Salem Beyond Halloween: Winter Hours and Where to Go
From Nov. 15 the National Park runs Wednesday to Sunday and PEM is closed Tuesday and Wednesday. Hours, prices, parking and Winter Island.
Salem’s National Park buildings move to a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule on Sunday, November 15, which makes Tuesday the one weekday when neither the park’s Visitor Center nor the Peabody Essex Museum is open.
For holiday-season dates, including the Seven Gables Christmas tours and the December market, see our separate December day in Salem.
Salem Maritime in winter
Salem Maritime National Historical Park runs its winter season from November 15 through April 30. All its buildings and programs are free. The National Park Service posts these hours:
- Salem Armory Visitor Center and Waite & Peirce Park Store: Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
- Public Stores and Scale House: Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, weather permitting.
- Narbonne House: Wednesday to Sunday, 1 to 4 pm.
- Custom House: closed for the season.
- Derby Wharf and the park grounds: open 24 hours, every day, so a harbor walk works on a Monday.
The park is closed on Thanksgiving (November 26), Christmas Day (Friday, December 25) and New Year’s Day (Friday, January 1, 2027). The phone is 978-740-1650, and the hours are on the park’s hours page.
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Peabody Essex Museum
PEM, at 161 Essex Street, is open Thursday through Monday, 10 am to 5 pm (last re-entry 4:45 pm) and closed Tuesday and Wednesday, plus Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Adults are $25, seniors 65 and over $23 and students with ID $15. Youth under 16 and Salem residents are free, and people who work in Salem get free general admission with a business card or employee ID at the admissions desk. Prices and hours are on pem.org/visit.
Winter Island
Winter Island is a peninsula of about 54 acres on Salem Neck at the mouth of Salem Harbor, and the city’s Winter Island Park covers its southern third. A multi-use trail along the west side, beside Cat Cove, connects to Salem’s city bike path, which links to the Beverly and Marblehead bike paths.
Salem.org lists the park’s Waikiki Beach, at 50 Winter Island Road, with a non-resident parking fee of $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends. The city’s page describes a pathway and bank restoration project for the park, so check the City of Salem’s Winter Island page before a cold-weather visit.
Getting there and parking
Salem is a stop on the MBTA Commuter Rail Newburyport/Rockport Line, in Zone 3, with a one-way fare of $8.00. The MBTA’s schedule page has current times. If you drive, PEM lists the Museum Place garage on New Liberty Street, the MBTA garage at 252 Bridge Street, the South Harbor Garage at 10 Congress Street and a municipal lot on St. Peter Street. Our December guide has more on garages.
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Sources
- National Park Service: Salem Maritime hoursnps.gov
- Peabody Essex Museum: Visitpem.org
- City of Salem: Winter Island Parksalem.com
- Salem.org: Waikiki Beach at Winter Islandsalem.org
- MBTA V3 API: Commuter Rail stops and zonesapi-v3.mbta.com
- MBTA: Commuter Rail faresmbta.com
Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.
How we report: every date, price and address comes from a linked source.
