Cooks Pond Wildlife Management Area: hunting, access and parking in Zone 11
Cooks Pond Wildlife Management Area is 69 acres of MassWildlife land in Plymouth (Plymouth County), in Wildlife Management Zone 11. MassWildlife says all of its WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping. Hunters took 4,153 deer in Zone 11 in 2025.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MassWildlife's Cooks Pond WMA fact sheet. Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates).
MassWildlife (Fish and Game) landState forest and park land (DCR)Cooks Pond WMAZone lineHighway
| Size | 69 acres (MassWildlife) |
|---|---|
| Town | Plymouth |
| County | Plymouth |
| Wildlife Management Zone | Zone 11 |
| MassWildlife district | Southeast District |
| Parking (MassWildlife) | None mapped |
| Deer taken in Zone 11, 2025 | 4,153 (2,120 adult males) |
| Nearest town centers | Plymouth (3 mi), Carver (5 mi) and Kingston (6 mi) |
What is Cooks Pond WMA like?
MassWildlife describes it: "This property consists mainly of white pine and oak forests with greenbrier throughout much of the understory. Cooks Pond is adjacent to the management area and Harlow Pond is contained within the management area."
On its habitat work: "Cooks Pond WMA is managed as a coastal plain pond. The water levels are fluctuated to mimic natural hydrologic conditions to promote this rare natural community."
On wildlife: "This property was purchased to conserve, protect, and manage coastal plain pond habitat. Coastal plain ponds are globally rare natural communities. The globally rare plant species, plymouth gentian, can be found at this management area."
Quoted from MassWildlife's Cooks Pond WMA fact sheet.
What does MassWildlife say about hunting Cooks Pond WMA?
"Game species of this management area include waterfowl, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and eastern coyote. Good opportunities are provided for warm water species such as largemouth bass, chain pickerel, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and yellow perch."
How do you get into Cooks Pond WMA?
"Easy access to this management area can be found behind the John A. Armstrong Skating Rink. The gate to the management area is located in the back of the parking lot."
MassWildlife's parking layer shows no lot for Cooks Pond WMA.
Highways within five miles: MA 3 and MA 80. Distances to the nearest town centers: Plymouth 3 miles, Carver 5 miles, Kingston 6 miles and Plympton 7 miles. Other WMAs nearby: South Triangle Pond (under a mile), Sly Pond (2 miles), Halfway Pond (5 miles).
When can you hunt deer on Cooks Pond WMA in 2026?
Deer seasons follow Zone 11: archery October 5 to November 28, shotgun November 30 to December 12, primitive firearms December 14 to 31 and a winter season January 1 to 30, 2027. In 2025 the zone gave 2,139 deer to archers and 1,358 in shotgun season.
| Zone | WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Adult males, 2025 | Deer, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 11 | 68 | 4,153 | 2,120 | 3,830 |
Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates). Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; MassWildlife 2024 Deer Harvest Summary.
What rules apply on Cooks Pond WMA?
Under 321 CMR 3.01, camping, fires and target practice need the Director's written permission, vehicles stay on roads open to traffic, and dogs must be leashed unless hunting or training with a licensed hunter.
Source: MassWildlife WMA regulations.
Questions hunters ask
Can you hunt on Cooks Pond WMA?
Yes. MassWildlife says all WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping; deer seasons follow Zone 11, where the 2026 shotgun season runs November 30 to December 12 (MassWildlife WMA regulations).
What zone is Cooks Pond WMA in?
Zone 11, as MassWildlife's fact sheet gives it. Hunters took 4,153 deer in Zone 11 in 2025, 2,120 of them adult males, after 3,830 in 2024 (MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary).
How do you get into Cooks Pond WMA?
MassWildlife's fact sheet: "Easy access to this management area can be found behind the John A. Armstrong Skating Rink. The gate to the management area is located in the back of the parking lot."
What can you hunt on Cooks Pond WMA?
MassWildlife's fact sheet: "Game species of this management area include waterfowl, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, and eastern coyote. Good opportunities are provided for warm water species such as largemouth bass, chain pickerel, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and yellow perch."
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Sources: MassWildlife fact sheet; MassWildlife Lands (MassGIS); MassWildlife parking for recreation; MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates); MassWildlife WMA regulations; public land MassGIS Protected and Recreational OpenSpace for state and Army Corps land; USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1) for federal land; towns U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 primary and secondary roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer, towns (county subdivisions). FilledTag is not part of Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife).