G6Adventures
As part of our trip Northeast, we stopped in Salem, Massachusetts for three days. Finding campgrounds in this region is a little tough. We tend to avoid “parking lot” style campgrounds, but we knew that time would be precious for this leg of our trip, so we opted for Winter Island Park. We quickly discovered that this served as a perfect base camp to explore the area.
Winter Island Park is a city park that offers 22 tent campsites and 28 RV (18 50-amp and 10 30-amp) campsites. The sites include water hookups as well. There is no sewer nor is there an on-site dump. You do have access to dump nearby. Getting to Winter Island requires traveling through the city of Salem, including some narrow streets and tight angles. And there is no getting around the fact that the “campsites” are essentially oversized parking spots. But, this ended up being a great spot for us. It is located right on the harbor, which provides some gorgeous views. And I cannot stress enough how conveniently located it is. Plus, there are some cool attractions on-site, including a fort from the 1600s.
We visited Salem and northeastern Massachusetts in mid-July. During a massive heat wave. With heat indexes well over 100 degrees. It was hot. Like Dante’s Inferno hot. But, our family lives by the mantra that “it is what we make of it” so we weren’t going to let the insane heat keep us from exploring this beautiful and fascinating part of the country.
Day 1: Berry Picking and the Byway
We started our first day straight out of the gate. I found Russell Orchards online and, being only 30 minutes away in Ispwich, thought it looked amazing. At Russell’s, you can pick your own crops. What you can pick is based on what is in season when you visit. In July, we were able to pick raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. While this was a super fun experience, the intense heat and what seemed to be swarms of greenhead flies, we lost steam pretty quickly.
The orchard also houses a store and bakery, with its famous cider donuts. Before leaving, we made sure to grab some donuts as well as ice cream from their ice cream parlor, which serves local ice cream. Both were delicious. The store sells all sorts of produce, honey, and local goods and is super cute. Overall, we would definitely go back…but with plenty of greenhead fly repellent!
After a morning of berry picking, we decided to enjoy the scenic views along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway, mostly from the comfort of the air conditioned truck. We took the Byway south from Ipswich to Cape Ann, stopping in Gloucester and Rockport. In Gloucester, we grabbed lunch at Blue Collar Lobster Company, munching on lobster, clam chowder and burgers. We absolutely love the taste of super fresh seafood, since that is not something we get often living in Kentucky. Blue Collar definitely did not disappoint!
A short drive from Gloucester sits Rockport, which feels nearly surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. This adorable coastal town is a photographer’s dream! Plus, it is full of cute shops, amazing art, and fantastic food. We strolled the very walkable streets of this quaint town, in and out of many of the shops. But, we finally gave in to the heat and headed back toward Salem along the Byway. In total, we probably drove about 35 miles of the 90 mile Byway. It really is a gorgeous drive if you are in the area.
After dinner in the camper, we explored Winter Island Park a bit walking along some of the trails and visiting the historic sites. Then, we searched the beach for shells along the seashells, and after dark, we watched for crabs. Despite the undeniably miserable heat of the day, we ultimately made the best of it and got to experience some great places in northeast Massachusetts.
Day 2: Boston
One of the main draws for us of camping in Salem was its proximity to Boston. Yes, you can drive to Boston. From Winter Island, it’s about a 25 mile drive to the starting point of the Freedom Trail. But we are not big fans of trying to navigate large cities. We prefer to use public transportation where possible. There is a train station on Bridge Street in Salem, less than a 10-minute drive from Winter Park. We took the earliest Newburyport/Rockport Line train to the North. It was about a 40-minute ride. Plus, as a bonus for families, kids 11 and under ride free.
From the North Station, it is about a mile to the start of the Freedom Trail at Boston Commons. Given the relative coolness of the morning, we chose to walk to the beginning of the trail, but you could certainly take a bus or subway to get to Boston Common.
The Freedom Trail is a 2.5-mile route that consists of 16 important American Revolutionary War sites throughout downtown Boston. You can pay for a guided tour of the Freedom Trail through either the Freedom Trail Foundation or GetYourGuide. Instead, we chose to pay for an audio tour app called Freedom Trail Boston Guide. Alternatively, you could walk the trail using just the map provided in the Freedom Trail brochure and following the marked plaques on the ground through the city.
