Road Trip: Salem, Mass.

The Boston area is a little bit beyond this Northeast runner's typical training grounds, but on a mini vacation in Salem, Mass., I took advantage of the tranquil waterfront and mostly flat landscape to sneak in a 14-miler that looped through Peabody, Danvers and Beverly before ending back at the Clipper Ship Inn.

Salem's early claim to fame was as one of the principal ports of colonial days. Founded in 1626, the harbor was ideally protected by the peninsulas of Marblehead and Salem Neck, and the shipping business thrived, possibly making for America's first millionaire, a Salem tycoon named Derby. But as ships were built bigger and bigger, Salem's harbor became too shallow to handle the traffic, which shifted primarily to Boston in the early 1800s.

Salem also is known as the birthplace of Nathaniel Hawthorne's whose 1851 novel "The House of Seven Gables" was named after a residence in Salem, now a popular tourist site. But the city today is perhaps most famous for its infamous witch trials of 1692, which ended in the death of 20 innocent "witches," including one by pressing — a most unfortunate end, if ever there was one.

As for running routes, traffic is hardly a problem, and many pedestrian pathways along the waterfront make for pleasant runs. Shorter runs in the historic older part of Salem will take you back in time. Venture into the more residential and commercial neighborhoods to the west for a longer run, which easily could include multiple water crossings. And north of Salem is Beverly, which offers more hills and more hustle and bustle, but also some of the best views of the ocean in the area, along Lothrop Street.

Here's my route, starting at the Clipper Ship Inn and heading south for a clockwise loop around the area: