Salem Halloween 2026: Road Closures, Parking Bans Set For Witch City In October

SALEM, MA — Those who live in Salem and attempt to drive there during October will encounter many road closures and parking restrictions as the city prepares for more than 1 million visitors over the next seven weeks leading up to what could be a Saturday night Halloween celebration.

City officials on Thursday urged visitors to Salem not to drive into downtown Salem, especially on weekends, because traffic is heavy and parking is severely limited. Visitors are encouraged to use the commuter rail or Salem Ferry. Free parking will be available on Saturdays, Sundays and Indigenous Peoples' Day at 108 Jefferson Avenue — a five-minute walk to downtown Salem.

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Planned safety measures during Halloween season include road closures, significant police deployments in vehicles, on bikes, on foot, and in plainclothes, weapons bans, permanent and temporary cameras, and counter-drone measures.

The Salem Police Department may close any street at any time if it determines a public safety issue exists.

On Oct. 1, roads along the Haunted Happenings parade route will be closed for the 6:30 parade, and the city said drivers should anticipate delays on Route 114 and Route 1A. Route 1A from Derby Street to Brown Street will be closed from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., with other closures including Congress Street, Washington Street, Central Street, Front Street, Essex Street from Washington Street to Union Street, and Washington Square West, North and South.

Extensive no-parking tow zones will be in place on Oct. 1, with some restrictions beginning as early as 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. It said barricades along the entire parade route will require earlier road closures and earlier parking enforcement than in past years. Drivers using city garages will also face limits that night. Vehicles in the South Harbor Garage will not be able to exit until about 9:30 p.m., and access to the Museum Place Garage will be limited.

There will be barricades along the entire parade route again this year. This will require roads to close earlier and parking restrictions to be enforced earlier than in past years.

Recurring weekend closures are also planned.

On Saturdays, Sundays and Indigenous Peoples' Day across late September and October, Essex Street from Hawthorne Boulevard to New Liberty Street will be closed to through traffic and on-street parking will not be allowed from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, as well as starting at noon on Fridays. Essex Street from Barton Square to Washington Street will use hard barricades from Friday at noon through Sunday night at midnight.

The Essex Street Pedestrian Mall will have more managed programming and vendors this year.

The city said downtown Salem streets will close to all traffic no later than noon on Oct. 31 — though closures could begin earlier depending on crowd size and safety conditions.

The city also said Bridge Street will close from 9:15 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. for an end-of-night drone show scheduled to start at 10:15 p.m.

Heavy traffic will most likely cause extensive road closures on Oct. 24, Oct. 25 and Oct. 30.

Visitors during weekends and on Halloween are strongly encouraged to take the commuter rail or ferry to get to Salem on these dates.

The Halloween night Drone Show will start at 10:15 p.m.

The MBTA Salem garage will be closed from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Halloween night. Cars will not be permitted to enter or exit the garage between these hours.