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08/20/2005 Archived Entry: "Knoebel's Amusement Park"

I took a group today to Knoebel's Amusement Park in Elysburg, PA -- one of the more unique amusement parks in the northeast, very different from most of the "cookie cutter" huge amusement parks with their one-price admissions and mostly the same rides from park to park. Knoebel's is different -- a one-price admission is available during the week, but not weekends -- you pay by the ride, and admission to the park itself is free (and prices for the rides and the food are very reasonable). So there are whole families here -- and extended families -- Grandma and Grandpa tag along, since they don't have to pay for things they won't use -- what a concept! And, get this -- you can bring your own food! Almost everyone does, too -- this is a great place to have a picnic, with more pavilions available for groups than almost any park I've seen. My group today brought a six-foot grill, enough hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken, and potato salad to feed two buses, I think -- and invited me to join them for both lunch and supper. Amusement park trips aren't my favorite ride, but this was a very nice day for a change. The park is a little challenging to find, with almost no signage until you get here, but there are thousands of people here today, so they're obviously finding it! It's also one of the oldest parks in the northeast, I believe -- it's been here at least since the 1920s.