Looking for a thrill? We have just the ticket for you. This summer, road trip some of the best roller coasters in the Midwest. From corkscrews and figure eights to double loops and steep drops, you're sure to have some serious fun on these adventure rides — just don't miss your lunch.
The legend
Location: Arnolds Park amusement park in Iowa
The weak: The Legend roller coaster is the seventh oldest operating wooden coaster in the United States. Created by renowned amusement park designer John A. Miller, this wooden coaster features a figure-eight layout that wraps around this historic lakeside amusement park. They just completed phase 3 of a 4 phase project to renovate the entire coaster.
Height: 63 feet
Maximum speed: 50 mph
Age: 86 years old
Tornado
Location: Adventureland Amusement Park in Iowa
The weak: The Tornado was Adventurland's first wooden coaster. This is a traditional “out and back” wooden coaster.
Height: 90 feet
Maximum speed: 55 mph
Age: 38 years old
Out of the law
Location: Adventureland Amusement Park in Iowa
The weak: The Outlaw was the second wooden roller coaster at Adventureland. It differs from the Tornado due to its tightly woven “twist” arrangement.
Height: 70 feet
Maximum speed: 48 mph
Age: 23 years old
Dragon
Location: Adventureland Amusement Park in Iowa
The weak: The Dragon was the first double-loop steel roller coaster in Iowa.
Height: 93 feet
Maximum speed: 60 mph
Age: 26 years old
The monster
Location: Adventureland Amusement Park in Iowa
The weak: Adventureland's newest addition for 2016 has five inversions, 10 “air” moments, a 101-degree first drop—the steepest drop of any place in Iowa or the surrounding states—and the first negative G-stall loop in the Western Hemisphere.
Height: 133 feet
How fast: 65 mph
Age: It just opened on June 4th
Corkscrew
Location: Valleyfair Amusement Park in Minnesota
The weak: For 1 minute and 30 seconds, enjoy vertical loops and double corkscrews on this steel coaster.
Height: 85 feet
How fast: 50 mph
Age: 36 years old
Steel poison
Location: Valleyfair Amusement Park in Minnesota
The weak: This coaster features a single train hanging from an overhead line. The coaster is accelerated both forward and backward several times until it has enough momentum to start.
Height: 175 feet
How fast: 70 mph
Age: 13 years old
Shivering Timbers
Location: Michigan's Adventure Amusement Park in Michigan
The weak: The wooden Shivering Timbers was designed by Custom Coasters with three large drops and a bunny hill return. It's the perfect combination of talk time and speed, while offering variety through its chunk and intense helix.
Height: 122 feet
How fast: 57 mph
Age: 18 years old
Goliath
Location: Six Flags Great America in Illinois
The weak: This giant breaks three world records, including: the world's fastest wooden coaster, the world's highest drop for a wooden coaster, and the world's steepest drop for a wooden coaster at almost vertical 85 degrees.
Height: 165 feet
How fast: 72 mph
Age: 2 years old
patriot
Location: Worlds of Fun in Missouri
The weak: Patriot is the longest, tallest, fastest inverted roller coaster in the Midwest. Riders will go through gravity-defying elements such as a vertical loop, zero-gravity roll, Immelmann loop, banked curve, S-curve, corkscrew and high-speed spiral.
Height: 149 feet
How fast: 60 mph
Age: 10 years old
