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Baker-Polito Administration is urging the public to stay home as much as possible to avoid person-to-person contact. However, should individuals and their families need to get outside for healthy, outdoor recreational activities, including walking, hiking, jogging, and bike riding, Massachusetts state parks and other natural resources managed by DCR remain open and accessible to the public.
Additionally, state parks are public areas, and while the agency continues to make efforts to sanitize high-touch locations, these surfaces are only as clean as the last person who has come in contact with it. Please take appropriate steps to protect your health and the health of others by following the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s (DPH) guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Visitors to state parks should follow these additional guidelines:
- Minimize outdoor recreational time to limit potential exposure to COVID-19;
- Stay within solitary or small groups, and avoid gatherings of ten or more people;
- Practice social distancing of at least six feet between individuals;
- Administer healthy personal hygiene, such as handwashing for at least 20 seconds;
- Participate in only non-contact recreational activities;
- Leave a park or area should large gatherings begin to build; and,
- Stay home if ill, over 70, and/or part of a vulnerable population.
The agency appreciates your support and understanding as we all continue to work together to stop the spread of COVID-19.
For specific details regarding the closure of agency managed facilities and other information, please click here: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/massachusetts-state-parks-covid-19-update.