Canobie Lake Park tips

The best Canobie Lake Park tips come down to three things: buy tickets online before you leave home, type “85 North Policy Street” into your GPS, and leave the cooler in the car. Parking is free, kids 3 and under get in free, and the rest, from height rules to locker prices, is posted on the park’s website if you know where to look. Here is the short version, checked against canobie.com in October 2026. For the park’s story, read 125 summers on the lake.

Tickets: online only, priced by the day

Canobie does not sell admission at the gate. All tickets are sold online and must be bought before your visit, and every guest who enters needs one, even a grandparent who only plans to watch. Children 3 and under are free.

• Date-specific tickets are the standard choice. The price changes by day, and the online pricing calendar shows it when you pick a date. Busy days can sell out. If a date won’t come up, it’s full.
• Good Any Day tickets work on any one day of the 2026 season, Screeemfest included, with no reservation. They make an easy gift, but they are tied to the season.
• Discounts: the park sells a discounted Junior/Senior ticket. Veterans and military families save $7 on general admission bought at the park with ID. During Screeemfest 2026, QR codes from Market Basket service desks and participating McDonald’s take $5 off the $55 online Sunday ticket.
• Changing dates: unused tickets keep the value you paid. Use the Ticket Exchange or email the park. If the new date costs more, you pay the difference. If it costs less, there is no refund.

Weather matters too. The park runs in most conditions, but some rides close for lightning, high wind and heavy rain. If the park closes early, guests still inside get a ticket for another day. Leave on your own before then and there is no rain check.

Season passes: when two visits pay off

If you live nearby, price out a season pass. The Platinum pass is good every operating day of 2027. The Basic pass is blacked out on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August and on Screeemfest Saturdays. Both 2027 passes are on sale now and also cover the rest of 2026 Screeemfest, Saturdays excepted for Basic. Everyone over 3 needs a pass, with a photo on file. Prices are listed only in the park’s online store.

Two pass rules trip people up. A pass scans once a day, so get a hand stamp on the way out if you plan to come back. And a lost or forgotten card costs $10 to replace. Passholders also get Bring-A-Friend days, when one guest gets in free if you arrive together. In 2026 those were Oct. 2 and Oct. 4.

Hours, the season and the best times to go

Canobie runs from mid-May to Halloween. In 2026 the park opened Saturday, May 16, for weekends, added weekday hours of 9 a.m.–4 p.m. in early June and opened daily from June 17. Summer days ran 10:30 a.m.–7 p.m., with Friday and Saturday nights open to 10 p.m. and Sundays open to 9 p.m. from late July. After Labor Day it went to weekends only, then switched to Screeemfest hours from Sept. 26: Fridays 5–11 p.m., Saturdays 3–11 p.m. and Sundays 1–9 p.m., through Oct. 31. Hours can change without notice, so check the park hours calendar the day you go.

The park’s own advice on crowds:

• Spring: quieter than summer, and spring weekends tend to be less busy than spring weekdays.
• Summer: weekdays are less busy than weekends.
• Screeemfest: Fridays and non-holiday Sundays are lighter than Saturdays. On weekends, arrive before 6 p.m.

Some ride lines close up to an hour before the park does, so don’t save your favorite ride for the last 30 minutes.

Parking and getting there

Parking is always free. Put 85 North Policy Street, Salem, NH 03079 in your GPS. The park warns that some systems send drivers to “Bus Rd” off Brookdale Road, and that searching “Canobie Lake” without “Park” can point you to Sunset Road, which is nowhere near the gates. From I-93, take Exit 2, turn left at the lights onto North Policy Street and drive less than a mile. Exit 3 works too, by way of Route 111 and Range Road. The park puts the drive at about 35 minutes from Boston. Our Boston to Salem, NH guide has more.

Inside the lot, follow the blue line to accessible parking by the entrance, and use the pick-up and drop-off area near the entrance complex. The lot opens about 30 minutes before the park and closes about 30 minutes after. The speed limit is 14 mph, and there is no overnight parking.

Canobie Lake Park tips on what to bring (and leave in the car)

Outside food and drinks, coolers, lawn and beach chairs and glass are not allowed in the park. You can picnic at your car, but grills are banned in the lot and there are no tables or shade there. Get a hand stamp as you leave and you can come back in the same day. One exception: you may bring in a birthday cake, and Guest Services gives the birthday guest a free card and sticker.

Expect a bag check and metal detectors at the gate. Shirts and shoes are required everywhere. For Castaway Island, bring swimwear and swim diapers for babies. It’s included with admission but closes after Labor Day. Skateboards, scooters, roller shoes and drones are banned, parking lot included. Leashed, friendly dogs are allowed on the grounds, but not on rides or in buildings and restaurants.

Rentals are by the Giant Sky Wheel. 2026 prices:

• Lockers: $10 standard, $15 large, $20 jumbo, for the day. They are first come, first served and sell out on busy days. Empty yours before close.
• Strollers: $10 single, $14 double. Wagons: $14.
• Wheelchairs: $12. Electric convenience vehicles: $40, with a driver’s license or credit card.

The rental stand is cashless, and so are some food stands. The park takes cash, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover, plus Apple Pay wherever there’s a card terminal, and there’s a Bank of America ATM just inside the entrance. Ride attendants can’t hold your things, so loose items go in a locker or with a non-rider.

Food inside the park

No Canobie restaurant takes reservations. Choices run from Smokin’ BBQ (ribs, pulled pork, brisket) and Poncho Cantina (tacos, burritos, quesadillas) to Pizza Ria, the International Food Festival and Gables Grill by Untamed. For sweets, the Yankee Whaler makes its own waffle cones, and there’s fried dough, Dippin’ Dots and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Adults 21 and older can get a sandwich and a pint at Sons of Liberty Tavern. You need photo ID for each drink, and drinks stay where you bought them. Some stands close after summer. The park posts a food allergy guide, with a fall edition for 2026, on its dining page. For a sit-down dinner after, see where to eat in Salem.

Height checks, accessibility and lost kids

Heights are posted at every ride entrance and strictly enforced. The number to know is 48 inches: it’s the minimum for both big coasters and the maximum for most kiddie rides. Our Canobie rides guide lists the rules ride by ride. If a little one is too short for a big ride, use Parent Swap: one adult waits with the child near the exit, then rides through the exit when the group gets off.

Guests with disabilities can wear the red Ease of Mind wristband, which helps ride operators spot them and can cover up to three companions, though companions may be limited on crowded days. Not every ride is wheelchair accessible. Operators will hold a ride while your party helps you transfer, but they can’t lift you into a seat. Read the Guest Accessibility Guide before you go, and check in at Guest Services when you arrive. There’s a nursing room at the main entrance (get the key from Guest Services), a family restroom on the Ferris wheel side of the entrance plaza and changing tables in every restroom.

First aid, staffed by EMTs, is behind the Antique Carousel, to your right as you enter. The park does not page lost guests, so set a meeting spot when you arrive and tell kids to find a uniformed team member if they get separated. Planning a whole day with kids? See Salem, NH with kids and our family restaurants guide, and for October nights, our Screeemfest guide.