The Kettle Ponds of Nickerson

Nickerson State Park has 8 freshwater kettle ponds. No river or stream feeds them: they sit in hollows left by melting blocks of glacial ice and are filled by groundwater and rain. Cliff and Flax ponds are for swimming and boating, Higgins Pond is for birding and catch-and-release fishing, and 4 of the ponds are stocked with trout.

What Is a Kettle Pond?

A kettle pond is a lake or pond that fills a depression left by the last ice age. As the glaciers retreated from Cape Cod more than 10,000 years ago, big blocks of ice broke off and were buried in sand and gravel. When the ice finally melted, the ground collapsed into deep bowls. Where a bowl reached the water table, it filled with groundwater and became a pond.

The Brewster Ponds Coalition dates the ice sheet's retreat from Brewster to 17,000 to 14,000 years ago. DCR's older park brochure counts more than 300 kettle ponds on the Cape, and the coalition says Brewster alone has 82.

Why the water level changes

Because nothing flows in or out, a kettle pond's level depends only on groundwater and precipitation. DCR says Nickerson's ponds rise and fall from season to season and year to year. A beach that's wide one summer can be narrow the next.

Why the shoreline matters

Several rare wildflowers grow at the edges of the ponds and depend on those swings in water level. The park's brochure says they're very sensitive to trampling, especially in summer and fall, so stay on the marked trails around the ponds.

Nickerson's Ponds at a Glance

Acreage for Cliff and Little Cliff is DCR's; the rest, and the depths, come from the Brewster Ponds Coalition. Keeler's Pond and Triangle Pond also appear on the park map, but no source gives their size.

Higgins Pond

Higgins Pond is a 25-acre pond that DCR singles out for bird watching and catch-and-release fishing. The Brewster Ponds Coalition gives its deepest point as 66 feet, says only electric motors are allowed, and notes it was the first pond in Massachusetts to be reclaimed for trout management. It says fly fishers tend to do best here.

MassWildlife lists Higgins among the Brewster ponds it stocks with trout in spring. For the full rules, see our fishing page.

The park brochure lists great blue herons, cormorants, Canada geese and the occasional common loon on Nickerson's ponds, with osprey and other birds of prey overhead.

The Smaller Ponds

Ruth Pond, about 6 acres, sits deep in the park in oak and pine forest. The paved Ruth Pond Trail passes it; the Brewster Ponds Coalition says it's about 0.3 miles from Fisherman's Landing on Cliff Pond, and you can ride a loop of roughly 2 miles from there (see biking).

Grassy Nook Pond, about 6 acres, is on the Cliff Pond Loop southwest of Fisherman's Landing. Eel Pond, about 4 acres, is south of Higgins Pond and downhill to the west of Camping Area 7. The coalition calls both good spots for frogs and turtles.

Ponds in Winter

The park's brochure says the ponds occasionally freeze, and then they draw skaters and ice fishermen. Judge the ice yourself, and stay off it unless you know it's safe.

Keeping the Ponds Clean

• Watch for cyanobacteria postings. The Brewster Ponds Coalition says Brewster ponds are tested regularly for blooms; if one is posted, stay out of the water and keep dogs from drinking it.
• Clean, drain and dry boats and gear so you don't carry plants or animals from one pond to another.
• Use the restrooms, not the pond. Urine adds nitrogen and phosphorus, which feeds algae.
• Launch boats at the ramps rather than dragging them through the sand.

Which Pond Should You Visit?

• For an easy swim with kids: Flax Pond.
• For a hike with water views: the Cliff Pond Loop, 3.2 miles.
• For a motorboat: Cliff Pond, the only one with a 10 hp limit rather than electric only.
• For birds and quiet fly fishing: Higgins Pond.

Day visitors pay a parking fee in season; details are on our parking page. DCR's park page is the source of record.