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The town of Salem, Massachusetts, 15 mi/25 km northeast of Boston, is best known for the witch trials Puritans held there in 1692. Based on the accusations of a small group of children and women, 20 people were put to death on the suspicion that they were involved with witchcraft (19 were hanged, one was crushed to death). In retrospect, many believe the accusations had more to do with personal vendettas and mass hysteria than any actual dabbling in black magic.

You can learn about the trials at the Salem Witch Museum and the Witch Dungeon Museum (where actors re-create a trial). The Salem Wax Museum applies that classic wax-museum touch to the event and includes a replica of a jail cell used to hold the accused. The Witch House, constructed in 1642, was the home of one of the trial judges. Preliminary examinations of the accused witches were carried out there, though the courthouse is where the actual trials took place.

The Witch Village offers historical overview of witchcraft, whose origins were far less sinister than legend has it. Specialty new-age shops line the thoroughfares, and don't be surprised to see modern-day Wicca practitioners, replete with long hair and capes, strolling the streets. Candlelit witch tours are especially popular in October.

If you've had your fill of witch-related attractions, there's still plenty to see in Salem. Walk along Derby and Chestnut streets, which are lined with old homes and public buildings, then tour the Salem Maritime National Museum and Pioneer Village, a re-created Puritan settlement circa 1630.

The House of the Seven Gables, the setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel, is part of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, which also includes Hawthorne's birthplace and the early 19th-century Custom House where the author worked. Pickering Wharf, on the waterfront, is a good spot for shopping and refreshment.

Be sure to visit the Peabody Essex Museum, the oldest operating museum in the U.S. It was established in 1799 by 22 sea captains who wanted to show off their souvenirs of exotic locales. Some 30 galleries display an astonishing variety of artifacts: ship models and nautical equipment; art, weapons and religious items from Africa and Asia; and decorative arts and furniture from the Americas. (Of course, this Salem museum has displays on the witch trials, too.) The gift shop is an excellent place to gather your own souvenirs.

The nearby town of Beverly has three historic homes managed by the Beverly Historical Society, including Balch House. Built in 1636, it's one of the oldest houses in the U.S.

Hamilton and Wenham are in horse country, an area of well-groomed estates. The nearby seaside town of Manchester-by-the-Sea was the first North Shore summer resort popular with affluent Bostonians.

Salem, Oregon's capital city, is well-located: It's an hour south of Portland, an hour from the beach and less than an hour from the Cascade Mountains. One of the state's oldest cities, Salem also sits in the midst of a rich agricultural valley and is the home of Willamette University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the West. Downtown, modern stores and malls sit next to well-preserved historic structures, which also house unique shops.

Visit the State Capitol (the gold pioneer statue on top of the building is lit by solar power); the Italianate Bush House; Bush's Pasture Park (which contains an art gallery); the historic Deepwood Estate and Gardens; and the Hallie Ford Museum of Art, the second-largest art museum in the state. The city also maintains plenty of bicycle trails and footpaths in a wooded setting. Salem hosts the Oregon State Fair every August and September. Nearby Silver Falls State Park is the largest in Oregon and has 10 waterfalls, as well as good places to ride bikes or walk. Just east of Salem in Silverton is The Oregon Garden. It's also home to the Gordon House, the only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed residence in Oregon.

There aren't many old-growth forests left in Oregon—loggers have felled more than 95% of them—but you can get a glimpse of the previous grandeur in the Opal Creek Wilderness, about 40 mi/65 km northeast of Salem, off Highway 22. You can drive right up to the border of the wilderness and then walk in on a flat, easy-grade road that seems to extend about 200 years back in time. The trees are astoundingly tall, the water astonishingly clear and the pools in the creek are truly the color of opals. Cabins can be rented at Jawbone Flats, a fomer mining town about a 2-mi/3-km walk into the preserve.

If you have time for a day trip and have an interest in aviation, visit the Evergreen Aviation Educational Museum in McMinnville. The museum is home to the Spruce Goose, the huge wooden plane constructed by millionaire Howard Hughes. Other vintage aircraft are also on display. McMinnville has more than 50 preserved buildings in its historic district—worth a look. Sample the local wines, too.

If you are traveling with young children, take an easy day trip to the Enchanted Forest (7 mi/11 km south of Salem), a park with storybook characters that lives up to its name. This charming, unique and non-commercial family-run amusement park has a bobsled roller coaster, a truly terrifying haunted house and a log flume with the largest drop (40 ft) in the Pacific Northwest. Rides for little ones and concrete sculptures of beloved fairy tale creatures such as Snow White and Humpty Dumpty make this park especially interesting for the 10 and under set. http://www.enchantedforest.com

Older kids are more likely to enjoy the adjacent amusement park Thrillville. The Skycoaster is the most adrenaline-pumping ride in the place, but there are a number of more down-to-earth rides as well.