Salem Halloween: What To Know If You Are Making The Spooky Trip

SALEM, MA — If the sights and sounds of Salem Halloween do not scare visitors for the next few weekends trying to find a parking spot downtown most likely will.

That is why city officials are urging those coming to the holiday's unofficial hometown throughout October — but especially on the three remaining weekends — to take public transportation or make use of satellite lots in the city with shuttle bus service to downtown attractions.

The city said that visitation is up more than 80 percent over last year — when the city still had an indoor mask mandate and required proof of vaccination to attend large indoor parties — with nearly 80,000 making the trip to the Witch City last Saturday alone.

Because of the crowds, the city has scheduled many street closures and parking restrictions, with Salem police monitoring downtown routes throughout each weekend to determine the need for more rotating shutdowns.

The MBTA has added extra trains and the Salem Ferry is running larger vessels as needed to help people get in and out of the city.

Visitors are encouraged to use parking at the Beverly commuter rail station and take the train one stop — five minutes — to Salem for the easiest access downtown. Because of construction delays on Route 62, those headed to the Beverly Depot should take Route 128 to Route 1A south.

The 450 bus from Wonderland (Revere) and 459 bus from Logan Airport also travel to Salem.

There are also nearly 800 spots open at the city's free satellite lots with shuttle bus service from the lots to downtown from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday through Halloween.

The satellite lots are located at Salem State University's O'Keefe Center parking lot at 225 Canal Street, Salem High School at 77 Wilson Street and Salem Hospital at 108 Jefferson Avenue.

Tickets for illegal parking in residential areas are $75 during October in Salem.

Many Salem museums and attractions require reservations during October — especially on the weekends — so those headed to the city are advised to call ahead or check out the social media or websites of destinations to determine availability.

The Peabody Essex Museum has a whole month of historic and horror programming planned, including the new audio tour "Salem Witch Trials Walk."

The Salem YMCA Witch City 5K road race starts at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Salem Willows. No road closures are planned, however, anticipate traffic impacts along the following roadways: Memorial Drive, Essex Street, Route 1A, Route 114 including Hawthorne Boulevard, Derby Street, and Fort Avenue, ending at Restaurant Row.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)