Explore This Park

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  • Basic Information

Basic Information

Physical Address

Directions

Operating Hours & Seasons

Weather

Hot, humid summers. Cold, snowy winters.

Fees & Passes

Entrance Fees:

All Fees - $0.00

There are no fees for any park programs, tours or park films.

Visitor Centers

National Park Service Regional Visitor Center

This visitor center located at 2 New Liberty Street is the information hub for Salem Maritime National Historic Site as well as a visitor center for Essex National Heritage Area. You can find an information desk, sign up for tours, watch park films, become a Junior Ranger, and browse the bookstore. 

Waite and Peirce

Waite and Peirce is a specialty giftshop located by Derby Wharf (in what was formerly the Orientation Center) at 193 Derby Street named after the original owners of the tall ship Friendship. The store sells maritime themed goods that harken back to Salem's place in the history of international trade.  

 

Visitors Walk Along Derby Wharf Towards the Custom House (NPS/Jonathan Parker)

Salem Maritime National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park System, one of more than 400 parks that are important examples of our national and cultural heritage. The purpose of Salem Maritime National Historic Site is to preserve and interpret resources along the waterfront of Salem, Massachusetts that explain the nation's settlement, its evolution into a maritime power and its development as a major industrial force.

Established on March 17, 1938 as the first National Historic Site in the United States, the site consists of nine acres of land and twelve historic structures along the Salem waterfront, as well as a downtown visitor center. The site includes the Custom House, Public Stores, Scale House, Hawkes House, Derby House, West India Good Store, Pedricks Store House, a lighthouse and three historic wharves. The park also maintains and operates a replica tallship, the Friendship of Salem. Check out Things to Do in the park.