Roller Coasters in Connecticut

There are many great theme parks in New England, but not many roller coasters in Connecticut. It does feature the oldest continually operating amusement park in America, however! Lake Compounce is 175 years old this year and has one not-to-be-missed coaster in the Boulder Dash.

Note that all the links on roller coaster names are links to videos. Ride all the roller coasters in Connecticut from your sofa!

Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut, has been operating since 1846! Home of the award-winning Boulder Dash terrain-hugging wooden coaster, the park also has the Phobia Phear looping coaster, a Zoomerang boomerang, the Wildcat classic wooden coaster from 1927, and a Kiddie Coaster. There’s also a rapids raft ride, fun giant swings, log flume, Ferris wheel, and a unique ride in an original 1911 trolly car around the lake. The park includes a lakeside water park area with a huge new slide this year.

Tickets cost $40-60. Save by buying online ahead of time. There is a “nominal fee” for parking.

Quassy Amusement Park

Not too far from Lake Compounce is Quassy Amusement Park, this one on Lake Quassapaug in Middlebury. It’s mostly family and kiddie rides here, with the family-friendly Wooden Warrior coaster and the kiddie Little Dipper. There are also plenty of flat rides here, some more thrilling than others. A beach and waterpark are on the lakeshore, and there’s even a 30-minute boat ride on the lake for an extra $6.

The cost of visiting Quassy is $27-32 for either the rides or the water park, or $37-42 for both. If you wait until after 4 pm, it’s only $26 for both. Parking is $10.

Ocean Beach Park

Right on the beach in New London is Ocean Beach Park, consisting of mostly a large pool, an arcade, mini-golf, and some kid’s rides. Included in the rides is the Roadrunner Roller Coaster, apparently cobbled together from two different kiddie coasters. They tout their adult rides as being a scrambler and an octopus, so the thrills aren’t real high here. Parking includes admission for up to five people, $25-30 most days, $15 after 6 pm. ($20 on fireworks nights.) Rides take individual tokens, or get a wristband for around $20, $10 on Mondays.

Water Parks in Connecticut

Almost all the water parks in Connecticut are attached to the above amusement parks, since they are all on either the ocean or a lake.

• Quassy has 9 slides, including a new water coaster! There’s a large beach area, a splash tower and several kids-only slides but there’s no wave pool or lazy river. $27-32 plus $10 parking.
• Lake Compounce has 7 slides, some of which are pretty big. Plus, there’s a wave pool, kid’s areas, and a lazy river (which has a slide that feeds right into it!) Included in park admission, $40-60 plus parking.
• Ocean Beach Park has an Olympic-sized pool, 3 slides, and a kid’s splash area. It’s $10 for the waterslides, plus that $25 parking.

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!