Dighton Rock State Park

Dighton Rock State Park in Berkley, Massachusetts protects Dighton Rock, a 40-ton boulder whose face is covered with carved symbols, now displayed in a small museum on the bank of the Taunton River. DCR's 2023 plan reports that a 2016 3-D laser scan identified the carvings as Native American. The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from late May to early September, and by appointment the rest of the year. Parking is free, and a shaded picnic grove sits by the river.

The Rock and Its Carvings

DCR describes Dighton Rock as a gray, feldspathic boulder of about 40 tons that once sat in the Taunton River, with petroglyphs carved across a face 11 feet wide and 6 feet tall. For centuries people argued over who made them; theories included Norse voyagers and the Portuguese explorer Miguel Corte-Real. A 3-D laser scan and recording in 2016 identified the inscriptions as Native American. The rock was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

The Museum

The Dighton Rock Museum is a small building at the river's edge that shelters the rock and explains the theories about the carvings. DCR lists it as open Wednesday through Sunday, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from late May through early September, with possible unscheduled closures; at other times it opens by appointment. Call (508) 644-5522 to confirm hours or book a visit.

The Park

The park opens daily at 9 a.m., and the closing time varies with the season; call (508) 822-7537 for updates. Bay View Avenue is the only road in. Free parking is in the lot past the entrance. DCR's park page describes an 85-acre park; its 2023 management plan measures 151 acres, with about three-quarters of a mile of Taunton River frontage on Assonet Neck, where the Taunton and Assonet Rivers meet.

Things to Do

• Picnic: a grove with tables and grills on soft, shaded grass by the river.
• Walk: a short trail runs along the river, and the walkway round the museum gives river views.
• Fish and paddle: DCR lists fishing, canoeing and kayaking on the Taunton River.
• Learn: educational programs, nature study and, in winter, cross-country skiing.

Restrooms are available. No alcohol and no off-road vehicles.

History of the Park

Assonet Neck is believed to have been a heavily populated Native settlement area, and the Pokanoket and Wampanoag peoples have lasting ties to this stretch of the river. The state created the park in 1955 to preserve the rock. Cellar holes and retaining walls in the woods north of the museum are the remains of an early-20th-century cottage community.

Dighton Rock and Massasoit

Both parks sit on the Wild and Scenic Taunton River; DCR's plan puts Massasoit's river parcel 17.5 miles upriver. Massasoit, named for the Wampanoag leader Ousamequin, adds camping, ponds and miles of trail. See about Massasoit and camping.