Quabbin Visitor Center

The Les and Terry Campbell Quabbin Visitor Center is inside DCR's Quabbin Administration Building at the west end of Winsor Dam, 100 Winsor Dam Road, Belchertown. It is open 8:30 am–4:30 pm, Thursday through Tuesday (closed Wednesdays), and closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission and parking are free. Call (413) 323-7221.

It is the one staffed public desk for the whole Quabbin Reservoir. DCR's trail guides say staff can answer questions on the history, wildlife and management of the watershed, and almost every permit or appointment the reservoir requires starts with a call here.

How to Find the Visitor Center

Use Quabbin Park's West entrance on Route 9 in Belchertown, which DCR marks as gate 1 on its park map. The road leads to the Administration Building beside Winsor Dam. DCR notes that parking at the main entrance is limited. If the lot is full, the Middle and East entrances lead to the rest of the park (Goodnough Dike, Hanks Meadow and the tower lot), but not by car to the visitor center, because vehicles can't cross the dam. Directions from each side of the state are on parking and directions.

What the Visitor Center Handles

• Boat seal appointments. Every private boat launched on the reservoir needs a Quabbin Boat Seal. DCR takes appointments by phone from March 1, and cold-weather quarantine appointments from October 1. See boat rentals and private boats.
• Permit questions and geocache reviews. Night-access permits (fishing season only) and group permits (25 people or more) are now online forms linked from DCR's pages; DCR's access plan sends permit questions to the center, and any geocache placement needs the center's review.
• Cemetery lookups. DCR gives out lot numbers and gravesite information for Quabbin Park Cemetery on request, and the vital records of the four disincorporated towns are kept in this building.
• Maps and current conditions. DCR says information and maps are available here, and asks anglers to call before driving to a boat launch on high-wind days. Online maps are listed on our maps page.
• Free programs. DCR's watershed staff run guided hikes and talks. They are free, registration is required, and outdoor programs are capped at 25 people.

What It No Longer Sells

Quabbin fishing season parking passes used to be sold here for cash. DCR says that option has ended: the season pass is now sold only online through DCR's website. Daily parking, one-day Quabbin fishing licenses and boat rentals are sold at the boat launch areas, by card only. Prices are on the fishing guide and boat rentals.

Walks Starting at the Visitor Center

The Visitor Center Loop Trail is a pink-blazed, 1.7-mile loop of forest roads and footpaths. DCR's trail guide puts the trailhead just east of the Administration Building, inside the rotary on Winsor Dam; it drops below the dam past the "Y" Pool on the Swift River and climbs a ridge back to the building. You can also walk out onto Winsor Dam itself from here. More options are on the trail map.