A welcome trip back in time at Knoebels amusement resort
ELYSBURG, Northumberland County — Kennywood’s corporatization and subsequent troubles with understaffing and ride closures made the news last month, but Pennsylvania’s coaster lovers have another K-named option for old-fashioned amusement park fun: Knoebels.
Family-owned Knoebels — the “K” is not silent — in North-Central Pennsylvania outdid Pittsburgh’s hometown park in recent visits. The only downside: Knoebels is a four-hour car ride away, but the drive may be worth it for coaster aficionados and fans of old-time parks.
Knoebels charges no admission so there’s no fence around it. Visitors can buy a ride-everything wristband or they can buy tickets to pay by the ride.
The pay-by-the-ride option is especially appealing for parents whose children will be spending most of their time on kiddie rides, or for guests who only want to try a few coasters. Rides cost between $1.25 and $3.
Rides aside, Knoebels is affordable in other ways, too. Parking is free. Some games are just $1 to play. Slushy drinks are $3. Hamburgers start at $6. Parents can buy their kids add-ons like this without breaking the bank. (And parents won’t spend the whole time dreading that their child is going to ask to play an expensive carnival game.)
Situated in a valley, Knoebels is wooded and shady. It’s a park that features more crushed limestone under foot than asphalt, which adds to Knoebels’ quaint, cooler vibe.
It’s a park made with love, rather than spreadsheets — you can tell this from both the park’s price points and its layout. Rides interweave one another. An antique car ride rambles over a path amid the scaffolding of the Phoenix rollercoaster; the Pioneer Train chugs beneath the Twister coaster.
And while it is old-fashioned, Knoebels offers a welcome mix of classic rides — there’s a whip, bumper cars and a carousel — and newer attractions, including a steel coaster, wooden coasters, a flume and the world’s only wooden bobsled coaster.
While other parks’ staffing challenges have caused them to shutter rides, Knoebels was adequately staffed, even on a weekday at the end of the summer season. Knoebels’ staffing choices allowed far shorter lines than those we saw at Kennywood two days earlier.
Other amusement parks put animatronic animals out along a train route; Knoebels puts out bait corn for local wildlife, so you see real squirrels from the train. Yes, they are fat squirrels, but they are real squirrels nonetheless.
This is the sort of the park that personal injury lawyers and insurance companies apparently forgot. Knoebels’ bumper cars seem faster than most — same for the spinning teacups. The Crystal Pool has multiple diving boards, including two high dives.
Kennywood’s recent additions rely on corporate branding (Thomas Town, next year’s Steelers Coaster). By contrast, nothing at Knoebels is branded or corporate synergized. It’s just fun rides in a forested valley.
Coming in October are Hallo-Fun weekends, Oct. 1214, 19-21 and 26-28.
A trip to Knobels is like hopping into a time machine and visiting the best amusement parks from 50 years ago with modern rides added for good measure.