Visiting Salem, MA on Halloween 2021

Are you planning on visiting Salem, MA on Halloween 2021? If so then today’s blog post is for you. The city has been seeing much higher numbers than normal and the following information will help you get in and around Salem.

Take your broom, take your vacuum…do not take your car.

Salem has been seeing intense traffic and public parking has been filling up within a few hours each morning.

If you are able to take public transit or the train into Salem, please do so! There is a train stop right in Salem within a few moments walk of the downtown area. If you are unfamiliar with the routes, try this planning tool by the MBTA.

The city is also offering satellite parking and a shuttle back and forth into Salem. If you need to drive into Salem please consider this option. Everything you need to know about this can be found right here and here.

Road closures for October 2021 in Salem, MA

Each October the city of Salem, MA closes certain roads and limits vehicle access to certain downtown Salem areas. What we know so far can be found here, however information is subject to change as the days go on and we approach the final weekend in October.

Please pay attention to announcements. Any closures or changes will be announced and posted at www.salem.com and www.salempd.org. For real-time traffic and road closure notices, visit https://twitter.com/SalemMAPolice and https://twitter.com/CityofSalemMA. You do not need a Twitter account to follow these pages; if you do have a Twitter account, you can subscribe to both feeds at @SalemMAPolice and @CityofSalemMA. The City will also send push notifications about road closures as they happen through the official app, My Salem MA; find the app by searching for “My Salem MA” in your device’s app store.

Plan ahead

Please plan ahead for your visit and come prepared with bookings and reservations in place. Many attractions have been selling out early morning such as the Witch House, the House of the Seven Gables and the Salem Witch Museum. Most restaurants are on a several hour wait by lunch time. If you don’t have anything booked or reserved it may be difficult to enjoy all that Salem has to offer.

What to pack for Salem, MA

Everything booked and ready to go? Great. Please don’t forget to wear comfortable shoes and socks! Salem is a very walkable city and you’re likely going to be on foot 99% of the time.

You may also want to bring cash for tipping Salem’s buskers or for making purchases from vendors at the Haunted Happenings Marketplace. Many vendors do take card as well however I would suggest bringing some cash anyways.

Be sure you bring extra masks! Salem, MA does have COVID-19 guidelines in place that extend through Halloween. You may want to bring extra hand sanitizer as well just to be safe or in case you use the porta potties.

Leave reviews

If you visited us and had an amazing time on a walking tour, at an attraction here in Salem, had an amazing meal at one of our restaurants…leave a review! Head over to Yelp, Facebook, Google, etc. and spread the good word. The city gets overwhelmed each fall and leaving amazing reviews for your favorites is a great way to show some love.

Please come visit the Haunted Happenings Marketplace as we ring in our final weekend for October on the 29th and 30th! We would love to see you.

Be safe and Happy Halloween.