Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.
| # | Point | Type | Lat, Lon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johns Pond Boat Launch Mass DFW | Access / boat ramp | 41.63488, -70.52232 | State concrete ramp on Johns Pond at the head of the system, about 0.7 km from the river itself. MassGIS records one lane and about ten trailer spaces. |
| 2 | Quashnet Fish Ladder | Dam / hazard | 41.63556, -70.51358 | Fish ladder at the Johns Pond outlet - the head of the river and the upper limit of the designated reach. |
| 3 | Johns Pond Park Mashpee | Park / conservation area | 41.63707, -70.50943 | Town land at the pond outlet; two same-named OSM polygons condensed to the nearer one. |
| 4 | Quashnet Woods State Reservation - upper Mass DCR | Park / conservation area | 41.63707, -70.50106 | State reservation on the upper river. OSM carries four polygons under this name; two are shipped, upper and lower. |
| 5 | Quashnet Woods State Reservation - lower Mass DCR | Park / conservation area | 41.60426, -70.50516 | Lower of the two shipped reservation polygons, on the middle river. |
| 6 | Quashnet Catch and Release Area: Mashpee MassWildlife | Regulation section limit | 41.59404, -70.50677 | Designated reach from the outlet of Johns Pond downstream to the posted sign 0.1 mile below Route 28 in Falmouth. This marker sits at the Route 28 crossing. Boundary features only - check the current MassWildlife rules before you fish. |
| 7 | USGS streamgauge - Quashnet River at Waquoit Village USGS | USGS gauge | 41.59220, -70.50778 | Flow reference for the river. A small stream: it comes up and drops back fast after rain. |
| 8 | Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge US Fish and Wildlife Service | Park / conservation area | 41.59262, -70.49923 | Refuge land on the left bank above the Route 28 crossing. |
| 9 | Quashnet River Access | Access / boat ramp | 41.58713, -70.51034 | Named walk-in access parcel on the lower river, the usual way onto the fishable water. |
| 10 | M Doutt Moonakis Preserve Falmouth | Park / conservation area | 41.58462, -70.51372 | Conservation land on the Moonakis reach, the tidal lower river. |
| 11 | Salt Pond Area Bird Sanctuary | Park / conservation area | 41.58249, -70.51032 | Bird sanctuary beside the lower river. |
| 12 | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve | Park / conservation area | 41.58299, -70.51798 | Reserve land at the river mouth; four same-named OSM polygons condensed to one. |
| 13 | Meadow Neck Road Falmouth | Bridge crossing | 41.57852, -70.51447 | The only named road bridge on the river in OSM, on the tidal Moonakis reach. |
| 14 | Parkers Island Tract US Fish and Wildlife Service | Park / conservation area | 41.57072, -70.51113 | Refuge tract on Waquoit Bay below the river mouth. |
| 15 | Waquoit Bay Landing - Seapit Town of Falmouth | Access / boat ramp | 41.57626, -70.52774 | Town landing on the Seapit River arm of Waquoit Bay, 0.9 km west of the Quashnet mouth and the nearest trailer launch. MassGIS records a shallow draft and about five trailer spaces. |
Gauge: USGS 011058837 — QUASHNET RIVER AT WAQUOIT VILLAGE, MA. Live flow on the web page.
Species: American Eel, Brook Trout, Brown Trout
Regulations: www.mass.gov/freshwater-fishing
Emergency: call 911 and give the number of the nearest point on this map plus its coordinates.
Waquoit Village - the gauge reach on the lower river near the bay.
Quashnet Woods State Reservation - the main walk-in access and trail.
Martins Road - trail parking for the middle river in Mashpee.
Waquoit Bay - the estuary the salters drop into, below the river mouth.
Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve - protected land at the bay.
Johns Pond - the headwater pond above the river in Mashpee.
Childs River - the neighboring restored salter stream entering the same bay.
Spring: the strongest fishing, with returning salters and good water temperatures.
Summer: spring input holds temperatures but the stream is low and clear and demanding.
Fall: brook trout color up before spawning and the river fishes well on cool days.
Winter: cold and quiet, with regulations and spawning making restraint the right call.