Top 10 Roller Coasters in The Northeast United States

Coaster Round-Up

Candymonium Roller Coaster Entrance Sign Hersheypark

The northeast is one of the most populous regions of the United States, and because of that, the region has some of the best amusement parks and roller coasters in the country.

So here are 10 of the best overall roller coasters in the region as of the 2021 season. This considers currently operating roller coasters from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island (which currently has no roller coasters), New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

This list includes 6 different amusement parks from four states.

10. Great Bear (Hersheypark)

Great Bear Inverted Roller Coaster Station Hersheypark

Great Bear is the inverted roller coaster located at Hersheypark. Built by Bolliger and Mabilard in 1998, this is one of the best coasters of its kind. This coaster has a unique layout due to being fit in between several other roller coasters that already existed at the park, which makes it a fast and intense experience.

The ride sends you upside down a total of four times, and you spend the entire ride with your feet dangling beneath you as you pass alongside the terrain and other coasters. These near-miss elements turn this coaster from above average into the great experience that it is.

9. Steel Force (Dorney Park)

Steel Force Roller Coaster Entrance Sign Logo Dorney Park

Steel Force is a steel hypercoaster (a coaster over 200 feet tall) located at Dorney Park and it is one of the most popular at the park. Built in 1997 by Morgan, this ride towers over the park.

This roller coaster is filled with incredible moments of airtime throughout the entire layout, with each of the hills pushing you out of your seat. Combined with a waterside helix section, this ride is still smooth after over 20 years and an incredible experience.

8. Talon (Dorney Park)

Talon Roller Coaster Inverted Roller Coaster Dorney Park

Staying at Dorney Park for the next entry, Talon is yet another inverted coaster, but this one was given a lot more space to work with. Also featuring four inversions, this ride also features some more intense elements than Great Bear, such as a low to the ground turn and helix section that is a highlight of this roller coaster.

With more room to work with, the ride has elements that work better with one another, creating some intense and smooth moments. This ride makes perfect use of its ride type, keeping you dangling above people on the ground for most of the ride, always aware of how high you are and how close you are to other parts of the ride.

7. Bizarro (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Bizarro Roller Coaster Passing Fire Effect Six Flags Great Adventure

For Bizarro, we travel to Six Flags Great Adventure for the first time on this list. This was the first floorless roller coaster, originally known as Medusa, and it is a long and intense experience.

Towering over 140 feet tall, this ride flips you upside down a total of seven times on its massive layout. The coaster itself is an incredible experience but what really sets it apart is it's amazing theming throughout the ride. The ride features a fire element on both sides of the track, as well as building facades that the ride passes through, and a mist tunnel themed to Bizarro's shields. It is an incredible roller coaster on its own but these only make it a better ride.

6. Wicked Cyclone (Six Flags New England)

Six Flags New England Wicked Cyclone Roller Coaster Cloudy Day

Going to Six Flags New England for the first time on this list, this roller coaster is an RMC hybrid roller coaster featuring 3 inversions and a ton of strong airtime moments. The layout is also exceedingly smooth through all of the elements which makes them more forceful and enjoyable.

But this roller coaster's greatest strength is its length. The ride features an exceedingly long layout, traveling around its structure three times while mostly keeping up its speed, allowing for an incredible number of fun moments. This makes the ride a special experience that keeps the great moments coming for longer than most coasters.

5. Candymonium (Hersheypark)


Candymonium is the newest roller coaster on this list and it certainly has quickly established itself as one of the best roller coasters in the northeast.

This hypercoaster built by Bolliger and Mabillard is a modern airtime-filled roller coaster that represents what a modern roller coaster can be. This is a massive, smooth, and forceful roller coaster that combines strong airtime with a section of turns that interacts with the theming of Hersheypark, passing around a fountain and the park's pathways.

The ride is incredibly consistent throughout the entire experience, offering an amazing experience that is unrivaled in the northeast.

4. El Toro (Six Flags Great Adventure)


Returning to Six Flags Great Adventure we feature the crown jewel of this park, El Toro. El Toro is the massive wooden roller coaster at this park, built by Intamin in 2006, and it is an incredibly intense and forceful experience. with one of the steepest drops on a wooden coaster in the world as well as one of the tallest and fastest wooden coasters on the planet, this is a world-class coaster.

This ride features some of the strongest airtime on any roller coaster in the world with its series of camelback hills, as well as featuring a remarkably intense section of low to the ground turns. It is a full experience that proves how a wooden coaster can still provide a world-class and modern experience in the 21st century.

3. Phoenix (Knoebels)

Phoenix Wooden Roller Coaster Knoebels Amusement Park

Phoenix is a classic wooden coaster currently located at Knoebels that has an incredible history. This coaster was originally located at Playland Park in San Antonio Texas, but when that park closed it was relocated board by board to Knoebels where it still operates to this day.

This coaster was well worth saving, and it is one of the best currently operating coasters in the northeast. It has incredibly light restraints, allowing for strong airtime unlike anything still operating today. It is a classic coaster that provides an experience that cannot be recreated by anything built today, 

2. Boulder Dash (Lake Compounce)

Boulder Dash Mountain Coaster Entrance Sign At Night Lake Compounce Amusement Park

Moving to Connecticut for the first time on this list we come to Boulder Dash, the most popular wooden roller coaster located at Lake Compounce amusement park. This coaster, built-in 2000, is a remarkable experience unlike any other coaster currently operating in the world.

This roller coaster is built on the side of a hill, and is designed to work itself into the terrain, being surrounded on all sides for most of its layout by tree branches, boulders, and the mountainside.

The ride picks up immense speed from the first drop and maintains it through the entire layout as it travels over a seemingly endless series of airtime hills. This ride is an incredible and unique experience that is a must-do experience for any roller coaster fan.

1. Superman The Ride (Six Flags New England)

Superman The Ride Roller Coaster Entering Below Ground Tunnel Six Flags New England

Returning to Six Flags New England for the final coaster on this list, we come to Superman The Ride. This roller coaster has been known by many names since it was built by Intamin in 2000, first being known as Superman Ride of Steel, before being renamed to Bizarro, and then finally being rethemed to Superman but with the new name Superman The Ride which it currently has.

Whatever it is called, this ride is an amazing experience and easily one of if not the best roller coasters in the Northeast. That is almost entirely due to the incredible layout that this roller coaster features. Beginning with a drop of over 200 feet, it then continues over an airtime hill before turning around. The ride then passes through some more airtime hills before entering a wonderfully crafted series of turns and airtime hills in the second half of the ride.

Combined with some great theming that includes a tunnel, mist element, and several themed facades, this ride is a world-class roller coaster.


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