Knoebel's Amusement Park - Elysburg, PA

Website: Knoebel's Amusement Resort
Season: April-September
Cost: No admission. Pay by Ride or they run one-price days often (but you don't need to choose that option). See details here.  Note that some rides, mainly the Haunted Mansion, may not be included in the one-price option.
Estimated Length of Stay: You can spend as much or as little time as you want since you aren't paying one large admission. We usually a few trips here every year and spend several hours there.
Recommended Ages: All ages

Knoebel's Amusement Park is another one of my favorite activities. It is a bit of a drive (a bit over an hour away for us) but it is such a good deal. Free parking, no admission, reasonable ticket prices, more than reasonable food prices.

It's the perfect amusement park for anyone who is not able or willing to ride many of the park rides. You pay one price at Hersheypark whether you get on any rides or not. At Knoebel's, you only pay if you ride so parents of small children and grandparents who want to tag along don't get stuck paying just to walk around the park and watch the little ones ride. And if the kids aren't in the mood to ride that day, no loss.

You can purchase books of tickets or pay by the ride. If you buy too many tickets, you can save them for your next visit. If you do happen to be someone who can ride a lot of rides in one day, they do often run a pay-one-price-ride-all-day admission fee but I've found that you have to ride a lot of rides to make it worth it. Check their website for discount days and other special pricing.  I did buy the boys an all-day pass the first day they were open after the 2011 flood. They discounted the price but almost every ride was open.  There were no lines that day since some roads leading to Knoebel's were still closed. It was a great day and the boys got their money's worth. I used tickets we had leftover from previous visits.

They have a lot of great rides too. They may not have the monstrous attractions that Hersheypark has but they have plenty of good stuff. They have some great coasters - The Twister and Phoenix are great. Since having kids, I haven't had a chance to ride these but I remember them fondly from visits before I had kids. The Haunted Mansion is another favorite. My son came out shell-shocked last year after his first trip through the Haunted Mansion but recently he's been talking about going back in there again. The Carousel is great too. You can still grab the brass ring there.

There are plenty of rides for kids of course. My sons love the go-karts.



Bring your swimsuits if you're into getting wet since they have some nice water rides and a big pool with slides, fountains and sprinklers. We typical stay dry on our visits. (There are additional fees for the pool and slides.)

There are other activities to keep you busy - miniature golf, a mining museum, an Eagle habitat, loads of games, a 4D theater, and an arcade or two.

The food is excellent and not as outrageously priced as some other amusement parks. We love the sit-down restaurant, The Alamo, where you can get a nice full dinner in an air-conditioned restaurant for about what you'd pay for a burger and fries in other parks. They do not discourage bringing your own food into the park. In fact, there are pavilions around the park that you can use for a picnic. Check their policy but I believe well-behaved dogs are welcome.

They also have camping and a golf course so you can even make this a multi-day outing.

Please add your comments regarding this activity or let me know if you have any questions about it that I might be able to answer.