Fox Island Wildlife Management Area: hunting, access and parking in Zone 12

Fox Island Wildlife Management Area is 71 acres of MassWildlife land in Wellfleet (Barnstable County), in Wildlife Management Zone 12. MassWildlife says all of its WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping. Hunters took 381 deer in Zone 12 in 2025, and MassWildlife maps 1 parking area for the property with room for about 5 vehicles.

Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MassWildlife's Fox Island WMA fact sheet. Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates).

What is Fox Island WMA like?

MassWildlife describes it: "Fox Island WMA consists of salt marsh, coastal dune and beach, tidal flats, and upland forested habitat. Common vegetation includes salt meadow cordgrass, salt marsh cordgrass, sea lavender, and high tide bush. Upland portions of the WMA are dominated by pitch pine, various oaks, eastern red cedar, and common greenbrier."

On wildlife: "Wildlife watching opportunities are excellent on this WMA. Federally Endangered roseate terns along with common and least terns forage in the salt marsh and bay. All of this WMA is included in BioMap2, the state’s comprehensive biodiversity conservation plan, because of the rare species and the capacity to allow potential uphill migration of salt marsh as sea level rises. Other wildlife that can regularly be seen on the WMA include hawks, ospreys, migrating songbirds, small mammals, horseshoe crabs, and a variety of saltwater invertebrates. The adjacent conservation restriction areas contain several marked walking trails through the upland forest and out onto the edges of the salt marsh with excellent views. The area including the WMA was also designated by the Department of Conservation and Recreation in 1982 as containing visual landscapes and cultural resources that place it in the top 5% of all landscapes in the Commonwealth."

Quoted from MassWildlife's Fox Island WMA fact sheet.

What does MassWildlife say about hunting Fox Island WMA?

"The extensive salt marshes and tidal flats provide some opportunities for waterfowl hunting in the fall. There are also hunting opportunities for eastern coyote, red fox, and gray fox. The WMA provides shoreline access to Wellfleet Harbor and Blackfish Creek for fishing. Saltwater fishing regulations"

How do you get into Fox Island WMA?

"The main section of the WMA can be accessed via a small gravel parking area at the end of King Phillip Road, which extends south off of Indian Neck Road. There is a small sand footpath through the marsh that provides access to the beach/tidal flat area abutting Wellfleet Harbor and Blackfish Creek. Access to the conservation restrictions across Blackfish Creek is gained via a small dirt parking area at the end of South Cove Road (near what shows on some maps as First Right Road), which is off of Baker Road."

From MassWildlife parking for recreation.

Highways within five miles: US 6. Distances to the nearest town centers: Wellfleet under a mile, Eastham 5 miles, Truro 7 miles and Orleans 10 miles. Other WMAs nearby: Eastham Salt Marsh (7 miles), Provincetown Corridor (13 miles), Olivers Pond (13 miles).

When can you hunt deer on Fox Island WMA in 2026?

Deer seasons follow Zone 12: archery October 5 to November 28, shotgun November 30 to December 12, primitive firearms December 14 to 31. In 2025 the zone gave 128 deer to archers and 191 in shotgun season.

Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates). Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; MassWildlife 2024 Deer Harvest Summary.

What rules apply on Fox Island 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 Fox Island WMA?

Yes. MassWildlife says all WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping; deer seasons follow Zone 12, where the 2026 shotgun season runs November 30 to December 12 (MassWildlife WMA regulations).

What zone is Fox Island WMA in?

Zone 12, as MassWildlife's fact sheet gives it. Hunters took 381 deer in Zone 12 in 2025, 193 of them adult males, after 382 in 2024 (MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary).

Where do you park for Fox Island WMA?

MassWildlife maps 1 parking area: Fox Island (about 5 cars, dirt). Its fact sheet adds: "The main section of the WMA can be accessed via a small gravel parking area at the end of King Phillip Road, which extends south off of Indian Neck Road. There is a small sand footpath through the marsh that provides access to the beach/tidal flat area abutting Wellfleet Harbor and Blackfish Creek."

What can you hunt on Fox Island WMA?

MassWildlife's fact sheet: "The extensive salt marshes and tidal flats provide some opportunities for waterfowl hunting in the fall. There are also hunting opportunities for eastern coyote, red fox, and gray fox. The WMA provides shoreline access to Wellfleet Harbor and Blackfish Creek for fishing. Saltwater fishing regulations"

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).

Massachusetts hunting Zone 12