Roller Coasters in Pennsylvania

There are lots and lots of roller coasters in Pennsylvania to talk about! And so many of them are older parks. There’s a lot of history in this state, besides the Liberty Bell. Plus, if you’re on the Philadelphia side of things, you’ve got great parks in New York and New England close at hand, not to mention the record-breakers in New Jersey. As always, make sure to check current prices and hours for each location before you visit!

Click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in Pennsylvania from home!

Hersheypark

It’s the park that chocolate built! Originally opened in 1906, Hersheypark in Hershey, PA (near Harrisburg) has the most roller coasters with 14. They’ve got the huge Candymonium over the entrance, airtime-filled Skyrush, inverted Great Bear, twin tracks of Lightening Racer, straight up-and-down Fahrenheit, fast-launch Stormrunner, the old wooden Comet, the simple SooperDooperLooper, indoor spinning Laff Trakk, mine train Trailblazer, a Wild Mouse, the shuttle Jolly Rancher Remix, and the kid’s Cocoa Cruiser. Their newest coaster is fantastically re-tracked Wildcat’s Revenge, a replacement for the old wooden Wildcat.

Other thrill rides include three drop towers, a log flume, a laser-shooter dark ride, and most of the standard spinning flat rides. I loved that they had an old-style whip that adults could ride. Sadly, it’s gone now. (Though I’m not surprised, it’s not very thrilling.) Hersheypark does tamer rides superbly well, with an observation tower, a monorail ride past the actual Hershey factory, a sky ride over a lake, and a big, colorful Ferris wheel. They also have a marine mammals show, a whole zoo, and a water park included within the park’s footprint.

Admission

Park tickets can be as much as $85 at the gate, or the online price is currently $53 while they wrap up their season with Christmas Candylane events. Since there’s so much to see, look into 2-day ticket offers and make sure to take advantage of Preview Plan: you can enter the park the evening before you use your regular ticket for a few extra hours in the park. (For 2-day tickets, use Preview Plan the day before your first use. And your 2 days don’t even have to be consecutive.) Parking is an extra $25, or $20 if you buy online ahead of time.

Kennywood

Kennywood near Pittsburgh is another old park, one that opened in 1898. They’ve got 8 roller coasters, including three from the ’20s! Jack Rabbit, Thunderbolt, and the Racer are all old woodies. On the newer end, we have Steel Curtain, Phantom’s Revenge, smooth Sky Rocket, and indoor wild mouse Exterminator. Lil’ Phantom is the park’s kiddie coaster. Overall, Kennywood does a great job using the land’s natural terrain for some surprising drops and views.

Other rides include Aero 360, a head-over-heels ride featuring the iconic Kennywood arrows, some water rides, a huge swinging pendulum, and three fantastic dark rides. The Old Mill is from 1901 (though it’s been re-themed several times.) Noah’s Ark is a lovable walk-through funhouse from 1936 that starts on the whale’s squishy tongue. And Ghostwood Estate is a fairly spooky haunted house with a laser-shooter element. They also have some old flat rides – a 1926 Whip that is (sometimes?) still working, and a 1927 Turtle. One corner of the park has a cute kid’s carnival area with all the kids’ rides.

Admission

Daily admission for Kennywood is around $65 at the gate. You can always save some by buying online, up to $20, I think. (It’s hard to tell in the after-season what next year’s price will be.) Right now, you can get tickets as low as $20 for their Holiday Lights hours. It looks like not all the rides are open, just the more family-friendly ones. Parking is free if you park a little farther away, or $20 if you want to closer (except for handicap spots – those are free.)

Dorney Park

Another historic park is Dorney Park in Allentown, which opened in 1884. They have 7 coasters, with one more set to open in 2024. Currently on tap is the floorless Hydra, high and long Steel Force, inverted Talon, woodie Thunderhawk, an inverted shuttle coaster called Possessed, a Wild Mouse, and a Woodstock Express kiddie coaster. New for next season is the Iron Menace dive coaster.

Other thrill rides include three types of drop/launch experiences and more extreme flat rides, including an end-over-end situation like Kennywood, above. A boat chute, log flume, and river rapids ride are perfect for cooling off. Family rides include lots of basic flat rides, two kids of trains, and they still have an adult whip ride. (Seems like all the old whips still in operation are in Pennsylvania!) 14 more rides just for kids and the Wildwater Kingdom water park round out the rest of our options.

Admission

Gate admission for Dorney Park is $70, but always look online for discounts. Right now, you can get a “good any day” ticket for the 2024 season for $40. The water park is included in theme park admission, but parking is an extra $30.

