The Best Rides at Elitch Gardens, Ranked

You couldn’t always erase your mind and drain your brain at Elitch Gardens. In fact, when it first opened on the outskirts of Denver in 1890 (not a typo), Elitch Gardens was exactly what the name suggests: a botanic garden. It wasn’t until 1928 when the park got its first ride—a carousel hand-carved by a Philadelphia Toboggan Company craftsman over the course of three years.

The amusement park has changed hands and locations over the past 140 years, expanded to include a water park, and added countless attractions that have amassed a cult following. In short, it’s become a Denver staple. But recently, the amusement park’s future has been as up in the air as the Tower of Doom. A sprawling new development is planned for the South Platte River property it currently sits on, but neither a timeline nor a relocation destination has been announced. So, knowing that this could be one of the icon’s final seasons downtown, we’re immortalizing this era by ranking its best rides.

8. Half Pipe

• Years Operational: 20
• Thrill Factor: 4/5

Move over, ski resorts: Elitch Gardens is home to the tallest half-pipe in the state. This spinning pod coaster takes you up and down a nearly 100-foot-tall U-shaped track, letting riders shred (and scream) their ways above the skyline. It’s the first coaster of its kind in North America, and the fact that you can see the faces of fellow terrified riders as you spin adds to the adrenaline rush.

7. Big Wheel

• Years Operational: 88
• Thrill Factor: 2/5

When you need a break from the sun-scorched pavement, climb aboard this 88-year-old Ferris wheel and lounge in a shaded gondola for a bit. The ride slowly climbs more than 100 feet, offering up bird’s-eye views of the Mile High City’s serrated skyline, hence the park’s slogan: “Not to see Elitch’s is not to see Denver.” Sure, it may not be the wildest ride in the park, but not to ride the Big Wheel is not to experience Elitch’s.

6. Sea Dragon

• Years Operational: 29
• Thrill Factor: 3/5

Elitch’s has no shortage of standard carnival rides—swings, tea cups, a Tilt-A-Whirl—but nothing makes our stomachs drop like the Sea Dragon. This take on the classic swinging Viking ship doesn’t necessarily serve up surprises, but that doesn’t make it any easier to sit horizontally suspended as the ride creeps to its pinnacle. Score a seat in the back row to get the most air.

5. Boomerang

• Years Operational: 25
• Thrill Factor: 4/5

Boomerang opened when Elitch’s was under the Six Flags umbrella, and it’s exactly the kind of thrilling steel shuttle coaster the brand is known for. Riders rocket through a partial vertical loop, followed by a corkscrew (known by coaster enthusiasts as a “cobra roll”), and then one complete, 360-degree loop at more than 50 mph. Then, you do it all again—backward. It’s fast, it’s upside-down, and—because only one train at a time can load—it’s a painfully long line in peak season.

4. Mind Eraser

• Years Operational: 27
• Thrill Factor: 5/5

Hang time, anyone? When Premier Parks bought Elitch Gardens in 1996, its first order of business was to add some serious roller coasters to the roster. The Mind Eraser debuted the following year, giving Elitch its first (and only) suspended coaster, where thrillseekers dangle below the tracks, rather than on top of them. You’ll fly through double corkscrew spins and drops at 50-plus mph in a way that makes you feel weightless. Kids and teens love this attraction because they don’t yet have neck and back pain, but for riders of a certain age, we suggest saving this head-rattling ride for last.

3. Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape

• Years Operational: 5
• Thrill Factor: 1/5

Let’s be real: Most of the rides at Elitch Gardens are bite-size versions of bigger and better attractions at other theme parks. But Meow Wolf’s Kaleidoscape is unique to Denver. While you’ll find this style of shoot-the-target family ride elsewhere, we can’t think of any others that feature neon aquatic creatures and robot aliens popping out at you from the dark. For trippiness alone, this ride—a train car that meanders through a closed-roof scene—created by Denver-based artists makes our top three. We just wish it kept score of our psychedelic shootings.

2. Sidewinder

• Years Operational: 44
• Thrill Factor: 3.5/5

If you grew up in Denver, this was probably your first upside-down coaster. Nothing beat the suspense of climbing the staircase that led to the loading zone—nothing, that is, until the first drop. The car shoots out so fast that your rump rises out of the seat as you plummet into the single steel loop. Then, you’ll have a brief moment to catch your breath before doing it in reverse. This ride is short, sweet, and, sadly, rarely open. So if it is, don’t skip it.

1. Twister III: Storm Chaser

• Years Operational: 59, renovated in 2023
• Thrill Factor: 3/5

It started with Mister Twister in 1965, which, for three decades, lorded over the former Elitch’s site with its massive wooden dips and turns. It was razed and rebuilt piece by piece in the downtown location before it underwent another makeover that debuted in 2023. Now known as Twister III: Storm Chaser, it’s still that same old-school, rickety coaster, rising and falling 10 stories and twisting and turning its way through nearly a mile of track. For a wooden coaster, Twister is a decently smooth ride, and it’s also the longest roller coaster experience in the park, lasting more than two minutes.

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Day tickets start at $49.99 and season passes start at $79.99. Check the website for daily hours and updates.