5 Best Amusement Parks near Boston

You do not have to go far from Boston to treat your family to some truly wonderful rides and attractions. Whether you have adrenaline junkie teenagers who want to test their courage or tiny tots who want to ride lovely old wooden horses that spin around, all the family amusement parks close to Boston offer something for everyone. Many parks have been around for a long time, such as Canobie Lake Park, Lake Compounce, Palace Playland, and Six Flags New England, and they offer classic roller coasters and kid rides. They also compete with each other in bringing the latest, the scariest, and the most innovative rides such as Canobie Corkscrew in Canobie Lake Park or Wicked Cyclone in Six Flags New England. Photo: bravissimos/Fotolia

Canobie Lake Park is a popular amusement park in Salem, New Hampshire, about 30 miles from Boston on the shore of Canobie Lake. It was established in 1902 and had a few amusement rides and a lovely botanical garden. Today the park has more than 85 rides and attractions, live entertainment, games, and an old wooden roller coaster called Yankee Cannonball. Some of the other popular rides are Canobie Corkscrew and Untamed, one of the two roller coasters in the park with an inversion. Kids enjoy a variety of rides such as an antique carousel from 1903 with 46 wooden animals, Boston Harbor Patrol, a boat ride that simulates a voyage on the high seas, and the Sky Ride that looks and feels like a ski lift.

85 N Policy St, Salem, NH 03079-2079, Phone: 603-893-3506 Photo: maho/Fotolia

Spread over 250 acres near Carver, Massachusetts, Edaville Family Theme Park has enough fun for the whole family. It combines Thomas Land, CranCentral, and Dino Land. There are more than 90 rides and attractions, including Thomas the Tank Train, Toby Tilting Tracks, Big Eli The Ferris Wheel, Bone Shaker, Cranky's Crane Drop, and much more. Immerse yourself in the world of the North Western Railway with Tidmouth Sheds, Knapford Station, and a train ride through the cranberry bogs pulled by Thomas Land. There are life-sized engines to explore, a carousel with large stallions to ride, and a whole range of seasonal fun activities for Halloween, Christmas, and other special times.

5 Pine St, Carver, MA 02330-1518, Phone: 508-866-8190 Photo: robertobinetti70/Fotolia

Founded in 1846 on 402 acres near Bristol, Connecticut, Lake Compounce is North America’s oldest amusement park operating continuously. The park includes a water park Crocodile Cove, a beach, and all sorts of fun and thrilling rides. At Lake Compounce you can ride the Wildcat, one of the oldest roller coasters in the world, and the Boulder Dash, a new award-winning wooden roller coaster. In Bayou Bay, you can splash in the waves, float in a tube, or just cool off in the water. In the Dino Expedition, you will encounter more than a dozen of life-sized and life-like dinosaurs roaming in the dense prehistoric jungle. The park is a very popular venue for birthdays and other celebrations and has ten catering pavilions for all guests.

186 Enterprise Dr, Bristol, CT 06010-7493, Phone: 860-583-3300 Photo: FotoKieltyka.pl/Fotolia

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Entertaining families since 1902, Palace Playland is the only New England beachfront amusement park. Located in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, Palace Playland is spread over four acres and offers 25 rides and attractions. The rides include a classic Ferris wheel, two roller coasters that include adrenaline-pumping Power Surge and Adrenalin, and a whole range of rides for kids such as Dumbo and Crop Duster. It also has a massive 24,000 square-foot arcade with 200 games including Skeeball and Fortune Tellers, as well as some of the latest high tech games. There is, of course, a lot of food, and the beach is nearby when you need to lower your heart rate.

1 Old Orchard St, Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064-2222, Phone: 207-934-2001 Photo: Jacob Lund/Fotolia

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Six Flags New England is the largest family amusement park in New England. Located in Agawam, a suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts, it offers eight megacoasters and the water park Hurricane Harbor with a 500,000-gallon wave pool and nine tube slides. The park is the oldest amusement park in the huge Six Flags chain, operating since the 19th century. One of the best known attractions in the park is Superman the Ride, one of the world’s top steel roller coasters. Superman The Ride is 208 feet high and drops 221 feet into a tunnel at 77 mph. There is also a famous 109-foot Wicked Cyclone, with three inversions, Hangtime Stall, 14 Airtime Hills, and more. There are also much more relaxing rides and attractions such as Adventure River, a scenic 1,000-foot raft trip on a lazy river, and Commotion Ocean, the 500,000-gallon wave pool with king-sized waves.

Route 159, 1623 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001, Phone: 413-786-9300 Photo: SqweezeLand/Fotolia

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