Canobie Lake Park

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Canobie Lake Park

Attractions

Location	Salem, New Hampshire, United States
Coordinates	42°47′42″N 71°15′01″W / 42.79500°N 71.25028°W / 42.79500; -71.25028
Opened	August 23, 1902 (1902-08-23)
Owner	Family-owned
Slogan	Just for fun
Operating season	May through October
Area	59 acres (24 ha)
Total	52
Roller coasters	3
Water rides	4
Website	canobie.com

Canobie Lake Park is an amusement park in Salem, New Hampshire, located about 31 miles (50 km) north of Boston. It was founded as a trolley park on the shore of Canobie Lake in 1902. Three local families currently run the park, which draws visitors from throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. Canobie Lake Park's age and history inspired author Stephen King to use rides and elements from the park in his Joyland novel. It is one of only thirteen trolley parks still operating in the United States as of 2021.

The park originally featured botanical gardens, with few amusement rides. After the automobile became the most popular mode of travel in the United States, the trolley line serving the park was closed. Attendance in the park declined until it was purchased by Patrick J. Holland. He installed a wooden roller coaster named Yankee Cannonball in 1936, a ride which was designated as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark by American Coaster Enthusiasts in 2013. The park recovered, and the Arrow Development designed Canobie Corkscrew was installed in 1987, after being relocated from the Old Chicago amusement park in Illinois, where it was named the Chicago Loop. It was removed after the 2021 season. Untamed, a Euro-Fighter coaster, is the only coaster with an inversion.

History

A postcard of an apple tree in Canobie Lake Park.

Canobie Lake Park opened on August 23, 1902, as a trolley park for the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company. In its early years, the park was known for its flower gardens, promenades and gentle attractions. After the decline of trolley as a mode of travel, the park declined in popularity, culminating in the park's closure on St. Patrick's Day in 1929. In 1931, the park was auctioned off with the intent to subdivide the land into residential lots. Patrick J. Holland, a construction contractor from Ireland, bought the property for US$17,000. He and his workers restored the park with new gardens, attractions, and modern electricity. In 1932, the park reopened, three years after its initial closure. Its popularity recovered, and the Yankee Cannonball was installed, becoming one of the park's most popular attractions for decades. Holland died in 1943, leaving the park with his wife and son, who continued to own the park until 1958. The park is now currently owned by three families; they purchased the park in 1958, continued operating the park ever since, and still operate the park today.

Some films and novels have used Canobie Lake Park as a setting or filming location. Stephen King, an American author of horror novels, based the amusement park in his novel Joyland on Canobie Lake Park. A resident of the nearby state of Maine, King visited after searching for a park "that was nice and clean and sunlit, but wasn't too big". During a visit in 2012, King took photographs inside the dark ride attraction, "Mine of Lost Souls", because he wanted to incorporate a haunted dark ride into his novel. The park was also used as a filming location for the 2013 film Labor Day, based on the novel of the same name by Joyce Maynard. It also appeared in two live action children's TV shows on PBS Kids that were produced by PBS-affiliate WGBH Boston; it was featured in an episode of Fetch! with Ruff Ruffman, as well as in the season 6 opening intro to the show Zoom.

Incidents

On July 27, 2001, five people riding the Yankee Cannonball roller coaster were injured when two of the ride's trains collided.
On July 1, 2014, a family of five attacked police officers after they were told they could not carry weapons in the park. Three of the family members were charged with felony riot.
On August 6, 2016, a stuntman rolled off of a safety net during Canobie Lake Park's "Rocket Man: The Human Cannonball" performance. The stuntman was unharmed.

Rides and attractions

The Canobie Corkscrew roller coaster in its original yellow-and-black color scheme

One of Untamed's coaster cars, mid-loop

Canobie Lake Park features a variety of rides and attractions. The Yankee Cannonball, a 1930s-era wooden roller coaster, is one of the park's best-known rides. The park was home to a looping, steel roller coaster named the Canobie Corkscrew, designed by Arrow Dynamics. Originally manufactured in 1975, the Canobie Corkscrew operated at Old Chicago from 1975 to 1980 as the "Chicago Loop", at the Alabama State Fairgrounds as "Corkscrew" from 1982 to 1986, before moving to Canobie Lake in 1987. The Canobie Corkscrew was one of the first steel looping roller coasters manufactured in the world and was part of a series of Arrow corkscrew models produced from 1975 to 1979. The Canobie Corkscrew was closed in 2021, and in 2022 the ride was removed from the park. Parts of the ride were subsequently donated to the National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives upon its removal.

Other thrill rides in Canobie Lake Park include Starblaster, an S&S Double Shot, which replaced a ride called the Moon Orbiter in 2002. The park also features a rotor ride named "Turkish Twist", and a shoot-the-chutes ride named "The Boston Tea Party". The park has one dark ride, "The Mine Of Lost Souls". Passengers board mine cars and venture into the depths of a haunted mine. Another flat ride at the park is the "Psychodrome", a scrambler ride located in a dome, with lighting, music and special effects. In 2005, the park opened Castaway Island, a small water park consisting of a water play structure. In October 2017, the park announced an expansion to the water ride complex, including a lazy river and a series of water slides.