Knoebels

Knoebels Amusement Park, opened in 1926, is in Elsyburg, a little under 2 hours from Allentown. The park has six roller coasters: the straight-up Impulse, wooden Twister, Flying Turns bobsled coaster (the world’s only wooden one!), wooden Phoenix, Kozmo’s Kurves kiddie coaster, and a haunted mine attraction called Black Diamond. I assume that last one is a lot like Dollywood’s Blazing Fury or Fire in the Hole at Silver Dollar City.)

It doesn’t look like a big park but they’ve got a solid selection of flat rides, including a log flume, older rides like Rock-O-Plane & Roll-O-Plane, and some newer, more extreme spinning rides. There’s a celebrated Haunted Mansion dark ride that isn’t included in any day pass, a chairlift to the top of a hill, motor boats, a train, and even a whip! Of course it does. Then they’ve also got mini-golf, an arcade, a wild eagle habitat, an Americana section with craftsmen, three small museums, laser tag, and an XD theater. I assume all for extra pay.

Admission

Admission at Knoebels is equally unique. They bill themselves as “America’s largest free-admission amusement park” and indeed, between the crafter’s area, museums, and arcade, you could see quite a lot without paying a thing, or just pay a little to do only what you want. Each ride can be paid for with tickets, between $2-$5. They also sell all-day passes which usually go for $56, but are currently on sale for $46. BUT these are only good on weekdays, not weekends. The passes are good for all the rides except the Haunted Mansion, for which you’d have to pay $3.50 extra. For comparison, to pay for just the roller coasters in tickets would cost $28. To pay for everything I’d be remotely interested in would cost over $100 in tickets. Parking is free.

Since the park is free to park and enter, I can see a strategy of visiting the day/evening before your “real” ride day to see what you can do for free and get a good feeling for the park before you come back to ride what you want in earnest. There are other discounted nights – like Bargain Nights (though they exclude most of the roller coasters), and a Sundown Special after-4 ticket.

Christmas at Knoebels

Right now, they are selling tickets for a drive-through Christmas lights experience on the grounds, but it looks like the rides aren’t open. Just mini-golf, a food venue, and on weekends, a Christmas Village with grab & go food items for before or after you drive through the lights. Weeknights have special offers – Mon: $1 hot dogs; Tues: free $5 ticket book; Wed: $3/2 soft pretzels; Thurs: free s’mores. Weeknights are cheaper too – $20 per car vs. $25 on Friday-Sunday. (Vans/HOVs with 9+ passengers are $40 any night.) I would 100% pay less to go on Tuesday and get $5 back in ride tickets. Make sure to poke through the hours – there are loads of special events throughout the whole season.

Waldameer

Waldameer is a smaller park – opened 1896 – in Erie, PA, right at the very top of Pennsylvania where it meets Lake Erie. I have to say, when I visited here a couple of years ago, everything was super well run. Even the basic flat rides were the best versions of each I had been on! Waldameer has five roller coasters. The biggest is the Ravine Flyer II wood coaster. Steel Dragon is a steel spinning ride, and Comet is a gentle woodie from 1951. Whirlwind is one of those spinning figure-8 coasters, and Ravine Flyer 3 is their kiddie coaster.

Other rides include a short swinging pendulum, a great sky ride, a Disk’O, the best Music Express I’ve ever been on, a swinging pirate ship, and a big log flume. There is a reasonably tall drop tower that offers great views of Lake Erie if you ride on the back side. On the tamer end are some basic flat rides like scrambler and tilt-a-whirl, spider, paratrooper, swings, Ferris wheel, etc. Plus, they have TWO fantastic walk-through fun houses, when almost all parks have long abandoned theirs. Fully half of the park is the Water World water park.

Admission

Admission to the amusement park side of Waldameer is free, and you can get a “Wally Card” and put points on it for individual rides. Points cost $1, and just the roller coasters would cost $22. (Provided you can fit in the kiddie coaster.) Or you can get a Ride-A-Rama wristband for unlimited amusement park rides for $38.50, or $28 after 5 pm. Get a combo ticket to include the water park for $52, or buy online for $48. An after-5 version of the combo pass is $36. All prices are a little cheaper for kids under 48″ and seniors 60+. See their website for the most updated prices.

Parking is free, but the amusement park side and the water park side have separate lots. Make sure you make it to the right one.

Dutch Wonderland

Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster is a family-friendly paradise with gentler rides and plenty of attractions for smaller children. In their lineup are three roller coasters – wooden Kingdom Coaster, inverted Merlin’s Mayhem, and Joust kiddie coaster. Other rides include a lot of the basic flat rides – teacups, carousel, antique cars, swings, and plenty for the smallest riders. But they also have a far-ranging train and monorail (perhaps inspired by nearby Hersheypark?), a log flume, a “Dragon’s Lair” boat ride, a sightseeing gondola cruise, a topsy-turvy home, and a whole dinosaur island. A splash tower and two water slides make up a tiny waterpark on one side.

Tickets for all ages 3 and over cost $50, though right now you can buy for as low as $25 for their Dutch Winter Wonderland days. Parking is an extra $22.

