Discover Salem and find hotels

Salem combines expansive parkland with places that bring the city’s history to life. This gives you different ways to plan your trip: time in nature, summer events, or insights into the history of women’s rights and abolitionism. Which side you’d like to discover first depends on what interests you during your stay.

Parks, trails, and outdoor activities

Salem’s park system covers more than 375 acres of land and water; the total area may be updated over time. The city also offers recreation programs that are open to everyone who wants to take part. It’s best to check in advance which programs are available during your stay, as availability may change.

Centennial Park is Salem’s oldest park, established in 1906. Its amenities include a nine-hole disc golf course and an outdoor Olympic-size pool with a capacity of 410,000 gallons, as well as a splash pad. The outdoor pool is seasonal, so if you’re planning to spend time there, check before your visit whether it’s scheduled to be open on your chosen date. This lets you plan your visit around seasonal conditions.

Waterworth Memorial Park has a different focus: it features a one-mile nature trail. Wildlife in the park includes deer, waterfowl, foxes, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and many bird species. If you’d like to combine a walk with nature watching, this gives you a specific option to consider when planning your day.

The two parks offer different ideas for spending time outdoors: Centennial Park focuses on disc golf and water activities, while Waterworth Memorial Park combines a nature trail with wildlife. This contrast can help you plan a visit around your interests without reducing the parks to the same experience.

The park is also home to the Orashan Memorial Civic Center, the venue for Salem’s annual summer concerts. If you’d like to include a concert in your plans, check the dates for your travel period. The summer concerts add a cultural event to the park’s recreation options; be sure to confirm specific dates before making plans.

History and culture in Salem

Salem’s history also includes the women’s rights movement: the first women’s rights convention in Ohio was held in the city in April 1850. This specific historical connection offers a starting point for exploring the city’s cultural attractions. In Salem, it is complemented by museum artifacts and other historical offerings.

The Salem Historical Museum displays hundreds of noteworthy artifacts. Freedom Hall features artifacts related to the abolitionist movement and the women’s rights movement. This brings two distinct but connected themes in American history into focus: the fight against slavery and the movement for women’s rights. If you’re interested in this history, you can explore both themes side by side during your visit.

Two tours with different focuses offer further insights. The Salem Historical Society’s Underground Railroad Trolley Tour was included in the National Park Service’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Burchfield’s Footsteps is a walking tour through downtown Salem, where visitors can see many buildings painted by Charles Ephraim Burchfield. One tour explores the history of the Underground Railroad; the other combines a walking tour with the city buildings depicted in Burchfield’s paintings.

Coppock’s legacy is also visible in Salem: a monument to Coppock stands there today. Together with the museum, the tours, and the historical connection to the women’s rights convention, it offers a varied way to explore the city’s history through exhibits, themed tours, a walking tour, and a monument.

Discover more destinations: Wellsville, East Liverpool.

View the main travel guide: Columbiana County.