Riverfront City Park — Attraction in Salem

Best place in Salem! For years and years the riverfront area of Salem was taken over by grim industrial uses. Then for years of recovery, just tangled fields. Now, a changed and improved landscape that went from the worst to the best! I and my partner just took a chance that Salem had done up it's water front and we were not disappointed! There is free parking at the Park, but by the time we left, around 11:30am on a Sunday, it was filling up. The main feature of the first part of the Park is a great big kids play area, with restrooms. Everything is ADA accessible. There are a lot of curvy paths but they mostly led to the cool bridge over the small channel of the Willamette. My partner and I had our bikes and we eagerly crossed the bridge and found ourselves following the pilgrimage out onto the island, there were bikes, there were lots of pedestrians, there were many kids. We passed many plaques describing the history of the park and the land. The local politician Peter Courtney gets a shout out. The big flood of 1855, the paper mill, the flour mill, and what wild life lives here now. The park merges with Minto park and covers the whole island, paths go along the main fork of the Willamette are level and ideal for all ages and abilities. People are asked to be quite near the eagles nest. Back at the park near the parking lot, we wandered North along the paths and noticed a converted Train Bridge that was now a pedestrian bridge across the Willamette. We also noted the cool statue of the late...

Riverfront City Park in Salem, Oregon is not just a park—it’s a full-blown outdoor variety show that no one auditioned for but somehow everyone’s starring in, like Portlandia meets Cirque du Soleil with fewer safety regulations. The moment I stepped in, I locked eyes with a man who looked like a cross between a retired wizard and a Woodstock roadie, gently slapping a bongo drum and whispering “peace” to the ducks like they were his spiritual advisors. Just past him, a pack of kids on bikes were popping wheelies like they’d just escaped from a Mountain Dew commercial directed by Quentin Tarantino—pure chaos! Then, out of nowhere, a couple of boys who were clearly born after YouTube was invented started breakdancing with the confidence of 1984 street legends, blasting beats from a vintage boombox that looked like it survived the Cold War and three garage sales. One kid spun on his back like he was trying to power the whole city with centrifugal force. Meanwhile, confused joggers swerved around a man in a cape walking a ferret, a toddler dressed like Spider-Man attempted a parkour stunt off a bench, and I swear I saw someone try to grill hot dogs using only the heat of pure vibes. It’s magical. It’s ridiculous. It’s the most entertaining free show in the Pacific Northwest and the only park where you leave wondering if you dreamed the whole thing or accidentally took a tab of something from a stranger...

Great place to go on a hot day! 🌄 Next to river and has a bridge which you can walk on that goes over the river. Great views😍 📷Also has a water fountain area⛲, for aqua-activities to cool the temperatures down💦 And a playground nearby. Many structures to visit. Working Carousel🎠and Riverboat🚢 with dock to boot. A long meandering pathway with a grassy amphitheater. Great site for weddings or gatherings, saw 2 while I was there. Ideal for families👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 and kids. Bicycle and pet friendly, in fact all round friendly. Lol. I might have missed an attraction or two! Sorry. Easy parking but gets full pretty quick on busy days.😩 Watch out! Also another good thing to note is parking lot is one way! There is another parking lot but could not find a way to get to it. Can anyone help? Not a Salem native. Another drawback seems to be lack of bathrooms causing lines on well used days😳 Entrance can be a little tricky but look out for the carousel. Definitely worth multiple outings on beautiful days even though I don't live nearby. Like the sign says...