Dates Of Visit: July 28 & 30, 2017
Location: Bare Cove Park Drive, Hingham, MA (about 20 minutes south of Boston)
Hours: open daily, sunrise to sunset
Cost: Free
Parking: There are several parking areas. The main parking area on Bare Cove Park Drive has room for about 40-50 vehicles
Trail Size/Difficulty: 484 acres, easy trails
Handicapped Accessible: Yes
Dog Friendly: Yes
Fitbit stats: 3:16, 985 calories, 10,069 steps, 4.21 miles
Highlights: scenic, water, family friendly, dock house with historical military items, wildlife
Website: Bare Cove Park
I made two visits to Bare Cove Park. The first time I visited the park was July 28th. I got there late on the 28th and the lighting was poor. So, I stopped by two days later, Sunday, July 30.
As you can see by the photos, there are some beautiful sunsets at Bear Cove. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn’t very good, though.
Once the site of a U.S. Naval depot (more on this later), Bare Cove Park now is the home to a variety of wildlife. I found many birds during my visit. There are also supposed to be fox, deer and other animals at the park. I didn’t see any of them. But, I did see evidence of them.
If you look closely at the little bird photo at the end, the bird has his or her lunch.
There was a crisp pre-autumn chill in the air when I made my way to Bare Cove Park. It reminded me of the mornings you whittle away before the college and pro football games start. But, I’d rather spend my day at Bare Cove anytime.
The views are simply amazing.
The thing that stood out to me mostly are the variety of pretty trees and flowers at the park.
Bare Cove is only 484 acres and it’s very easy to get around, even without a map of the park. Trust me, I didn’t even get lost and I always get lost. The trails are easy with hardly any inclines and they are mostly paved if you stay on the main trail.
Because of its proximity to Boston, Hingham was considered an important location for the military to produce ammunition and other supplies during World War II. The magazines, or manufacturing buildings, ran 24 hours, 7 days a week and employed thousands of people at is peak.
The dock house (only open Sunday from 12-2) has a variety of items from World War II that were manufactured in this very same area.
There are also two memorials outside of the dockchouse as well as other items from the days of the hey day at Bare Cove. The ammunition depot was closed in the early 1970’s.
The memorial to the left, lying vertically on the ground, is dedicated to the men and women who worked at the ammunition depot during World War i, World War II and the Korean Conflict.
The memorial to the right standing up is dedicated to naval crew members who were lost when some ammunition exploded on a ship they were loading.
While dogs are allowed at Bare Cove the park is not considered a “dog park” per se. All dogs are expected to be leashed or respond immediately to voice commands. In my visits there all of these dogs fit into both or either category.
Here are a few of the cute four legged visitors at Bare Cove that I ran into during my visits.
Hickory is a 7 year old tree walking coon hound.
Bronn, named after a Games Of Throne charcater, is a 9 month old Newfie. His mommy was teaching to fetch.
Gracie is a super friendly 2 year old pitbull.
Tundra (on the left), a 2 year old Golden Retriever, just got finished with his swim and was getting ready to go home. His sibling, Piper (on the right), didn’t want to leave..
During my first visit, on the 28th of July, I met a very nice lady with three dogs.
America is a 10 year old mixed breed dog who got that name because the dog is a mix of many breeds, kind of like how America is a mix of all kinds of people.
Sophia is a 6 year old chihuahua.
Lily is a 10 year old Lab and Collie mix.
Bruiser is a 6 year old part pitbull.
Below is a video of fireflies at Bare Cove Park. The lack of light and various animal aand bird noises give it a little bit of a spooky feel.
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Today’s featured link is a link to a 30 minute documentary that explains the history of Bear Cove Park. The documentary was put together by Scott McMillan, the very same man who gave me a detailed tour of the dockhouse.
August 7th, 2017 at 7:29 am
It’s very striking how the butterflies and birds are very like their Old World counterparts but there is always a tiny difference or two. I presume they started off the same but then as the continents separated they changed just a little bit.
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August 7th, 2017 at 10:35 am
Yes, good point! It also shows how just like our birds and butterflies are so similar, so are the people from the Old and New worlds!
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August 7th, 2017 at 1:15 pm
With a name like Bare Cove I expected you to find at least one Nudist Colony! Lovely pictures. My trips south of Boston to the Cape led me to assume it was all densely populated. Nice to see it isn’t.
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August 7th, 2017 at 7:42 pm
Gee, I wish. Yes, there are actually quite a few less populated places to go to south of Boston if you want to avoid the crowds. You just have to know where to look ( :
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August 8th, 2017 at 10:13 am
it’s a great place but you should of mentioned the strict dog regulations that are now in place. We don’t want people who abuse them so the off leash rules get taken away from us regular dog walkers in there.
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August 8th, 2017 at 10:40 am
Good point Shellee. I did mention that the park is not a dog park per se and that your dog must be leashed or respond to voice commands. Near the end of the post I wrote…”While dogs are allowed at Bare Cove the park is not considered a “dog park” per se. All dogs are expected to be leashed or respond immediately to voice commands. In my visits there all of these dogs fit into both or either category.” But it is worth mentioning again especially since they take it so seriously. Thank you.
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August 8th, 2017 at 1:50 pm
Thank you for the wonderful article highlight so many of the reasons that we love Bare Cove Park. We would like to be clear regarding the regulations. As of July 2017 there is a brand new permit system inolace to help hold dog owners accountable for their actions as well as their four legged friend. Please visit this web page if you would like to walk your dog off leash at Bare Cove. http://www.hingham-ma.gov/791/Off-Leash-Dog-Walking-Permit
These regulations are being strictly enforced. It’s so important to the community that the park be shared and all abide by the rules. Thanks again for the fantastic article!
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August 8th, 2017 at 2:01 pm
Thank you Lizz!
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August 11th, 2017 at 8:46 pm
Must get permit from town hall for off leash dogs. Allowed odd numbered days only. Most dog people would not really consider bare cove dog friendly anymore sad to say
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August 11th, 2017 at 9:16 pm
I didn’t realize all of the restrictions and regulations for dog walking there and I’m disappointed to hear about this. A better option for dog walkers ma be Stodder’s Neck on Lincoln St also in Hingham (https://newenglandnomad2015.com/2017/06/25/stodders-neck-hingham-ma/). Dogs are allowed off leash and the trails are pretty easy. Thanks for the info, Steve.
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September 6th, 2017 at 7:39 pm
I wanted to send along a thank you for your recent like of my newsandviewsjb post on reading and coffee ice cream – Jackie
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September 6th, 2017 at 11:20 pm
It was my pleasure. Thank you for stopping by here, Jackie!
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