Summer in Salem, from the lake to the lawn

The best summer things to do in Salem NH are mostly outdoors and mostly inexpensive: rides and a water park at Canobie Lake Park, a swim at Hedgehog Pond, free Friday-night concerts at Field of Dreams, live music by the water at Tuscan Village and a rail trail for cool mornings. Summer dates are announced each spring; we give 2026’s as a guide to the pattern.

Canobie Lake Park and Castaway Island

Canobie Lake Park opened in 1902 as a trolley company’s lakeside resort, and 2027 will mark 125 years. The season starts in mid-May with weekends only. In 2026 the park opened Saturday, May 16, from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., added weekday hours June 3 and stayed open later from June 17. The 2027 schedule has not been announced.

Castaway Island, the water park, is included with admission. It has Lil’ Squirts Lagoon for small children, the Rain Fortress splash structure, three River Slides and Tidal River, a lazy river with waves. In 2026 it opened weekends in late May, then ran every park day from June 19 through Labor Day, 10:30 a.m.–6 p.m.

• Yankee Cannonball: a wooden coaster that has run at Canobie since 1936. 48-inch minimum.
• Untamed: a 72-foot lift and a 97-degree, beyond-vertical drop. 48-inch minimum.
• Log Flume: ends with a 40-foot drop; it runs through mid-September.
• Canobie Express and Blue Heron Lake Cruise: a steam train along the shore and a 20-minute pontoon ride on Canobie Lake.

Tickets are online only, and prices vary by day. A 2027 Basic season pass is not valid on Saturdays and Sundays in July and August; the Platinum pass has no blackout dates. Read our Canobie Lake Park tips before you go, and the ride guide to sort coasters from kiddie rides. Hours and tickets are at canobie.com.

Swimming at Hedgehog Pond

Hedgehog Park, 53 Lowell Road (Route 38), is Salem’s town swimming spot. Swimming runs from Memorial Day to Labor Day, and the park is staffed 9 a.m.–7 p.m. in season. There are no lifeguards, so you swim at your own risk. In 2026 the opening was pushed back to June 20.

• Parking in season: $10 a day for residents, $20 for non-residents. Season permits are $30 and $60, sold at the Community Services Department in the Ingram Community Center.
• Also there: a playground, picnic tables, a bathroom building, a basketball court, fishing and an ADA walking path around the pond.

Free concerts, movies and Lake Park music

• Field of Dreams summer concerts: a free series on Friday evenings from late June to mid-August at Field of Dreams Park, 48 Geremonty Drive. In 2026 it ran seven Fridays, June 26 to Aug. 14, with openers at 5:45 p.m. and headliners at 6:40 p.m. Gator Pit BBQ cooks on site, beer and wine are sold for the green, and there is ice cream and popcorn. The park also hosts free summer movie nights and has a playground with a toddler area, a fitness trail and hiking trails.
• Lake Park at Tuscan Village: a live-music stage and outdoor movies by the pond. In season, bands play Thursday through Sunday. At festivals, gondolas carry riders across the water. Nearby, the Sam Adams Pavilion beer garden has cornhole and giant Jenga, and the Sun Cruiser Social Club pours drinks from open-air container bars.
• Fireworks: Tuscan Village lists summer fireworks among its yearly events. In 2024 the Town noted a show there on July 3 at about 9 p.m. Dates are announced each year, so check tuscanvillagesalem.com in June.

For more no-cost ideas, see our list of free things to do in Salem.

More summer things to do in Salem NH

• Salem Bike-Ped Corridor: 4.95 miles on the old Boston & Maine line, paved from North Broadway to Main Street and unpaved to the south. Go early on hot days. The Salem Depot Transportation Museum on Main Street has restrooms and water. Our rail trail guide has the details.
• Salem NH Farmers Market: Sundays 10 a.m.–2 p.m., May through October, at The Mall at Rockingham Park next to The Field at DICK’S House of Sport.
• Golf: Campbell’s Scottish Highlands, at 79 Brady Ave., is a public 18-hole, links-style course with a driving range and a bar and grill.
• Fishing: Arlington Mill Reservoir is a 269-acre warmwater fishery with bass, pickerel, perch and crappie. There is no official public boat access.
• America’s Stonehenge: open daily 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The site says its Summer Solstice Sunrise Monolith marks the June sunrise; kids 12 and under can dig for gemstones.

Eating outside in summer

Summer is patio season. At Tuscan Village, the Sam Adams Pavilion beer garden and the Sun Cruiser Social Club are open-air, Tuscan Market has a heated, enclosed patio, and Tavern in the Square has an outdoor patio over two floors of pub food. Salt & Straw and Playa Bowls cover dessert. Off Route 28, Black Water Grill on Pelham Road has an outdoor deck. Hours change with the season, so call ahead.

Summer in Salem with kids

Plan a day around the heat. Do the rail trail or Field of Dreams playground in the morning, Castaway Island in the afternoon, and a free concert or Lake Park music after dinner. On a rainy day, The Mall at Rockingham Park has about 140 stores and a movie theater, and Kelley Library on Main Street lends museum passes. Our guide to Salem with kids has more. Restaurant meals carry New Hampshire’s 8.5% meals tax, but there is no sales tax on anything you buy.