The park once had a simulator ride named "USA Missile", built early in the Space Age by John Taggart and Sam Daugherty. Passengers sit facing the nose of the rocket, which is then inclined. A movie is shown on a screen at the front as a simulation of space flight. While at Canobie Lake Park, it was repainted to mimic the markings used on such launch vehicles as the Saturn rockets.

In 2011, the park added Untamed, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter 320+ model. This is the fourth Euro-Fighter to be added in the United States, the only one in the Northeast, and the first roller coaster to be opened in Canobie Lake Park since the Canobie Corkscrew in 1987. The following year, the park added Equinox, a ride that lifted and spun riders on a giant mechanical arm. Despite the ride's popularity, it was shut down in 2014 after persistent mechanical problems left the ride operating "sporadically". The park has stated that safety was not an issue.

Roller coasters

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Description
Dragon Coaster	1991	Zamperla	A children's roller coaster with a train designed like a dragon.
Untamed	2011	Gerstlauer	A Euro-Fighter roller coaster with three inversions, located near the Jackpot Casino. The ride features a 72-foot vertical lift and a beyond vertical drop at a 97-degree angle, as well as three inversions: a vertical loop, an Immelmann loop, and a zero-G roll.
Yankee Cannonball	1936	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	The park's oldest roller coaster; A wooden roller coaster with an out-and-back layout. The ride was given its name in commemoration of the American Civil War. Recognized as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark.

Thrill rides

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Description
Ice Jet	2017	Bertazzon	A Flying Bobs ride that goes both forward and backwards
NebulaZ	2024	Zamperla	Thrill ride in which 4 arms rotate in fast intermeshing orbits.
Pirata	1986	S.D.C.	A pirate ship ride
Psychodrome	1989	Eli Bridge Company	An indoor scrambler ride with flashing lights and sound effects
Starblaster	2002	S&S Power	A Double Shot launch tower ride, opened for the park's centennial
Turkish Twist	1979	S.D.C.	A Rotor ride
Wipeout	2004	Chance Rides	A Wipeout ride
Xtreme Frisbee	2007	HUSS	A Frisbee ride

Family rides

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Description
Antique Carousel	1902	Looff/Dentzel/Stein & Goldstein	An antique carousel with a Wurlitzer style 153 band organ
Antique Cars	1968	Arrow Development	A car ride with cars themed after Ford Model Ts
Blue Heron	2005	Unknown	A boat ride that takes guests for a 20-minute trip on the lake
Boston Harbor Patrol	2008	Unknown
Canobie 500	1977	Arrow race cars	A car ride with cars themed after race cars
Canobie Express	Early 1970s	Crown Metal	A train that runs through the park, around Castaway Island, and along the lakeshore. It runs on 2 foot narrow gauge tracks.
Caterpillar	1963	Harry Traver	A caterpillar ride
Crazy Cups	1958	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	A teacup ride
DaVinci's Dream	2003	Wooddesign Amusement Rides B.V.	A Wave Swinger ride themed to Leonardo da Vincis architecture.
Dodgems	1930s	Unknown	Bumper car ride
Giant Sky Wheel	1981	Preston-Barbieri	A ferris wheel
Mine of Lost Souls	1987	Sally Corporation	A themed dark ride
Over the Rainbow	2001	Zamperla	A Wizard of Oz-themed balloon ride
Rowdy Roosters	1948	Bisch-Rocco	A Flying Scooters ride
Skater	2005	Zamperla	A Disk'O ride
Sky Ride	1970s or earlier	SkyTrans	A chairlift
Twist & Shout	1949	Sellner Manufacturing	A Tilt-A-Whirl ride
Venetian Carousel	2019	Bertazzon	A double-decker Venetian carousel
Wave Blaster	2009	Zamperla
Zero Gravity	2008	Battech Enterprises	A Round Up ride; replaced a similar ride

Water rides

Name	Opened	Manufacturer	Description
Boston Tea Party	1998	Hopkins Rides	A shoot the chute boat ride that splashes guests on nearby paths when the boat falls down the drop. It is named and themed for the Boston Tea Party, an event when residents of Boston rebelled against the then-occupying British.
Castaway Island	2005	WhiteWater West	Initially opened as a small water play structure with slides and fountains; this initial structure has been renamed the "Rain Fortress" after the 2018 expansion.
Castaway Island	2018	Aquatic Development Group	An expansion to the section added a first-of-its-kind Tidal River water ride (a combined lazy river and zero-entry wave pool), along with three tube slides (Python, Anaconda and Constrictor) situated on "Slide Island" in the middle of the river, a toddler fountain area (Lil Squirts Play Pad), private rentable cabanas, and expanded locker and changing room facilities.
Policy Pond Log Flume	1983	Hopkins Rides	A log flume ride

