Family Fun

The years fly by. The children grow up. And when you look back, it is often the time spent together while far away from home that lights up your memories.

New England delivers a wonderful backdrop for that highlight reel of experiences shared with family, whether you’re traveling with toddlers or teenagers, grown children or grandparents. It’s a region where simple pleasures abound season after season, with things like scenic cruises, walks by the sea, and classic amusement rides to delight the kid in everyone.

New England’s family-oriented resorts have a long history of welcoming multigenerational groups, and you’ll love how they offer “unplugged” recreational activities for all ages while also fostering the sense of togetherness that is too often reserved for holidays or special occasions. It’s no wonder many guests book a return visit for the following year before they check out. You can almost imagine your children finding their way back with children of their own one day, carrying on a new tradition.

So, gather your relatives for the best kind of family meeting—the kind where you flip through the pages of this guide and begin dreaming of a New England vacation that holds something for everyone, and everything you need to strengthen family ties.

Exploring Classic Amusement Parks

Arthur Levine

Massachusettsbased theme park and travel journalist; creator of the blog Arthur’s About Theme Parks (aboutthemeparks.fun)

“You can step back in time at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire, which opened in 1902. Its wonderful ‘woodie,’ Yankee Cannonball, first thrilled coaster fans in 1936. Two delightful midcentury parks, both geared to families with young children, can be found in New Hampshire’s White Mountains: the lovingly preserved Santa’s Village in Jefferson, and Story Land in Glen, which pays homage to classic nursery rhymes and fables.

“In Massachusetts, head to Six Flags New England in Agawam. While it offers modern-day coaster thrills such as Superman The Ride and Wicked Cyclone, you can experience its historical roots (it dates back to 1870) by taking a ride on the circa-1940s wooden coaster, Thunderbolt. Also consider visiting Salem Willows in Salem. So small it barely qualifies as an amusement park, this vintage spot has perhaps the world’s best popcorn (made in a gasfired, early-20th-century popper), as well as a charming carousel.

“Connecticut offers two classic amusement parks: Lake Compounce in Bristol, which opened in 1846 and is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in the country, and Quassy in Middlebury, one of the few remaining ‘trolley parks.’ The two lakeside parks both offer top-ranked, old-school wooden coasters.

“Dating back to 1967, Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. in Saco, Maine, features the wooden coaster Excalibur. And while the country’s smallest state, Rhode Island, no longer has any amusement parks, children can ride the Flying Horses, one of the country’s oldest carousels, in Watch Hill.”