Salem’s Riverfront Carousel

We have been here just for fun and the kids love it!!! Rain or shine, great place to go. When it’s nice out they open the doors and have a nice patio with adjacent park with playground. Staff is wonderful too. We had a 6^th b-​day party here and they were great to work with then too!!!

The staff is fantastic — they actually remembered us from 6 months ago, and were very very helpful.

I came down to celebrate their Birthday and brought along an Autistic child I watch. I was willing to pay the $ 1 rides for him, but asked if I could get on with him. They handed me my money back and gave me free tickets to ride for both of us! They apparently have a policy of children with disabilities get to ride free along with their caregiver up to 5 times a day.
We ended up riding it 4 times and really enjoyed ourselves! We also got some yummy cake!
The staff/​volunteers were very nice and friendly and understanding.

My daughter loves it when I take her here. If the weather is nice, the playground is really nice too. We usually get some candy and take a couple rides. This is a great place to entertain little ones downtown.

Spent the afternoon here with my 3 year old «best friend». We played in the park for awhile, ate our snack from home, watched the clouds, then we ventured over the to carousel. I haven’t been on one in years but it looked like a nice one. $ 1.50! The ticket guy was very, very nice and patient with the little one handing him money. The young man at the gate was great. a high five for every child as they left and the girl with the gold ring made it very easy for little ones to grab the gold one. She got a free ride and kept asking to ride the «bear horse» I couldn’t figure it out until she pointed to one without a saddle… oh. the «bare horse».of course. Their were horses from all eras and types and a couple of other animals thrown in. Pretty sure we rode them all. What a wonderful day, thank you!

Great place to take the kids, riding on the carousel is well priced. There is also a part next door with toys and an area to walk around. You can see the river from the park, and there’s always children there for your kids to play with, definitely more crowded during the warmer months. There is also a gift shop with lots of neat things in it.

It is 1.50 for a ride! I honestly was expecting to pay at least $ 3 per a ride. I There is this token booth, where you paid 1.50 and use it for the ride.
While with my cousins, we played fish brass game. It is where you go on the carousel, and try to grab these «loops» out of the fish’s mouth. The person that gets the gold loop gets a free ride. If you are under 5 feet, your armspan probably wont be long enough to reach it. It isnt to easy to get the loops. I miss one =) I got around 10 loops, so that’s at least how many times you will go around.
off to the side, there is this machine where it changes your penny into a souvenir thing. It costs 2 quarters and 1 penny. The machine offers 4 designs, one is happy holiday and gigi.
On the other corner, they had an slushee machine. Off to the side, there is the gift shop. Parking is super full, so I parked at the Marion parkade.

There was a ton of cars at the (free) parking lot at Riverfront Park. Also in the parking lot was a man who looked just like actor Danny Trejo. We asked him if he had a pocketknife (I was totally not racial profiling. How was I to know my recently purchased umbrella stroller had four hard plastic ties that needed to be cut in order to open and use the stroller?!) He thought our request was funny and said,“sorry I don’t carry pocketknives.” I was secretly relieved.
Anyway, the day was very warm so the park was packed with happy folks walking leashed pets and having picnics. One of the picnickers had a serrated bread knife and freed our stroller from its restrictive ties (and my back from carrying my 19 lb baby. I started to feel more like Atlas on a golden apple break and less like Sisyphus.
The kids and I saw the «Willamette Queen» sternwheeler moseying past but decided to save that for our next visit ($ 12 adults, $ 6 kids 4 – 10 yrs for no lunch 1 hour excursion).
My motion sickness aside, the carousel was great and my kids begged for a second ride but the gift shop was a’calling to the shopaholic in me so I took the little pouters in for a look around. I liked the espresso cart which is well placed so that loving but exasperated parents like myself can fuel up for more QT with the tots.
There were some strange characters intermingled with a few people who were quietly fishing down at the pier area so the kids and I didn’t hang out in this area very long.
This park is pretty awesome with its amphitheater, playground, park benches, and fun diversity. We shall return!

Stopped by here during the birthday celebration. It is a very nice park in Salem and the carosel is a nice throwback to a bygone era. The kids enjoyed a number of rides and the free ice cream and cake that was being served. If I lived in Salem, I’m sure that this is a park we would be frequenting.

I have to say that since moving into this area, this place is a nice benefit. My son and I like to hang here when it isn’t raining and enjoy the carousel and the park. I enjoy walking and grabbing a bit of grub when the weather is nice and it’s just a really nice place to hang out with your kid.
I suggest this spot for families, friends and dates!

One of the best indoor activities for children (or children at heart) in Salem, and inexpensive to boot. The facility offers lots of snack options, provides a cute, little spot for children’s birthday parties, and has a wonderful gift shop. While not an all-​day activity, it’s a great excursion.

This gets five stars because I can’t think of anyway that this, or any other, carousel could get better. I mean, it’s a carousel. Maybe it gets five stars because all the horses are hand carved. Maybe it’s because none of the horses are covered with sticky yuck and cookie crumbs from all the kids. Either way, it’s five stars.
Ok, the carousel is very pretty. It’s a typical slow circular ride, but it’s to be expected. The rides are only $ 1.25 a person and they last just long enough to make you glad you aren’t drunk. Adults are welcome, and I can assure you that even if you’re on the heavy side, you WON’T break a horse!
This is definately not an all-​day activity. You and your kids (or date, grandma, whatever) will be bored after two turns on the thing. Plan to spend no more than 30 minutes here.

Around and around and around you go on the carousel. Around and around and around some more — and then you get bored. It is nice though that the Salem Waterfront has this. But this is all the Waterfront has… well…besides a big earth ball. So take your kids to the carousel if you wish… and go around and around and around… and around.

Fun carousel in very lovely Riverfront Park. On the day we visited it was terribly windy and we didn’t get to play outside much, so we rode the carousel several times. It is beautiful, enclosed (thankfully for us), and we had a lot of fun.