Now, you can spend the day soaking up the sun, rocketing down slides, splashing around in the kiddie play area, and scarfing down snacks at the swimming hole’s more modern successor. Back then, people came from miles around to swim in Knoebels’s mountain stream-fed swimming hole. One of the most popular is the Crystal Pool, a huge swimming and waterslide spot that dates to the earliest days of the park. In addition to the rides, games, and food of the main park area, there are many other attractions on the property making it worth more than a day’s stay. A short walk – or even quicker shuttle ride – has you through the gates. A minute more brings you to a huge open field, where you join the hundreds of other cars parked in the grass. Was that a coaster track? Yes! And there’s a big metal swirly slide, and a fenced-in pavilion for what might have been bumper cars. Despite the billboards assuring you that Knoebels is ahead, I could definitely forgive you for feeling skeptical that there’s really a full-fledged amusement park hiding up here.īut then, suddenly, you start to glimpse flashes of color between the trees. You pass through towns barely big enough to be called such, and wind along single-lane roads through green mountains. Pronounced “Kuh-NO-bels,” it sits in Columbia and Northumberland counties roughly equidistant from Harrisburg, Scranton, and Allentown.ĭriving there for the first time, it wouldn’t be outlandish to wonder if you’re being punked. Knoebels Amusement Resort, also known as Knoebels Grove or just plain Knoebels, is located outside of the tiny town of Elysburg, Pennsylvania. In an effort to remedy this travesty, today I want to share a little bit about this place that was such a special part of my childhood, and that I’m now delighted to be able to share with my own children Even living where I do in Philadelphia’s western suburbs, there are plenty of people who have never even heard of this hidden gem that sits only a hundred miles away. Knoebels Amusement Resort is a perfect family vacation spot, but few people outside of central Pennsylvania are even aware of its existence. Screams from the thrill rides – and maybe a few from the Haunted Mansion – are muffled by the trees that shade your afternoon. Tinny music rings out from the venerable carousel as outside riders lean to snag rings from a stationary metal arm. Located in a wooded glen, its gravel pathways wind you past heart-stopping roller coasters, mouthwatering snacks and treats, an old-school bandstand, and kiddie rides whose first patrons became grandparents decades ago. Hidden away in the mountains of central Pennsylvania is a family-owned amusement park that has been beloved by visitors for almost a hundred years.
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