Celebrating Roller Coasters

Thrill seekers across the country will be happy to learn that August 16 is National Roller Coaster Day in America. Roller coasters have been around a long time, bringing joy and terror to people of all ages. A little research tells us that roller coasters are believed to be related to the incline railroads of the late 1800s.

The first roller coaster in operation in the U.S. was running at Coney Island in 1884. Almost 100 years later, the observation of National Roller Coaster Day came to be, though it’s unclear why August 16 was chosen.

According to the Roller Coaster Database (a real thing!), there are around 1,500 roller coasters in the United States, with California being home to most of them. A little time searching online will result in multiple categories of coasters: tallest, fastest, coolest and scariest. It’s not difficult to make your own bucket list of roller coasters to try out. If you really want to celebrate the occasion, you can find a list amusement parks that are offering special deals and discounts on August 16 at nationalrollercoasterday.com. 

Here is the most recent list of Readers’ Choice 10 Best Coasters from USA Today. Look closely, and you will see that number eight on the list belongs to Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City, which is located nearby in Branson, Missouri.

Here is another list of roller coasters sorted by each state, which is helpful if you are traveling.

Whether you enjoy riding the rails or prefer to keep your feet on the ground, you cannot deny the wonder and magic of watching a roller coaster in action. The mechanical feats, deafening sounds and visual accomplishments are definitely something to check out.

Source credits: pexels.com, nationaldaycalendar.com