Old Sandwich Game Farm Wildlife Management Area: hunting, access and parking in Zone 12
Old Sandwich Game Farm Wildlife Management Area is 93 acres of MassWildlife land in Sandwich (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.
Data updated October 2026. Area facts: MassWildlife's Old Sandwich Game Farm 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)Old Sandwich Game Farm WMAZone lineHighway
| Size | 93 acres (MassWildlife) |
|---|---|
| Town | Sandwich |
| County | Barnstable |
| Wildlife Management Zone | Zone 12 |
| MassWildlife district | Southeast District |
| Parking (MassWildlife) | None mapped |
| Pheasant | Stocked; blaze orange hat required in pheasant season |
| Deer taken in Zone 12, 2025 | 381 (193 adult males) |
| Nearest town centers | Sandwich (3 mi), Barnstable (6 mi) and Bourne (8 mi) |
What is Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA like?
MassWildlife describes it: "As its name suggests, Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA once held rearing facilities for ringnecked pheasants and other gamebirds that MassWildlife raised for stocking throughout Massachusetts to provide hunting opportunities. The farm closed in 1987, but some traces of that history remains. Through a long-standing agreement, the Thornton W. Burgess Society uses some of the old buildings to conduct environmental education programs. Scorton Creek meanders through the property on its way to the ocean. The scenic salt marshes provide habitat for waterfowl, raptors, marsh birds, and songbirds. Tidal creeks provide refuge for young salt- and freshwater fish. Upland areas contain shrubby fields, mature pine and oak forest, and scattered plantations of non-native spruce trees. Several maintenance roads and unmarked trails wind through the WMA and can be used for walking, hiking, and birding."
On wildlife: "Visitors can experience the transition from saline to brackish to freshwater wetlands. Observe the marshes to see American black ducks, mallards, egrets, and herons, along with the declining saltmarsh sparrow. Watch for osprey as they fly over creeks in search of herring. The fields and shrublands are home to a variety of songbirds; cottontail rabbits; small mammals; garter snakes; and many species of moths, butterflies, and other pollinators. Sightings of deer, coyotes, and red foxes are also common."
Quoted from MassWildlife's Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA fact sheet.
What does MassWildlife say about hunting Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA?
"This WMA provides hunting opportunities for common upland game species such as white-tailed deer, gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, woodcock, and eastern coyote. Wetlands and salt marsh on the property also provide some limited opportunity for migratory waterfowl hunting."
On fishing: "Scorton Creek offers anglers a chance to fish for stocked brown trout in the spring and striped bass from spring to early fall. Occasionally, a lucky angler will catch a very large brown trout that has survived for several years after being stocked. A walk to Hoxie Pond offers an opportunity to fish for bass, perch, pickerel, and panfish."
How do you get into Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA?
"There is a designated parking area providing access to the site and to Scorton Creek at the end of a dirt roadway off Route 6A, south of the Scorton Creek bridge. It is possible to launch a canoe/kayak from this parking area."
MassWildlife's parking layer shows no lot for Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA.
Highways within five miles: US 6, MA 130 and MA 149. Distances to the nearest town centers: Sandwich 3 miles, Barnstable 6 miles, Bourne 8 miles and Mashpee 8 miles. Other WMAs nearby: Sandwich Hollows (2 miles), Triangle Pond (3 miles), Fisk Forestdale (4 miles).
When can you hunt deer on Old Sandwich Game Farm 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.
| Zone | WMA acres in it | Deer, 2025 | Adult males, 2025 | Deer, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 12 | 133 | 381 | 193 | 382 |
Seasons: MassWildlife deer hunting regulations (2026 dates). Harvest: MassWildlife 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; MassWildlife 2024 Deer Harvest Summary.
What rules apply on Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA?
It is stocked with pheasant, so every hunter must wear a blaze orange hat during pheasant season, except raccoon and opossum hunters at night and waterfowl hunters in a blind or boat. 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 Old Sandwich Game Farm 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 Old Sandwich Game Farm 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).
How do you get into Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA?
MassWildlife's fact sheet: "There is a designated parking area providing access to the site and to Scorton Creek at the end of a dirt roadway off Route 6A, south of the Scorton Creek bridge. It is possible to launch a canoe/kayak from this parking area."
What can you hunt on Old Sandwich Game Farm WMA?
MassWildlife's fact sheet: "This WMA provides hunting opportunities for common upland game species such as white-tailed deer, gray squirrel, cottontail rabbit, woodcock, and eastern coyote. Wetlands and salt marsh on the property also provide some limited opportunity for migratory waterfowl hunting."
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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).