Idlewild

Idlewild is Pennsylvania’s oldest amusement park, opened in 1878 in the woods of Ligonier, about an hour east of Pittsburgh. This is another park primarily for children, with a vintage Storybook Forest walking path, a whole Daniel Tiger/Raccoon Lagoon kiddieland area, and a large outdoor playground. In there is a central “Olde Idlewild” area with several flat rides and two roller coasters – the 1938 Rollo Coaster and a Wild Mouse. A kiddie coaster seems to be on the way, but no one is sure when, or if, it will open.

One of the most interesting sections of the park is right at the entrance, a ramshackle mining town called the Hootin’ Holler with a large food venue, shops, and a log flume. Included is Confusion Hill, a guided tour through a topsy-turvy, gravity-defying “hotel.” There’s a big water park in the back, and tons of large picnic facilities and free parking lots.

Idlewild tickets can be as much as $61 at the gate, or as low as $35 online, depending on the season. Parking in all lots is free.

Lakemont Park

Idlewild may be the oldest park in Pennsylvania, but Lakemont Park in Altoona has the world’s oldest operating rollercoaster, Leap the Dips, which opened in 1902. They also have the Skyliner and the Lil’ Leaper kiddie coaster. (I would have loved to ride the Toboggan, even though it looks painful. It closed in 2016.) Other attractions include a train, lake monster-themed paddle boats, antique cars, go-karts, two mini-golf courses, batting cages, and ball courts. There used to e a water park near the lake, but it hasn’t been open the last few years.

Lakemont Park is free to enter, but every ride carries a separate cost. The coasters are all $3 each. You can purchase a ride-everything pass for $20 or for $16 after 5 pm. Their current event is Holiday Lights on the Lake, a drive-through light show that costs $15 per car.

DelGrosso’s Park

DelGrosso’s Amusement Park in Tipton is built on the site of the original kitchen and cannery of the DelGrosso’s brand of pasta sauce. Now, there’s an array of family-friendly rides, including two roller coasters. The Crazy Mouse and Wacky Worm are both on the tame side, as are all most of the rides here, from a 120′ drop tower to a train through the woods. Naturally, the park places an emphasis on food, with signature sandwiches and pasta dishes. A water park doubles the size of the ride offerings.

You can pay per ride with tickets – the Crazy Mouse would be $4 and the Wacky Worm $3 – or get an all-day fun pass. A day pass costs $37 in the summer when the water park is open, and $25 in the shoulder season when rides are open but the water park is closed. There’s also a discounted after-4 Sundowner pass for $18 on weekdays. Parking is free.

Sesame Place Philadelphia

Sesame Street-themed kid’s amusement park Sesame Place in Langhorne near Trenton, has two family roller coasters, Vapor Trail and Oscar’s Wacky Taxi. The coasters are by far the most thrilling thing in the park – just about everything else is a kiddie ride or playground. Though there is also a whole water park section.

Tickets can be as much as $100 for all ages, but offers online right now are as low as $30 while they head into their “Very Furry Christmas” event days. General parking is an extra $30, or $45 for preferred spots.

Conneaut Lake Park

Conneaut Lake Park in the northwest part of the state has been open on and off since 1892 and ran the 1938 Blue Streak during much of that time. Now, it seems to be little more than a collection of kiddie rides in a field, including the one roller coaster, the Little Dipper. (And possibly the much-loved Devil’s Den, if you count this fun house-style ride.) It looks like they’re trying to fix it up, but when I drove by in 2021, it was very much closed and decaying.

There is a website for the park, but no prices listed – “TBD based on construction.” The larger park area contains a beach, boardwalk, tiki bar, and mini-golf, with hotels and vacation homes throughout. Their Facebook page seems to be a better resource for updated information than their website. Parking just seems to be in the neighborhood.

Bushkill Park

Another old park, this one from 1902, Bushkill Park in Easton has one kiddie coaster, the Little Stingray. Otherwise, it’s a little hard to tell – there is NO information about rides on their website! The best I can tell from gallery photos is that America’s Oldest Funhouse is here, called Hilarity Hall, with an old wooden slide at the end. Also a Roll-O-Plane, Scrambler, Tilt-A-Whirl, a teacups/Tubs of Fun ride, a small carousel, cafe, and arcade. A large part of the operation is a roller skating rink which is open on the weekends.

There is also no information on pricing, but a reddit post mentions a ticket system. $1=1 ticket, with most rides taking three tickets. I imagine parking is free.

Fun Fore All Family Entertainment Center

Fun Fore All in Cranberry Township is one of those indoor/outdoor family entertainment centers with an arcade, mini-golf, XD Theater, and go-karts. They also have some kid’s rides including the Fiesta Express kiddie coaster.

