Harwich is home to more than sixty freshwater ponds. Some with names, some unnamed. Some entirely within the borders of the town, some shared with neighboring towns. Some with natural origins, some formed or substantially changed through human activity.
There are 24 named ponds that are entirely within the borders of Harwich. These ponds range in size from the diminutive, 0.71-acre Okers Pond, partially encircled by Martha’s Lane, off Depot Road, to Hinckleys Pond, at over 174 acres, the largest pond entirely within the borders of Harwich, and an important part of the Herring River system.
There are another 12 named ponds that Harwich shares with neighboring towns, most shared with Brewster. In fact, the border between Harwich and Brewster runs through a string of ponds associated with the Herring River watershed – starting in the east with Mud Pond and running west through Grassy Pond, Cahoon Pond, Mill Pond, Smalls Pond, Long Pond, Black Pond, and Seymour Pond. These ponds taken together cover more than 1000 acres of surface, and Long Pond, at more than 740 acres, is the largest freshwater pond on Cape Cod.
Harwich shares another Mill Pond with Chatham. The Chatham Mill Pond lies just south of Queen Anne Road and just west of Rt. 137. A small portion on the west end extends over the line into Harwich.
Harwich shares White Pond with Dennis.
There are another 26 unnamed Harwich ponds shown on the Cape Cod Commission’s online Cape Cod Pond Atlas. Some of these are associated with cranberry bog operations, some with golf courses. Some are just small and obscure ponds in the woods. The largest of these unnamed ponds is a 2.36 acre pond on the Cape Cod National Golf Course. The smallest are a couple of quarter-acre ponds associated with cranberry bog operations.
One of the unnamed ponds shown in the online atlas is associated with cranberry bogs around Cold Brook. This pond has been filled in as part of the Cold Brook ecological restoration project and no longer exists. Also as part of the project, four new shallow ponds have been created, which to date are not accounted for in the online atlas or elsewhere.
See a comprehensive list of Harwich Ponds.
Sources and Useful Links
Cape Cod Commission Updated Pond Atlas Pond Viewer
2021 Cape Cod Pond and Lake Atlas [Cape Cod Commission]
Cape Cod Pond and Lake Atlas Final Report May 2003 [Cape Cod Commission]