Mulpus Brook Wildlife Management Area: hunting, access and parking in Zone 9
Mulpus Brook Wildlife Management Area is 472 acres of MassWildlife land in Lunenburg and Shirley (Middlesex County), in Wildlife Management Zone 9. MassWildlife says all of its WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping. Hunters took 1,534 deer in Zone 9 in 2025, and MassWildlife maps 8 parking areas for the property with room for about 20 vehicles.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MassWildlife's Mulpus Brook WMA fact sheet. Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary. Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates).
MassWildlife (Fish and Game) landNational wildlife refugeMilitary (closed unless the base allows)Mulpus Brook WMAZone lineParkingHighway
| Size | 472 acres (MassWildlife), in 8 pieces |
|---|---|
| Town | Lunenburg and Shirley |
| County | Middlesex |
| Wildlife Management Zone | Zone 9 |
| MassWildlife district | Northeast District |
| Parking (MassWildlife) | 8 lots, about 20 spaces |
| Deer taken in Zone 9, 2025 | 1,534 (742 adult males) |
| Nearest town centers | Shirley (under a mile), Ayer (2 mi) and Lunenburg (3 mi) |
What is Mulpus Brook WMA like?
MassWildlife describes it: "Mulpus Brook WMA is comprised of mixed upland and lowland habitat surrounding a section of Mulpus Brook. A little more than half of the area is upland forest habitat containing primarily white pine, oak, and maple. The remaining acreage is wetland habitat bordering Mulpus Brook. These wetlands vary in composition from open cattail mats and reed marsh to shrub swamp dominated by button bush, alder, and red maple."
On wildlife: "Various species of wildlife are abundant given the stream habitat, providing great birding opportunities particularly at the marsh and pond off Route 2A."
Quoted from MassWildlife's Mulpus Brook WMA fact sheet.
What does MassWildlife say about hunting Mulpus Brook WMA?
"Aquatic furbearers like muskrat, mink, North American beaver, and river otter are common, as are raccoons and waterfowl. White-tailed deer, gray and red fox, and eastern coyote inhabit the upland sections. Mulpus Brook is about 8 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep where it runs through this WMA. Nearly half the section of the brook, within the WMA, can be canoed in the spring. This is a fine cold water stream that is stocked with trout. For more information on trout stocking visit mass.gov/trout."
How do you get into Mulpus Brook WMA?
"The best access to the brook is from town-owned land near the junction of Townsend Road and Route 2A. The northern, upland portion of the area can be accessed from Pamela Drive off of Route 225. The southern parcel can be accessed by parking at the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge parking area off Walker Road. There is also a small fishing access to the brook off Hagan Drive in Shirley."
| Parking | Spaces | Surface | Condition | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dirt pull-off at field, Townsend Road | 1 | Dirt | Good | 42.59158 | -71.65097 |
| Pull-off on Lawton Road | 1 | Dirt | Fair | 42.59114 | -71.62651 |
| Mulpus pulloff, Townsend Rd | 2 | Dirt/Grass | Fair | 42.58755 | -71.64981 |
| Mulpus dead end, Pamela Drive | 3 | Paved | Excellent | 42.59718 | -71.66043 |
| Walker Road Pull-off | 4 | Dirt/Grass | Fair | 42.56458 | -71.62259 |
| Great Road (Rt2A) Pull-off | 2 | Dirt/Gravel | Good | 42.57569 | -71.61975 |
| Lawton Rd. Parking | 3 | Dirt | Good | 42.59152 | -71.62703 |
| Roadside Parking along Longely Rd. | 4 | Paved/Dirt | Good | 42.59347 | -71.63724 |
From MassWildlife parking for recreation.
Highways within five miles: MA 2, MA 111, MA 119, MA 225, MA 110 and MA 13. Distances to the nearest town centers: Shirley under a mile, Ayer 2 miles, Lunenburg 3 miles and Groton 3 miles. Other WMAs nearby: Hunting Hills (3 miles), Townsend Hill (7 miles), Unkety Brook (7 miles).
When can you hunt deer on Mulpus Brook WMA in 2026?
Deer seasons follow Zone 9: 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 660 deer to archers and 557 in shotgun season.
| Zone | WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Adult males, 2025 | Deer, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 9 | 661 | 1,534 | 742 | 1,374 |
Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates). Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; MassWildlife 2024 Deer Harvest Summary.
What rules apply on Mulpus Brook 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 Mulpus Brook WMA?
Yes. MassWildlife says all WMAs are open to hunting, fishing and trapping; deer seasons follow Zone 9, where the 2026 shotgun season runs November 30 to December 12 (MassWildlife WMA regulations).
What zone is Mulpus Brook WMA in?
Zone 9, as MassWildlife's fact sheet gives it. Hunters took 1,534 deer in Zone 9 in 2025, 742 of them adult males, after 1,374 in 2024 (MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary).
Where do you park for Mulpus Brook WMA?
MassWildlife maps 8 parking areas: Dirt pull-off at field, Townsend Road (one car, dirt); Pull-off on Lawton Road (one car, dirt); Mulpus pulloff, Townsend Rd (about 2 cars, dirt/grass); Mulpus dead end, Pamela Drive (about 3 cars, paved). Its fact sheet adds: "The best access to the brook is from town-owned land near the junction of Townsend Road and Route 2A. The northern, upland portion of the area can be accessed from Pamela Drive off of Route 225."
What can you hunt on Mulpus Brook WMA?
MassWildlife's fact sheet: "Aquatic furbearers like muskrat, mink, North American beaver, and river otter are common, as are raccoons and waterfowl. White-tailed deer, gray and red fox, and eastern coyote inhabit the upland sections. Mulpus Brook is about 8 feet wide and 3 to 4 feet deep where it runs through this WMA. Nearly half the section of the brook, within the WMA, can be canoed in the spring. This is a fine cold water stream that is stocked with trout."
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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).