Butterflies in your stomach. Wind in your hair. Screaming for dear life. Where other than on a roller coaster can you find all of these sensations? Hop in the car and head to these Midwest amusement park offerings before summer is over to get your (not-so-cheap) thrills and maybe a funnel cake to boot.
Drive times are approximate—we don’t know if you have a lead foot or drive like a grandpa. For the farther parks, we know five hours there and five hours back is a lot of driving, so why not make a weekend of it?
Illinois
1 Great America Parkway, Gurnee 847-249-1776
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Drive time: 1.5 hours
Price: $72.99 at the park, starting at $52.99 online
Must-ride: Goliath or The Joker
The skinny: We couldn’t have a major metropolis without a killer theme park, could we? The quintessential amusement park can be found just an hour and a half north of the city in Gurnee. From coasters that make your stomach drop just looking at them to the best damn funnel cake in the state, Six Flags is everything you’d want for an all-out theme park experience.
7820 CherryVale N. Blvd., Cherry Valley, Ill. 815-966-2442
Drive time: 2 hours
Price: $20-$26
Must-ride: Typhoon Terror
The skinny: If you’re willing to drive out near Rockford and brave the families coming out in droves, Magic Waters is a solid spot to get your water park fix. Take a dip in Tsunami Bay, which the park bills as the largest wave pool in the state, or get your thrills with your friends on the four-seater Typhoon Terror.
Indiana
5224 E. Indiana Beach Road, Monticello, Ind. 574-583-4141
Drive time: 2.5 hours
Price: $39.99 at the park, $34.99 online
Must-ride: Zero G
The skinny: Indiana Beach is the hottest boardwalk spot in the Midwest. Take a spin on the newest coaster, Zero G, or relax and float down the Action River along Lake Shafer.
Michigan
1198 W. Riley-Thompson Road, Muskegon, Mich. 231-766-3377
Drive time: 2 hours
Price: $37 at the gate, $34 online
Must-ride: Thunderhawk
The skinny: Sure, the “Pure Michigan” thing is a good draw, but Michigan’s Adventure has 90-degree vertical climbs, 122-foot drops and the fastest wooden roller coaster in the state.
Minnesota
5100 Center Court, Bloomington, Minn. 952-883-8500
Drive time: 5 hours
Price: $35.99 ($30.99 online) for an all-day wristband
Must-ride: Pepsi Orange Streak
The skinny: Get over your reservations of being too “grown up” for a Nickelodeon theme park and acknowledge how awesome it is that this entire amusement park is inside a mall. And not just any mall. The Mall of America.
Missouri
4900 Six Flags Road, Eureka, Mo. 636-938-5300
Drive time: 5 hours
Price: $65.99 at the park, $44.99 online
Must-ride: Spinsanity
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The skinny: If a five-hour drive is worth it for a cheaper ticket, head on down to St. Louis for their take on a Six Flags theme park. While you’re there, check out their newest ride, Spinsanity, which is all the thrill of a roller coaster except you’re strapped to a spinning contraption on one five-story half-pipe track.
Ohio
1 Cedar Point Drive, Sandusky, Ohio 419-627-2350
Drive time: 5 hours
Price: $67 at the gate, $49 online
Must-ride: Valravn
The skinny: You can’t compile a list of Midwest amusement parks and not include the “roller coaster capital of the world.” Make sure to ride 2016’s Valravn, which was the “tallest, fastest, longest” dive coaster in the world.
6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason, Ohio 513-754-5700
Drive time: 5 hours
Price: $67 at the gate, $47.99 online
Must-ride: Mystic Timbers
The skinny: The self-proclaimed “largest amusement and water park in the Midwest,” Kings Island offers 9.2 miles of roller coaster for your quest for thrill—though not of the cheap variety.
Wisconsin
Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park
1881 Wisconsin Dells Parkway, Wisconsin Dells, Wis. 608-254-8560
Drive time: 3.5 hours
Price: $40 at the gate, $20 online
Must-ride: Hades 360
The skinny: The Dells are already a popular get-out-of-the-city vacation spot for Chicagoans, so why not hit up the world’s first upside-down wooden coaster while you’re at it? If you want to stick to the water, check out Poseidon’s Rage wave pool and get toppled by nine-foot waves.
1313 Bay Beach Road, Green Bay, Wis. 920-448-3365
Drive time: 3.5 hours
Price: No admission fee, but rides are 25 cents each
Must-ride: Zippin Pippin
The skinny: Another boardwalk attraction to stick it to the East Coast, this amusement park takes a page out of Coney Island’s book with no admission fee, just pay-per-ride tickets. If you’re willing to enter Green Bay enemy territory, check it out.
Kentucky
937 Phillips Lane, Louisville, Ky. 502-813-8200
Drive time: 5 hours
Price: $49.95 at the gate, $44.95 plus tax online. (Special $29.95 offer for out-of-state visitors includes two-day admission to two parks and free drinks.)
Must-ride: Storm Chaser
The skinny: After a tumultuous journey, Kentucky Kingdom finally reopened to the public in 2013 with new coasters and attractions available for park-goers to take advantage of. Check out the newest coaster, Storm Chaser, or take a spin (literally) on the endless loop of Eye of the Storm.
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