Children's rides

Name	Ride type	Year added
Alpine Swing	Children's swing ride	2003
Autobahn		2009
Boats		1954
Fire Engines		1954
Flower Power	Children's whip ride	1994
Helicopters		1959
Jeeps		1953
Jump Around	Children's Wave Blaster	2009
Jungle Bounce		2003
Junior Sports Cars		1958
Kiddie Canoes	Children's Boat Ride	Late 1980s
Kiddie Carousel	Children's carousel	1954
Mini Dinos		1960
Mini-Skooter	Children's bumper cars	Late 1980s
Pony Carts		1954
Sea/Land Rescue		1989
Sky Fighters		1954
Tanks		1954

Former rides

Roller coasters

Name	Ride manufacturer	Year added	Year retired	Notes
Mammoth Roller Coaster	Frederick Ingersoll	1902	1935	Sometimes referred to as Figure 8 roller coaster, although that name was likely descriptive.
Jr. Roller Coaster	Allan Herschell Company	1970s	1984	A kiddie coaster next to the dance hall
Rockin' Rider	SDC	1970	2004	Originally called Galaxi at Canobie before being rebranded/renamed; replaced with "Xtreme Frisbee"
Wild Mouse	B. A. Schiff & Associates	1962 or earlier	1973	Used wood supports and steel track. The Paratrooper replaced the Wild Mouse and was later replaced by the Skater attraction.
Canobie Corkscrew	Arrow Development	1987	2021	Two back to back corkscrew inversions. Removed due to mechanical issues.

Rides

Name	Ride manufacturer	Year added	Year retired	Notes
Bowling alley		1902	1960s	After purchasing the park in the 1960s, the owners burned all the pins from the bowling alley to keep warm during their first winter.
Calypso	Mack	1975	1988	Replaced with the "Moon Orbiter"
Equinox	KMG	2012	2014	A twisting, spinning and flipping ride. Removed due to mechanical issues. Replaced with "Ice Jet".
Fascination	Unknown	1930s	2001	Replaced with the "Jackpot Casino"
House of Seven Gables	Unknown	1938	1978	A walk-through haunted house
Kosmojets	SDC	1967	2003	Replaced with "Wipeout"
Matterhorn	SDC	1987	2006	Replaced with a concession stand "Hotdog Diner"
Moon Orbiter	Unknown	1989	2002	Replaced with the "Star Blaster"
Ocean Trip	SBF	2001	2008	Replaced with Boston Harbor Patrol
Paratroopers		1974	2006	Replaced with "Skater"
Petting zoo		Unknown	Unknown
Round Up	Unknown	1980	2007	Replaced with "Zero Gravity".
Roller skating rink		1930s	1978	Used to house ScrEEEmfest haunts
The Swamp	Pretzel	1930s	1985	A dark ride that was replaced with the Can Alley game and employee center building.
Swimming pool		1912	2007	Removed during the construction of a larger main entrance
Tiki-Maze	SDC	1965	2016	Formerly the Crystal Orbiter, on broken motor-driven platform
USA Missile	Unknown	1971	2011	A missile ride. Removed to make room for Untamed.
Vertigo Theatre	Unknown	1987	2009	Replaced with Autobahn to make room for "Wave Blaster"
The Whip	Unknown	Mid 1950s	Early 1980s	The ride became difficult to maintain in the early 1980s, so it was retired and replaced with Matterhorn, then Equinox, until the latter ride was removed
Tall Timber Splash	WhiteWater West	1994	2023	A water coaster, removed for future expansion.

Events

Canobie Lake Park holds many events in the park throughout the year, including live performances and fireworks shows. The park has multiple venues for live entertainment, including the Country Stage, Midway Stage, and Dancehall Theater. The park's Dancehall Theater has hosted performers such as Duke Ellington, Sonny & Cher, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. The Canobie Ramblers occasionally perform at the Log Flume Gazebo.
On certain weekends in September and October, Canobie Lake Park holds ScrEEEmfest, a Halloween event that they first did in 2008. Run in the afternoon that features Canobie's most popular rides plus five walk-through haunted attractions. Past "haunts" have included Merriment Incorporated, The Dead Shed, Black Hollow Cove, Head Hunters at Cannibal Lake, Cannibal Island, Demons of Darkness, Terro in the Corn Invasion and Virus. Currently as of 2023, the park hosts five haunted attractions, Pinecrest Sanitarium, Carnivus, Breach, Cargo and Facility 235. In 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions, the park did not host Screeemfest for the first time since its inception. Instead, the park hosted a "food truck festival" within the closed for the season Castaway Island. This hosted trolley carts from around New England serving various foods and beverages to guests. Screeemfest started up again in the fall of 2021 and the park also continued with the "food truck festival" since.
The park hosts performances from impersonators of various celebrities, such as Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, Tim McGraw, Justin Bieber, Madonna, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, One Direction, KISS, and Aerosmith. Canobie Lake Park is currently hosting tribute shows including Taylor Swift and Freddie Mercury.