The Workout Club of Salem

The Workout Club of Salem serves the southernmost corner of New Hampshire, minutes from the Massachusetts border.

Salem sits directly on the line, and its commercial character reflects that: no sales tax, easy access from I-93, and a substantial share of trade coming north from Massachusetts. Canobie Lake Park has operated here since 1902 and remains one of the oldest amusement parks in the country still running.

The town also holds America’s Stonehenge, a stone structure of contested origin that has been variously attributed to Bronze Age Europeans, Native Americans and a nineteenth-century farmer. The archaeological consensus favours the farmer.

Gym saunas rarely achieve what a purpose-built room does — underpowered heaters, no water on the stones, indifferent ventilation — but proximity beats specification for a practice built on repetition. A modest sauna used after every workout produces more than an excellent one visited monthly.

Salem sits off I-93 exit 2 with extensive parking. Access generally requires membership; ask about day rates.

Salem’s position on the state line gives the club an unusually wide catchment, drawing from Methuen, Lawrence and Andover across the border as well as from Windham and Derry to the north.