For roller coasters in North Carolina, there’s only one big Cedar Fair park, a couple of small options, and three mountain coasters up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Carowinds actually straddles the state line between North and South Carolinas, but it’s properly in Charlotte, so we’ll stick with North. (I’m writing this at the end of the 2023 season so my prices may be out of date by the time parks reopen in 2024. Always check hours and prices online before your visit.)
Click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in North Carolina at your house!
Carowinds
The park with the most roller coasters in North Carolina is Carowinds in Charlotte, by a long shot. This is a park I’m very familiar with. They’ve got 14 roller coasters, including the fantastic Fury 325. They’ve also got Intimidator, the amazing Afterburn, the newer Copperhead Strike, Carolina Goldrusher, Carolina Cyclone, The Flying Cobras boomerang, Richochet wild mouse, child-friendly inverted Kiddy Hawk, Vortex, wooden Hurler, and the terrible Nighthawk. Wilderness Run and the Woodstock Express are the two Snoopy-themed kid’s coasters.
Non-coaster rides include some pretty thrilling flat rides, like a high swings, drop tower, a laser-shooter dark ride, and various spinning rides. The Camp Snoopy area has a solid selection of 13 rides for smaller kids. Plus there’s a large Carolina Harbor water park in the back.
Admission
Carowinds admission can be as much as $80 at the gate. Right now, their fall promotion is $40 online, with a further discount for military. And tickets for the SCarowinds Halloween event is around $50. Parking is an additional $30. Carowinds is part of the Cedar Fair family of parks, if you have an all-parks passport, which is the replacement for the old Platinum pass.
Santa’s Land
Every other park on this list is just a one-coaster option. First up is Santa’s Land in Cherokee with the Christmas-themed Rudicoaster. Otherwise, there’s a Ferris wheel, a train, and lots of in-a-circle rides, all aimed at small children. There’s also a petting zoo, a magic show, an arcade and games, and an opportunity to meet Santa Claus, natch.
Admission costs $27.67 for everyone aged 2 and above. I imagine that rounds up to a nice even $30 with tax. Like everything else in Cherokee, it’s a bit high-priced.
Tweetsie Railroad
The other small-coaster option is Tweetsie Railroad, also on the Blue Ridge Parkway, like Cherokee above. They’ve got one of those spinning, figure-8 family coasters called Barrels of Fun. The biggest draw at Tweetsie Railroad is, of course, the full-sized trains. Plus, there are train shows, saloon girls, and other family-friendly shows, a big petting zoo, and 17 rides, all family-friendly and four of which are just for kids.
Admission for adults aged 13 and over is a whopping $60, and $40 for children 3-12. That pretty much goes for all their events, including a “ghost train” Halloween event and during Christmas. At least parking is free.
Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster
The end of our list is all mountain coasters. First, is the Wilderness Run Alpine Coaster (video here) in Banner Elk. They’ve got the coaster there, plus a ropes course next door. The cost is comparatively cheap – $16 for one ride, or $35 for a bundle of 3. It’s a little less for kids age 7-13.
Highlands Outpost
Highlands Outpost in Scaly Mountain has the Scaly Mountain Screamer. You can ride this one for $18, or $40 for a bundle of 3 – that seems to be a thing here. It’s less for ages 7-15 and even less for children 3-6, but they would be riders. This location also has a summer tubing slide, gem mining, and a trout farm pond.
Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park Camp-Resort
Our last option is the brand-new Blue Ridge Mountain Coaster at a Yogi Bear-themed campground in Bostic. This one will set you back $20 per ride or $35 for two in a sled together.
Water Parks in North Carolina
Lots of little water parks, as per usual, but some big ones too! There’s still a Wet n’ Wild here, with tons of slides, plus Carowinds and the outer banks. There are lots of good water parks in North Carolina.
- Wet n’ Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro has a whopping 17 slides, 8 kids’ attractions, a lazy river, two wave pools (one for kids), and a circular river/whirlpool thing. Day passes seem to be in the $50-60 range, the website no longer says. Parking is an extra $20.
- Carolina Harbor at Carowinds in Charlotte has 14 slides, 5 kid’s play areas, a lazy river, and two wave pools. Admission is included with your daily ticket, but parking is an extra $30/day.
- H2OBX Water Park in Powell’s Point in the Outer Banks features 9 slides plus 7 attractions just for kids, a lazy river, and two wave pools – one big, and one shallow “wave beach” for families. There’s also an “adventure lagoon” with inflatable obstacles and a FlowRider surf simulator. Daily tickets seem to be in the $43 and under range, with discounts after 3 pm.
- Jungle Rapids Family Fun Park in Wilmington has a lot of dry attractions, plus a water park with 6 slides, a kids’ area, a lazy river, a wave pool, and a “warm springs” spa pool. Otherwise, there is an arcade, go-karts, mini-golf, laser tag, bumper cars, mini-bowling, a rock-climbing wall, and a drop tower. Attractions are priced separately, the water park alone costs $45 and under. (The drop tower is $5.) Right now, the laser tag is a haunted attraction.
- The Salty Pirate Water Park in Emerald Isle seems to have 6 slides – three dug-in hillside chutes and three body slides on a tower, plus a large pirate ship play area for kids. It’s hard to tell, details on the website are light. Tickets are $20 and under.
- Great Wolf Lodge in Concord has an indoor water park with 4 slides, 4 kids’ slides and areas, a wave pool, activity pool, and an outdoor activity pool. A day pass can cost anywhere between $40-90, or $36-81 for a half-day pass.
- Magic Mountain Fun Park in Holden Beach has 3 adult slides and 2 kids’ slides, all dug into the hillside. Prices are $15-25, depending on how long you stay, less for kids under 4 feet tall. Attached is a $6 mini-golf course.
- Lions Water Adventure in Kinston has 2 slides, plus a lagoon and slide for kids. There’s also a short lazy river and a lap pool. Admission is $15 and under.
- West Water Park, also in Kinston, features several pools, including one with a trapeze swing into it. They also have two big, straight slides. Fees are $10 per day or $7-8 for half a day.
- Suncrest Water Park in Taylorsville has one hillside-dug waterslide, plus several smaller slides into a natural-looking lagoon pool. There’s also a rope swing and water volleyball, and the $11 fee is cash only.
- Ray’s Splash Planet is an indoor, city-run pool in Charlotte with 1 slide, a lazy river, a kid’s splash tower, a vortex whirlpool, a zero-depth entry beach wth jets, and some lap lanes. It costs $15 and under for non-residents, and $10 and under for Mecklenburg County residents.
- Buffaloe Road Aquatic Center in Raleigh is another indoor city pool with 1 big slide, a lazy river, water vortex, and a play pool for smaller kids, plus some lap lanes. Fee is $7 for non-residents, $4 for residents.
- White Lake Water Park in White Lake is mainly a splash area and shallow pools for kids, with an additional wave pool, lazy river, and one double-twisting slide. There are also bumper boats and go-karts. Admission is $18 and under, and go-karts are extra.
Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this year? Let me know in the comments below!
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