Parking & Directions

Parking at Harold Parker State Forest costs $5 a day for cars with Massachusetts plates and $20 for out-of-state plates, charged from May 23 through October 12. DCR lists two addresses: the park headquarters at 305 Middleton Road in North Andover and the Lorraine Park Campground entrance at 133 Jenkins Road in Andover. Smaller lots sit along Harold Parker Road, Jenkins Road and Middleton Road, so pick the one closest to what you came for.

Parking Fees and Passes

DCR charges daily parking at Harold Parker from May 23 to October 12. Residency is decided by your license plate, not your driver's license: Massachusetts plates pay $5, all others pay $20. DCR's page links to its annual state parks parking pass and its lifetime senior parking pass. DCR's trail map adds that all vehicles must display a parking pass in marked lots. Outside the fee season DCR lists no daily charge, but the forest still closes at sunset; see hours.

The Main Lots

Most visitors use one of these. Gate and lot names come from DCR's maps and the Friends of Harold Parker's trail descriptions, which number the gates.

• Park Headquarters, 305 Middleton Road, North Andover. Start of the Stearns Pond Trail (blue) and Sudden Pond Trail (white), end of the CCC Trail. DCR's management plan names it as a place with room for trucks and horse trailers.
• Jenkins Lot, Jenkins Road at Harold Parker Road, Andover (Gate 13). DCR's trailhead for the Yellow Diamond Trail and the start of the Berry Pond Trail (green). The Yellow Diamond Trail was built for mountain bikes.
• Pavilion lot, Middleton Road. By the CCC pavilion at Berry Pond, on the Berry Pond Trail and the Bay Circuit Trail.
• Chimney Lot and Collins Lot, Harold Parker Road. Western end of the forest, for the Friends Loop (red) around Collins and Brackett Ponds and the CCC Trail's west end. DCR's signature bike ride starts at a small lot between intersections A21 and A22, about 25 Harold Parker Road.
• Sudden Pond, 18 Middleton Road, North Andover. The address DCR used for its 2026 Fall Fishing Festival.
• Salem Street, North Reading. DCR meets its Sunday birding walks at the dirt lot across from 33 Salem Street.

Campground Parking

If you have a campsite, drive in at 133 Jenkins Road in Andover; the campground office and the Nature Center are inside. Day visitors coming for a program at the Nature Center or the Frye Pond bridge are directed there as well. More on camping.

Which Lot for What

• Swimming at Berry Pond: the pavilion lot on Middleton Road. See Berry Pond.
• A first walk: Park Headquarters, for the 1.6-mile Sudden Pond loop or the 3.1-mile Stearns Pond loop.
• Mountain biking: the Jenkins Lot, or the small Harold Parker Road lot for DCR's signature ride. See mountain biking.
• Horse trailers: Park Headquarters, or Berry Pond Road east of Jenkins Road, the two spots DCR's plan names. See horseback riding.
• Paddling Stearns or Field Pond: see the ponds.

Getting There

DCR describes the forest as about an hour north of Boston. Use the two DCR addresses above in your map app. The forest spans four towns: Andover, North Andover, North Reading and Middleton.

Parking Rules

DCR's map says to park in designated areas only, and its hiking notes warn that trailhead space may be limited: do not block in other cars, and do not leave valuables in your car. Hunting is allowed in season, but never within 500 feet of a parking lot; see hunting.