This past Summer we spent a week in Boston, MA. Wanting to explore the New England area a bit, I made sure to plan some day trips to fun places outside of the city. One place that I stumbled across in my research was Canobie Lake Amusement Park (link) in Salem, New Hampshire.
The park's website looked promising but the reviews on the web were mixed and leaning towards the bad side. In the end, we decided to take a leap of faith and carve a day in our itinerary to visit Canobie Lake Amusement Park (link). I'm so glad that we did because we had a blast! Let me tell you the truth about this little known amusement park.
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Canobie Lake Amusement Park in Salem, NH
A trend among all of the reviews was that the park was VERY small. Well, let me be the first to tell you that is a VERY wrong assessment. We put a full day into the park, from open to close, and still were not able to do everything that they had to offer. To further add to that, this was after Labor Day and when the waterpark area was closed. With the age gap in our kids, ages 3 and 8, we did split up some of the day so that they would be able to enjoy the age appropriate rides. So, even with a large section of the park shut down AND splitting up throughout the day, we still didn't have enough time to do everything. I mean, just LOOK at the map above. This place was huge and with plenty to do!
Our first impression of Canobie Lake Amusement Park was how clean, well maintained, and organized they were. The second impression was of the low crowds. The third impression was the gigantic log flume ride near the entrance. As you can tell by the happy faces above, the ride was certainly not a disappointment.
What was unique and great about this park is that there was a big kid and little kid version of almost every ride. My daughter wanted to drive the bumper cars, but my son didn't meet the height requirement. The attendant nicely pointed my son and I in the direction of the kiddie bumper cars so that both kids would be able to have similar experiences. I was a little nervous to let my son do this, but the attendant on the kiddie version was literally made for that job. He was patient and kind, yet very stern. When my son tried to stand before all the cars were parked, he noticed right away. The attendant sternly told him to remain seated and then entertained him with a song until my son was safely able to stand. Talk about a great experience!
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Canobie Lake Amusement Park (link) is like walking through a time machine, but in a good way. Everything was nostalgic, well maintained, and honestly beautiful. Canobie Lake Amusement Park is over 100 years old and historical in its own right. The rides were vintage, made in Italy, and boasted artwork that would probably make them candidates for a museum. Sadly, the antique carousel that dates back to 1904 was closed for renovations. I was really disappointed to miss that ride because you all know I have a thing for historical carousels, but was pleased to see that they had a second merry-go-round onsite. It is a Venetian Carousel with two floors and is absolutely stunning.
Not into rides? No worries because this park has plenty of other things to offer. We enjoyed an interactive show that took place on an outdoor stage. The show had the kids up and dancing in front of their seats. There was also a 20 minute boat ride that took passengers along the beautiful Canobie Lake. Coming from Long Island, this was a view I'll never forget. The tall pine trees of New Hampshire looked like something from a movie. There is another stage where shows are performed, but we ran out of time to check out the indoor auditorium. Another highlight was the Canobie Lake Express which was a beautiful steam engine train that drives around the entire park. The 15 minute train ride boasts gorgeous views of the lake, the park, and fun steam whistles throughout the way. There are also old school carnival games along the front side of the park. They do cost extra money to play so we only let the kids pick one game each, but it was fun to see them play games that are virtually nonexistent these days. Finally, there are two arcades onsite to play vintage videogames. I did take a peak inside to take the picture above and was shocked to see an old school Pinball Game Room! It was complete with those retro machines, the red velvet circular couches, and a leader board. A "small" park my butt!
It's worth noting that Canobie Lake Amusement Park (link) also has a full waterpark complete with water rides, slides, pools, and private cabanas to rent. They call this part of the park Castaway Island. We didn't get to experience this, but it did look super cool through the gates. The water park is open during the Summer months and closes after Labor Day.
Finally, let's talk food. There are lots of snack stands along the way where you can get treats like popcorn, ice cream, and other popular carnival foods. There are also several different restaurants with themed food options. They're conveniently scattered throughout the park. Each eating area has a limited menu that fits that specific theme, but each serves full meals. We ate at Smokin' BBQ because it had kid friendly foods like hot dogs and mac and cheese. I ate the pulled pork and it was delicious!
Now that we got the fun stuff out of the way, I'll quickly mention the boring stuff. They're reasonably priced with very limited "money sucks" once you enter the park. Canobie Lake Amusement Park conveniently offers lockers, strollers, wheelchairs, and wagons to rent upon request. They also have a HUGE parking lot and it is completely free. Consider me impressed. Free parking is something I'd never find in New York!
I would highly recommend Canobie Lake Amusement Park (link).
- R&W
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