Salem, Massachusetts
Winter Island
Photo: Townsendma30, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Fort Pickering's 1643 earthworks, a lighthouse at the tip, a beach, a campground and a path along Cat Cove, at the mouth of Salem Harbor.
Written for ages 3–12.
Researched from this park's own sources. Nobody's walked it yet.
Read this bit out
People started building a fort here in 1643. They piled earth into banks that made it hard to attack from the water. For two hundred years the fort was rebuilt for one war after another, right up to the Civil War, and the three bunkers once held ammunition. Later the Coast Guard flew seaplanes from here. The earth banks are still here, worn by weather and feet, so walk around them, not on top.
One of your three free places, or the Explorer Pass. What that costs
Before you go
- Time there
- Plan on about an hour and a half at the park.
- Parking
- The park is at 50 Winter Island Road. Without a city recreation sticker, parking is $15 on weekdays and $25 on weekends and holidays.
- Underfoot
- The park covers the southern third of a 54-acre peninsula, with beaches, a boat ramp, a pier and a playground. An accessible path runs along the west side above Cat Cove.
- Stroller
- A stroller works on some of it.
- Bathrooms
- Bathrooms, but only in season.
- Food
- The park store near the waterfront sells snacks and drinks.
22 challenges written for this place
A game deals seven to fifteen of them, so no two visits are alike.
4 things to spot, 3 photographs to take and 3 things to work out.
Every game includes this one
Find The Lighthouse
Get to where you can see the lighthouse properly, out at the end.
A few of the others
The Shape Of The Fort
Find the banks of earth the fort was built from. Walk all the way around the outside of them.
With The Light Behind Us
One photo of everybody with the lighthouse behind you.
Out Across The Harbor
One photo looking out at the water with as much harbor in it as you can get.
Their Turn
Hand the phone to the youngest. They take one picture of whatever they want.
Older Than Almost Everything
This fort was begun in 1643. Work out how many years ago that was, and what else was happening.
Why Build It Here?
Stand beside the earthworks and work out what the people who built them were watching for.
The rest are a surprise — that's the whole point.
Also around Salem
Salem Maritime National Historical Park
Salem
A half-mile wharf into Salem Harbor with a little solar-powered lighthouse at the end, and the Custom House where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked.
Salem Willows
Salem
A long, narrow park on the water at the tip of Salem Neck, with a new fishing pier, a historic avenue of trees, and the willows it is named for.
Play this at Winter Island
Free. Works with no signal once you're there.