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This Midwestern road trip highlights some of the world’s best roller coasters—and so much more.
Something changes in me at the first sight of a collection of roller coasters on the horizon. Are the coasters close enough to see trains running? Are there even trains running? Oh yes, trains are running, and one just completed its first drop!
Having lived in New York City for just about two decades, I find most tall structures mundane. Throw a moving train hurtling at 120 mph toward a 420-foot structure, and suddenly I’m a kid again, marveling at the kinetic wonders that animate a theme park skyline.
I’d learned after my recent European theme park road trip how rewarding and exhilarating a theme park vacation can be beyond Orlando. Factoring in rising costs, overcrowding concerns, and a yearning for a bygone era of app-free theme park experiences, I plotted my next road trip to the great theme parks of the Midwest.
The goal: ride as many coasters as I could with my limited days off, which meant rolling across highways connecting the region’s best theme parks. The result: four parks, 44 rides, and 819 miles traveled across four joy-filled days. Mission accomplished.
Packed with nostalgic charm, budget-conscious entertainment, and a rousing lineup of world-class thrills, the best theme parks in the Midwest all have one thing in common: pure summer fun.
Cedar Point: Sandusky, Ohio
With arguably the world’s greatest lineup of roller coasters, Cedar Point’s unique setting on a narrow peninsula that juts out onto Lake Erie adds a wow factor to just about every ride. Here you can expect the best coaster summit views of any park in the world, with stunning panoramas of Lake Erie and, on clear days, views as far as the Canadian shoreline across the lake from rides that crest as high as 420 feet. (That’s from the peak of Top Thrill 2, the second-tallest coaster in the world, only after the newly minted Falcons Flight in Six Flags Qiddiya City.)
It’s been 12 years since my last visit to Cedar Point, so I had a lot of new rides to catch up on, and, unsurprisingly, none disappointed. Siren’s Curse, the tallest, fastest, longest tilt coaster in North America that opened last year, has become a viral hit for its unique track that rotates 90 degrees. Riding in the back was my favorite, as the train tips vertically, dangling in prolonged suspense. What followed was a surprisingly nimble, airtime-packed course that left me eager to go again (and again).
A top coaster for just about every coaster enthusiast, Steel Vengeance is a wood-steel hybrid roller coaster that packs an unrelenting 27+ seconds of airtime into its 2.5-minute ride. This power punch of a coaster broke 10 world records when it debuted in 2018, and it remains unrivaled as one of the most aggressive pacing layouts ever. I found it breathtaking and completely unhinged in the best way.
Beyond the coasters, Cedar Point evokes an old-time Americana spirit as the second-oldest amusement park in the country (the oldest being the delightful Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut). The rousing “toot-toot” of the park’s classic two-mile-long steam railroad accents the cascade of coaster screams, and you’re well aware that you’re in the heartland of American thrills.
Kings Island: Mason, Ohio
A quick, 30-minute drive from downtown Cincinnati, Kings Island offers an elite lineup of 15 coasters. The park has a uniquely strong mix of first-rate roller coasters and family rides; all hits, no misses.
One ride manages to stand apart from just about every other coaster, channeling something otherworldly, and its name says it all: The Beast. This marathon coaster has been hurtling through the Ohio backwoods for more than four decades, and none of the dozens of YouTube ride videos I’ve watched over the years can capture the sheer bliss I experienced on my first ride on this mammoth coaster.
It’s a shame to spoil what happens on The Beast, so I’ll just say the second half of the circuit left me speechless in a way that’s rare for me, a weathered coaster vet. Barely able to walk afterward, in complete shock from a course that sent me into a sublime state, I clung to my partner and, without words, communicated that we were going right back in line to ride again.
Night rides are ideal, but logistics around the park’s fireworks show can make that a challenge, and for me, the ride’s many dark tunnels more than suffice for a ride just about any time of day.
Orion, a 300-foot giga coaster that reaches speeds of 91 mph (which debuted in 2020); Banshee, the park’s rousing inverted coaster with seven forceful yet smooth inversions; and Mystic Timbers, a modern wooden coaster that hugs the ground and never stops, are just three of the many top draws here that had me completely mesmerized.
