Old-timey charm meets break-neck speeds at Canobie Lake Park.
Long before contemporary roll coasters werehurling guest through the tune at grimace - pare speed , American theme parks were spot of pastoral leisure time and unsubdivided pleasures , involve thing like picnic and penny arcades . One such place , Canobie Lake Park , is a folksy address in southerly New Hampshire that bridge the crack between the old and the Modern ; the older - timey whiteness and the adrenaline - pumping scourge of a roller coaster with a 97 - degree plummet .
The sometime theme park in the Granite State – and one of the oldest in the country – Canobie Lake Park first emerged in 1902 as a charming trolley park , offer a lakeside hideaway for family in and around the Massachusetts - side by side town of Salem . And while technology has amped up the frisson factor over the ensuing century , it ’s a park that continue a classical quaintness and Americana kitsch that feel like New England ’s very own Dollywood . But or else of Dolly Parton andCivil War - theme dinner party appearance , here you ’ll findacrobatic rescue dogsandfried gelt BLTs . Here ’s what to know about visiting Canobie Lake Park .
Trolley park roots
It was a simpler sentence for topic parks back in the day . Long before theStar war cosplay and the 13 - story Wonder Woman roller coaster , trolley parks were primarily garden and leisurely recreation area for family to frequent along streetcar lines in the belated 1800s . The OG of stem parks , they were less about adrenaline and 4 - D immersion and more about picnicking in a park and watching pyrotechnic — perhaps float in a canoe if you were feeling crazy . Canobie Lake Park was such a place , opened in 1902 by The Hudson , Pelham & Salem Railways as a way to further people to use their streetcars and give them a name and address to frequent for wholesome family fun .
Indeed , Canobie Lake Park ’s botanical garden vibe attract quite the elegant gang . Folks came clad in their fine garb , donning gowns and suits to hit the centime arcade and tantalise the Circle Swing . The whole vibe search like a Georges Seurat painting , complete with waterfront immature space , cottage - like building , and forested pathway . Pre - roller coaster , this was a place primarily used for picnics , play , and casual sporting events — until the onrush of the automobile brought thing to a screeching arrest and changed the face of tram parks forever and a day .
A thrilling new era
After Canobie Lake Park ’s heyday as a trolley car mainstay , times were a - transfer in the 1920s . The climb of the automobile think of the downfall of the tram — and thus , the death of the trolley park . As trolley car lines dwindled , so too did attendance at Canobie Lake Park , culminate in its law of closure in 1929 . Fortunately , the downfall was brief , and it come forth anew a few year afterwards with thrilling new feature — including , as a new necessity , a parking lot — to bolster pastime and attending .
Canobie 2.0 reopened in 1932 , with a few new deception in the works — namely , a dazzling novel wooden ride call the Greyhound Roller Coaster , which was shipped from Connecticut and re - assembled on site . Still in operation today and now known as the Yankee Cannonball , the rickety magnet was a game - changer for the park that enter the door for a slew of new bodily process , rides , and events .
It ’s motif , too , took on a bucolic fairy land esthetic , as weave footpath through the trees filled in with dance halls , performance stages , carnival - mode games , concessioner , and woods - raiment building capped with spire and flags . The antique carousel , construct in 1903 and fulfil with aureate horses pivot to orchestral organ euphony , became quite the show - stop centrepiece .
Canobie Lake Park
Then come the genius . Although Canobie Lake Park has yet to be graced by Dolly Parton ’s presence , its Dancehall Theater became quite the star - studded attraction by the 1950s , going on to host A - listing performances from the the likes of of Duke Ellington , Jimmy Dorsey , Aerosmith , and Sonny & Cher . At one beautiful decimal point in time , you could see Cher singing in the New Hampshire woods , dream of a future that only Dippin ’ Dots could deliver .
But not even Cher could protect Canobie from America ’s frivolous relationship to theme green . By the belated ‘ 50 , roller coasters were disappear at a speedy cartridge clip across the nation , and the park could no longer rely on the Yankee Cannonball to do the heavy - lifting as the marquis draw . With unexampled possession in 1958 come a new missionary station to dig deeply and pave the means for a more durable future . Literally , this meant paving pathways through the forest , and adding a bevy of new eateries , arcades , game , and rides .
Canobie Lake Park today
today , while you belike wo n’t see Cher performing any time shortly , youcanwatch rescue dogs jump off through the air travel to catch Frisbee . Or pose for photos with Dapper the Dog , fundamentally the Mickey Mouse of Canobie Lake Park . A far yell from its trolley common Clarence Day of yore , the parking caboodle is routinely at capacity , filled with folks from all over New England looking for a taste of sure-enough - timey sport .
Through all its ebbs and flows , the park maintains a rustic , folksy ambience that feels absolutely preserved in meter — and in a macrocosm filled withover - the - top Harry Potter ridesandtheme parks more expensive than your mortgage , it ’s a breather of fresh gentle wind . That ’s not to say Canobie has n’t advanced and innovated , though . The tree - lined pathways , shimmering lake view , vintage - looking go - carts , refurbished luggage carousel , and faux casinos all uphold the Americana atmosphere , while new attracter , rides , and snacks ( the fry wampum BLT is the audacious solace food of your dreams ) persist in to catapult the park into a novel era of enduring nostalgia for next generations .
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Thrills, chills, and Mario Kart.
The Yankee Cannonball is still going strong , jettisoning visitant out on a wooden caper by the parking tidy sum , while other quiver let in the super - dowse Boston Tea Party boat ride , the fast - whirl Turkish Twist that ’ll make you sense like laundry in a washables machine , and the uproariously flighty Mine of Lost Souls , which feel like a frontier - themed forerunner to Disney ’s Haunted Mansion . The newest novelty is the green ’s most vivid attraction to date , a vaguely lumberjack - theme coaster called , unnervingly , Untamed . Guests board grizzly bear cars and buckle up for a series of quick loop and zero - gravity rolls , let in a 72 - ft drop that lead beyond erect .
With more than 80 attractions at this point , Canobie Lake Park is still as family - well-disposed as ever , with plenty of rides and games for kids of all ages , like the Kiddie Canoes and Pony Carts . There ’s also a pee park , Castaway Island , and the autumnalScreeemfestwith obsessed houses , creepy display , and free - roaming devil lurking in the dark .
A sight has change and grown at Canobie Lake Park , one of the oldest and most abiding musical theme parking area in the nation . certain , theroller coastersaren’t all wooden any longer , the colonnade games be more than a penny , and ballgowns are no longer the distinctive attire , but it ’s still a pastoral paradise for familial fun in the New Hampshire woods .
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Canobie Lake Park
Canobie Lake Park