Prices are per attraction on a fun card system – the more you put on the card, the more extra points you get for free. The Fiesta Express is $3 by itself. Or you can get a 2-, 3-, or 4-hour timed pass for unlimited rides for $35-45. Look for weekday specials for discounts.

Camelback Mountain Adventures

For our last roller coaster in Pennsylvania, there’s a mountain coaster up in the Poconos at the Camelback Ski Resort. The Mountain Adventures park features the Mountain Coaster, zip lines, UTV & Segway off-road tours, a ropes course, and summer tubing. In winter, there’s skiing and snow tubing.

The rest of the resort contains two water parks, several restaurants, and an arcade, VR, laser tag, escape room, indoor ropes course, and bumper cars.

The Camelback Mountain Coaster costs $19. But plan for an extra $12 for parking.

Water Parks in Pennsylvania

There are some great water parks in Pennsylvania, especially around the Poconos and those attached to the theme parks, plenty of indoor options, and lots of water coasters and big slides. The lists I found didn’t have any of those small regional aquatic centers, so if there are any, I didn’t find them. (But I’m also getting a little tired of looking them up – there are always so many!)

• The same Camelback Resort in the Poconos that has the mountain coaster above, has TWO water park complexes as well. Camelbeach, the outdoor water park, is apparently the largest in Pennsylvania, with 14 slides (one of which is the highest and longest of its kind.) There are two areas just for kids, a wave pool, a lazy river, an Olympic-sized lap pool, and a FlowRider body surf simulator. Note that several of these slides are group/raft slides and three take no less than 2 riders. Then there’s the Aquatopia indoor water park with 11 more slides (one of which is a water coaster), a kids’ splash tower, activity pool, wave pool, lazy river, indoor & outdoor spa pools, and a stand-up FlowRider. Note that one of these slides has a 3-6 person capacity. Camelbeach costs around $45 and includes the FlowRider. Aquatopia costs $69 and its stand-up FlowRider is $60 extra. TPlan for $12 parking as well.
• Dorney Park in Allentown has Wildwater Kingdom with 16 slides, 5 kids’ areas, two wave pools, and two lazy rivers. The water park is included in Dorney Park admission, around $70, plus $30 for parking.
• Kalahari Indoor Water Park in the Poconos features 15 slides, 4 kids’ areas, a lazy river, a wave pool, an activity pool, FlowRider, indoor/outdoor spas, an outdoor pool, and two swim-up bars. You get free access if you stay in the hotel, or buy day tickets for $70-120, depending on the day. After-4 passes cost between $45-95.

• The Water World side of Waldameer in Erie features 12 slides, one of which is a water coaster, 2 kids’ areas, a lazy river, a huge wave pool, and two large heated spas. It’s $36 for the water park alone, or up to $52 for a combo wristband. Or, pay per ride to tack on just a few rides to your day.
• Also in Erie, Splash Lagoon indoor water park has 9 slides, 4 kids’ areas, a wave pool, lazy river, activity pool, and a FlowRider included in admission. Day passes depend greatly on the date of your visit, anywhere from $35-95. The hotel also has an arcade, XD Theater, virtual reality, and an indoor ropes course, all for extra admission.

• Hersheypark has The Boardwalk water park inside its regular park borders. You can find it between Tidal Force and the Wild Mouse. Inside The Boardwalk are 8 slides – including one water coaster – 4 kids’ areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool. Admission is included with regular summer park admission, anywhere from $50ish to $85. Parking is an additional $20-25.
• Kennywood doesn’t have its own water park, but it’s associated with Sandcastle Water Park in Pittsburgh. They’ve got 8 slides, 3 kids’ areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool. General admission is around $55, though there are bundle options with Kennywood and Idlewild. Parking is an extra $20-25.
• The water park at DelGrosso’s in Tipton is Italian-themed and mostly for kids – there’s a spouting leaning tower of Pisa, 5 slides, 4ish kids’ areas, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The Laguna Splash Water Park is included in park admission, generally $37 during the months the water slides are open. Parking is free.

• Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos has 5 slides – one of which is a water coaster – 3 kids’ areas, a lazy river, wave pool, activity pool, outdoor play pool, and two adults-only spas. Day passes cost between $40-70, or $36-63 for half a day.
• The water attractions at Sesame Place in Trenton is mosely for smaller kids – even the 5 bigger slides are kid-friendly. There are also 5-ish separate kids’ areas, and a lazy river. Admission can be as much as $100, plus $30 for parking.
• Soakzone at Idlewild nearish Pittsburgh has 5 slides, 3 kids’ areas, a wave pool, and a tiny lazy river. Admission to the waterpark is included in regular park admission, in the neighborhood of $60 or less. Parking is free.
• Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster includes 2 slides and a splash tower in their lineup for a tiny water park experience. It’s included in their regular admission prices, around $50, plus $22 for parking.

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