Cedar Point Amusement Park

Picture this. You're standing in line for Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point Amusement Park. You're waiting to be shot into the sky at 120 miles per hour. The knot in your stomach tells you to turn around NOW. But … seriously … don't do it. The impending rush — all 17 seconds of it — is worth it.

Situated just 60 miles from Downtown Cleveland on the shore of the glassy Sandusky Bay, the famed amusement park’s 18 roller coasters tower over the horizon from both east and west, serving as a sort of terrifying beacon for people who, well, like to be terrified at insanely high rates of speed.

It’s basically a playground for everyone — even if you’re only there for the french fries and funnel cakes (spoiler: you might want to wait a few minutes between scarfing fried carnival fare and getting on rides with names like Corkscrew, Steel Vengeance and Wicked Twister).

What You'll See:

• With a collection of thrill-seeking rides that are among either the tallest or the fastest on Earth, Cedar Point has certainly earned its distinction of “The Roller Coaster Capital of the World.”
• Roller coasters are only part of the story — Cedar Point also boasts a recently reimagined waterslide-filled waterpark, sandy beaches, and an activity park with go-karts, mini golf and the like.
• The amusement park offers up four gorgeously renovated resort properties that make it easy to turn your daytrip into a full weekend getaway. This includes a historic hotel along the shore of Lake Erie, a campground featuring not-so-rough-and-tumble cottages (with flat screen TVs and air conditioning), an express hotel for the budget conscious, and a tropical indoor waterpark open year round.

What Else to Do?

• If the rides, games, multitude of live shows and copious amounts of carnival-style foods (as well as some highbrow dining, too) aren’t enough, the park offers visitors an abundance of events including Cedar Point Nights, an evening light show that features fire pits, live bands, lakefront beach games and, of course, fireworks.
• Frontier Town and Frontier Trail is an OG section of CP where you can step back in time. Try your hand at glass blowing. Dip your own candles. Mine for gemstones. Pet a goat. Feed a turkey. Take a ride on a pony. It's all on the table.
• During the fall, the park gets a super spooky facelift to prepare itself for several weekends of Halloweekends, Cedar Point’s ridiculously popular Halloween event.

FYI: Cedar Point is open daily May through Labor Day and on weekends through October.