Conneaut Lake Park

Today we took the kiddies to Conneaut Lake Park in Pennsylvania. Conneaut is an old-fashioned amusement park in every sense of the word. I felt like I stepped back into the 50's. Conneaut Lake is one of Pennsylvania's many classic amusement parks. Ohio too once had a bunch of small amusement parks. A few of those small parks (Geauga Lake & Cedar Point) grew into mega-parks during the 1970's. Around this same time, a lot of smaller parks (Chippewa Lake, Euclid Beach) closed in part because they couldn't compete with the new mega-parks. Although Pennsylvania has mega-parks such as Kennywood and Hershey Park, a bunch of smaller parks have survived. Conneaut is one of them.

The park featured a lot of classic rides, including the Turtle, a miniature Tumblebug ride. Old timers may remember a larger version of this ride at Euclid Beach Park. Other classic rides included flying scooters, a dark ride, a carousel, a Ferris wheel, and the Blue Streak rollercoaster.

The Blue Streak was clearly the gem of the park. Built in 1937, the coaster still gives a good ride. It's a bit rickety in the back seats, but the front seats offer a pretty smooth ride. The coaster is a classic out and back design like the Big Dipper at Geauga Lake. I convinced most of my 5 and 6 year olds to give it a try. The Blue Streak delivered enough negative G's to scare the bejesus out my little campers. At the end of the ride, some of the first-time riders were a bit dazed, trying to comprehend what just happened. The more experienced riders, impatient and excited, weaved between them to quickly get back in line.

Overall, I was pretty impressed with the small park. Although I hadn't been to Conneaut since I was a kid, returning counselors from last year warned that the park was dirty and that the waterpark was "disgusting". Under new ownership, the park seems to have made drastic improvements. The park was tidy and nearly everything had been given a fresh coat of paint. The only major attraction lacking fresh paint was the Blue Streak. Whether intended or not, the worn look added to the vintage feel of the coaster.

This was definitely one of the best days of camp this summer. I'd recommend a trip out to Conneaut Lake for anyone with kids, especially grandparents who want to show their grandkids a good old-fashioned amusement park. Conneaut Lake Park presents an opportunity to step back in time and experience a bit of pure unadulterated Americana.