The app worked great for us, because it included a map, provided audio content for each of the stops, and included other pictures and images as well. It allowed us to experience the trail at our pace while still feeling like we had a quasi-tour guide. Plus, it was incredibly cost effective, at less than $10.
The heat continued on this day, and so we took our time walking the Freedom Trail. With 4 little ones, we took a lot of rest and drink breaks. Before lunch, we were able to visit Boston Common, the Massachusetts State House, Park Street Church, the Granary Burying Ground, King’s Chapel and Burying Ground, the Benjamin Franklin Statue and Boston Latin School, Old Corner Bookstore, Old South Meeting House, Old State House, and the Boston Massacre Site.
The 10th stop on the Trail is Faneuil Hall. Prior to and during the Revolution, this served as a central marketplace and meeting place for people to protest against the British. Today, it houses over 80 retailers and diverse types of food. We took advantage of this stop to eat lunch at Faneuil Hall’s Quincy Market Colonnade, the first food hall in the United States. We devoured a clam chowder bread bowl, crab cakes, fish & chips, and burgers.
After lunch, we continued along the Freedom Trail, stopping at Paul Revere’s House, Old North Church, and Copp’s Hill Burying Ground. At this point, we reached the part of the trail where you cross the North Washington Street Bridge to continue the trail for its final two stops (the USS Constitution and Museum and the Bunker Hill Monument). To be honest, the absolute brutal heat started to give rise to some adolescent meltdowns. So we decided it was best to end our Freedom Trail tour here.
Instead, we jumped on the Boston Duck Tour. Our tour departed from the Museum of Science, but you can also catch tours from the Prudential Center and the New England Aquarium. The 80-minute tour travels on land and water throughout downtown and then along the Charles River. Despite the tour taking us past several sites we walked earlier in the day, it was nice to be off our feet and somewhat out of the oppressive heat. Plus, it served as great napping spot for our two youngest!
The Museum of Science is incredibly close to the North Station. So, after the Duck Tour, we planned to catch the next train back to Salem. We ended up having a little bit of time to kill, so we wandered around Boston’s Little Italy. After walking miles in the heat, we treated ourselves to a delectable cannoli, mouth-watering tiramisu and creamy gelato from Mike’s Pastry. Then, we got on the train pretty exhausted and relieved that we could just sit back and relax for the ride back to Salem.
As we were driving back to the camper from the train station, we passed King’s Famous Roast Beef and Seafood. It looked like the perfect hole-in-the-wall type of place we love to try, so we stopped in. We tried the super beef with cheese, fish ‘n chips, chicken strips, mozzarella sticks and burger. We loved everything about this place-the no frills decor, the Boston-esque banter of the employees, and, most importantly, the delicious food. There is very limited seating, but it is a great place for take out.
We finished our evening watching the sunset from the campground with our daughter serenading us with her ukulele. Once again, despite a heat index well over 100 degrees, we managed to pack in a full day of adventures.
Day 3: Salem Proper
On our last day in Salem, we finally got around to actually exploring….Salem! And this is where I tell you that we royally screwed up. We expected Salem to be very kitschy and singular. Boy were we wrong. Salem is an entire vibe. Yes, it’s best known for the witch trials. And, yes, they lean into that…a bit. But, this town has incredibly rich history beyond witches. We had no idea how populous and prosperous this harbor town once was due to its port. Plus, it has an incredible boutique shopping, art and food scene. Salem is the perfect mix of history and modern attractions.
Plus, we were lucky enough to be there when Adam Sandler was filming Hubie Halloween. Not only did we get to see him arriving to set, but it was fascinating to see a town turned into a movie set. There were giant tents set up in Salem Common. Huge areas were roped off. And there were dozens and dozens of crew members running around getting things ready. It was definitely an interesting surprise. Every Halloween, we now watch Hubie Halloween, and the kids still point out the places in the movie that we visited and where we saw Adam Sandler!
If you take anything away from this post, it should be to not underestimate Salem. We wish we would not have waited until our last day to explore it. We missed a great opportunity and were super disappointed we didn’t get to experience more of this incredible town. But, it gives us a reason to go back.
From berry picking to coastal towns to Boston to Salem itself, the reasons to visit Salem are endless. We are already looking forward to our next trip to the Northeast, and Salem will definitely still be on the itinerary! After leaving Salem, we traveled to Bar Harbor. If you want to read about our Maine adventures, click here. Or for our other adventures, click here. Stay tuned to see where to next!
