The Friends of Nickerson State Park, Inc. are individuals concerned with promoting the wise use of the natural and historical features of Nickerson State Park through educational, cultural and civic activities. The Friends is a volunteer group with its own board of directors and officers. Their function is to provide a vehicle for public involvement in the park by attracting and organizing volunteer assistance. In addition, the Friends provide the means for pursuing fund-raising and accepting donation to promote further development and improvement of the park. The varied inters of the Friends include not only the park itself and services to campers but also the Adopt-A-Trail program and the Crosby Mansion Volunteers.
Friends of Nickerson continues to fund popular weekly family programs in the park. Some are educational and sometimes just for fun! Generally our programs have an audience of around 70 - 90 campers. We also fund supplies for the Nature Study Center.
We also accept memorial gifts and plant trees in memory of those who love the park.
How the Park Began
In 1934 Nickerson State Park was created when Addie Nickerson, matriarch of “Brewster’s First Family”, gave more than 1,700 acres to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in memory of her son, Roland C. Nickerson, Jr., who died during the 1918 flu epidemic. In 1935 the Civilian Conservation Corps, (CCC) constructed the first roads, camping sites, parking and picnic areas near Flax Pond. CCC workers also planted 88,000 white pine hemlock and spruce trees.
As steward of Nickerson State Park for the past three decades the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has worked to improve recreation facilities at the park while preserving the natural qualities’ anta attract visitors.
Nickerson is amount the largest of the Commonwealth’s 145 forest and parks and offers a wide range of recreational opportunities
•Motor boating (10 hp limit) on Cliff Pond, the largest in the park
•Picnicking on the beach at Flax Pond, a popular spot for young swimmers!
•Bird watching and fishing at Higgins Pond, all four of the ponds are stocked twice a year
•Biking on the Cape Cod Rail Trail or one of the many trails throughout the park
•Camping at one of the more than 400 sited situated around the ponds
The Friends of Nickerson are proud to be able to assist in maintaining and enhancing this valuable natural resource.
