Roller Coasters in Kentucky

Returning to a series I started a long time ago – let’s talk about all the roller coasters in Kentucky. There’s really only one big park, Kentucky Kingdom. But you shouldn’t miss the Kentucky Rumbler down in Beech Bend either. (As always, check hours and prices before you go.)

Click on the coaster names below for a video of each ride! Ride all the roller coasters in Kentucky from your sofa!

Kentucky Kingdom

Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville is Kentucky’s biggest amusement park with five roller coasters. Lightning Run looks like the biggest all-steel coaster, while Storm Chaser is a steel-topped redo of an old wooden coaster. There are two all-wood coasters, Thunder Run and Kentucky Flyer, and one kid’s coaster, the Roller Skater.

Other thrill rides include a high swings ride, an exposed enterprise-style ride, a 129-foot drop tower, one of those fireball looping non-coasters, and several other spinning rides. There are about 12 rides just for small kids, and several more whole-family rides like a 150-foot Ferris wheel, a river rapids ride, and a get-you-wet boat chute. There’s also a “5D” movie theater, currently featuring a Lego Movie experience. A reasonably big Hurricane Bay water park is attached and included in your ticket price.

To visit Kentucky Kingdom, tickets cost between $30-50, depending on what date you want to visit. The most common price is around $40, but Fridays and Saturdays are usually more expensive. Kids 9 and under and seniors 62 and over get a bit of a discount. A 2-day ticket costs $55 and doesn’t seem to require a date. Season passes start around $75. Parking costs $12 per car. Kentucky Kingdom’s 2023 season lasts from May 13-October 29, and is open all week between May 27-August 6.

It might be worth noting that Kentucky Kingdom is right smack downtown Louisville. Not in the heart of downtown on the river (like Elitch is in Denver) but enough downtown that it borders closely with some major roads and is very close to the major highways. There’s even one road that passes straight through the middle of the park, with only one small path connecting the two halves of the park. Just don’t go in expecting a garden setting as it is presented on the website. There are some trees, but – at least from driving by – it looks a lot like a parking lot.

I stayed in a hotel nearby to visit the Louisville Zoo and it made me wonder if you could even walk in. There are bus stops on the road outside, I’m just not sure about walking through all the Expo Center parking lots. I’d be curious to try it out since there are plenty of University and Airport hotels nearby.

Beech Bend

Beech Bend in Bowling Green is a historic park, open since 1898. I’ve been here, and in reality, it’s not much more than a collection of flat rides around a retaining pond with a campground attached. But they have one award-winning roller coaster, the Kentucky Rumbler, and two smaller coasters in a Wild Mouse and Spinning Out, a spinning, figure-8 ride. They’ve also expanded with a really decent water park.

In all, there are 23 rides, plus nine rides just for small kids. I do like that there is an old-school haunted house here. It looks like a warehouse, but there might be some actual scares inside! There’s also a stage with rotating trivia, magician, and “wild west” shows, go-karts, mini golf, and an affiliated drag racing strip.

Admission costs $45 for adults, $35 for kids under 48″ and seniors 60 and over. Get $2-3 off each ticket by buying online. For $50, you can get a two-day pass good for any two days within a 7 day period, available online or at the gate. Active military members get in absolutely free and $10 off each adult ticket and $5 off every child in their party. After 3 pm, you can save $12 per ticket ($8 for kids.) On Friday nights between June 30-July 28, it’s just $18 to enjoy the park from 4:30-9:00 pm (4:30-6:30 pm for the water park.)

At Beech Bend, parking is free and they also offer free sunscreen, which is awesome since there are hardly any trees here. It’s like a parking lot. In 2023, the park is open from May 13-September 17, though not always during the week in the spring and fall.

Malibu Jack’s

The only other roller coasters in Kentucky can be found in three Malibu Jack’s locations, each with a kid’s/family spinning figure-8 coaster called Twist-N-Shout. Malibu Jacks’ are these indoor family fun centers with arcade games. laser tag, bowling, go-karts, mini-golf, and some smaller rides. You can find them in Lexington, Louisville, and Ashland.

Each attraction in a Malibu Jack’s is a separate cost. The Twist-N-Shout coasters are $5 per ride. If you plan to do more than that, you can buy a refillable game card, with deeper deals the more points you buy. If you visit Monday-Thursday, you can pay $30 for an all-access pass good for four hours. These are strip-mall kind of places, so there’s no charge for parking.

Water Parks in Kentucky

Kentucky has water parks attached to its two amusement parks, plus three more parks with a decent number of slides. But as usual, most of the list below are these small city or county parks with a couple of slides each. As always, check hours and prices before you go, and even check Facebook to see if they are offering any discounts.

• Hurricane Bay at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville is Kentucky’s biggest water park with 9 slides, two kids’ areas, two lazy rivers (one a little more exciting than the other), and TWO wave pools! Again, one with gentle family waves and another with big 6-foot waves. Price is included with your ticket to the theme park, between $30-50, plus $12 in parking. Hurricane Bay is open May 29-September 4, though after August 6 it’s only for weekends.
• Splash Lagoon Water Park at Beech Bend in Bowling Green has a respectable 7 slides, kid’s splash tower, wave pool, lazy river, and giant “leisure pool” with a lily pad challenge through the middle. Cost is included with your park ticket. It’s generally open from Memorial Day through September 17, though only on the weekends after early August.

• Venture River in Eddyville is a smaller park, but has more slides – 12 for adults/families, 3 kids’ areas, a wave pool, lazy river, and some circular water channel called the Cyclone. Admission is $29 and under, just $15 if it’s the last three hours of the day. A two-day pass is available for $43. Parking is free. It looks like the whole place is attached to an RV park. Open from May 26-Sept 4.
• SomerSplash in Somerset has 7 slides, two kids’ areas, a wave pool, and a lazy river. Admission is $21 and under, with discounts after 4 pm. If you’re not riding anything, it’s just $5 to accompany your kids. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
• Kentucky Splash Waterpark in Williamsburg has 5 slides, a kids area, a lazy river, and a wave pool. It costs $15 every day, and ages 2 and under are free. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• Bluegrass Splash Family Aquatic Center in Hopkinsville has one body slide, one tube slide, a splash area for kids, and a lazy river. Cost is $11 and under, is half price after 4 on weekdays, and is buy one get one free on Mondays.
• Russel Sims Aquatic Center in Bowling Green has 2 slides, diving boards, a zero-depth entry pools with lots of fun splash features. Admission is $10 and under, $2 off after 4 pm.
• Paradise Cove Aquatic Center in Richmond has at least 2-3 slides, more for kids, and a zero-depth entry pool. Though they do make the kid get out of the water 10 minutes out of every hour for a “bathroom break.” Cost is $9 and under. Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

• The Leitchfield Aquatic Center in Leitchfield has 2 slides, a large pool, lazy river, and a kids’ play area. Admission is $8 and under.
• Falling Springs Splash Pool in Versailles (near Lexington) has 2 water slides, a “vortex”, and a small lazy river. The cost is $6 and under for just the Splash Pool.
• There’s a Calypso Cove water park attached to a YMCA in Louisville with at least 2 slides and a kid’s area. But it requires a Y membership to get in. It doesn’t look like day passes are available.
• Fort Knox Army base has a small water park with two slides and some other play areas. It’s only $9 for non-military ($7 for military.) Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this summer? Let me know in the comments below!