It took me way too long to reach this pilgrimage site for roller coaster lovers, and I’m already planning my next trip back.
Holiday World: Santa Claus, Indiana
Holiday World is a rare regional theme park that understands the joys of immersive theming. Embracing its location in Santa Claus, Indiana (yes, it’s a real place with a population of about 2,500), Holiday World unabashedly celebrates four holidays—Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July—no matter the time of year.
Each holiday has its own section of the park, along with Splashin’ Safari, a water park featuring several of the world’s most awarded water coasters. What further distinguishes this park are its inclusions: free parking, free soda, and free sunscreen, all of which add up to considerable savings and welcome perks not often seen at other U.S. parks.
The Voyage is the centerpiece roller coaster here, often ranking high among the best wooden coasters in the world. I loved the ride’s shockingly intense course, with surprising bouts of airtime and forceful pulls through covered drops and unsuspecting turns. It’s definitely one of the more advanced and, dare I say, challenging rides in the country. I think of it more as a test of endurance than your typical out-and-back ride. With so many hidden elements and breakneck pacing, The Voyage was a surrender to momentum on this coaster road trip that I will never forget.
Over at Splashin’ Safari, Wildebeest Water Coaster reigns supreme. This is one of the longest water coasters in the world, with a harrowing course of uphill launches, unexpected splashes, and sudden airtime drops that drew a few full-throated screams from me and took my breath away at the same time. It’s one of those rare, “I cannot believe what just happened” experiences, and I’ll be talking about it for years to come.
Kentucky Kingdom & Hurricane Bay: Louisville, Kentucky
Our final park stop was in Louisville at the charming Kentucky Kingdom & Hurricane Bay. Herschend Family Entertainment, owner and operator of two of my favorite parks, Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, secured the operating rights to this park back in 2021. Fans of those parks will immediately recognize one of the first things the company brought to the park: the cinnamon bread (freshly baked at Bluegrass Bakery)—a longtime favorite at both Dollywood and Silver Dollar City, now available in Kentucky.
Beyond the sweet treat, the park continues to transform into an immersive, family destination with a new focus on local Kentucky culture. Notable improvements include colorful landscaping flourishes, more shade, and the 2025 addition of Discovery Meadow, a six-acre themed land that features kid-friendly rides and Kentucky-inspired original park characters.
We arrived for Lightning Run, the park’s unique steel coaster, which was a highlight, worth the visit alone as it packs an exciting punch with its unique freefall first drop, rapid airtime hills, and whip-snap transitions that had me racing back around the queue for a re-ride.
Kentucky Kingdom is a park with incredible promise, and one to watch as Herschend continues to invest in delivering unique thrills worth the trip.
Silver Dollar City: Branson, Missouri
Silver Dollar City didn’t make it onto the itinerary of this most recent trip. However, with two visits in the last two years, it’s hard for me to mention the best parks in the Midwest without including this now-iconic Ozark oasis of thrills. I refer to it as “now iconic” because for more than a decade, this 1880s Ozark frontier-town theme park has been making headlines with record-breaking coasters that demand attention.
The global coaster craze for the park began with Outlaw Run in 2013, when it debuted as the world’s first wooden coaster with multiple inversions. I’ve been on Outlaw Run several times and can confirm it’s one of the most chaotic, high-intensity coaster experiences I’ve ever had. At night, racing through the pitch-black backwoods of the Ozarks is one of those rare roller-coaster thrills that makes you question everything. Add in the distinctly unique forces and gravity-defying layout of Time Traveler (built in 2018), and you have two of the world’s best coasters.
Though of all the modern-era thrills, it’s the park’s original cave attraction that always gets me. The park’s origins date back to 1894, when Marvel Cave welcomed its first guests to explore the natural underground cavern. To this day, Marvel Cave remains open and is perfect for the adventurous ones in your group as you journey deep underground and traverse tight limestone passages formed millions of years ago. The temperature drops, there are otherworldly moments of complete darkness, and you’re back above ground in about an hour. No ride manufacturer can replicate that.
Read the original article on Travel & Leisure
