The words often used to describe Knoebels park are magical, a jewel, unique, special and love. Such a genuine outpouring of strong adjectives is common when enthusiasts like a park, but there is something to the platitudes given to Knoebels.

Opened in 1926, Knoebels is one of the few family owned and run amusement parks operating in the country. However, it's age and unique "small business" status are certainly not alone in what makes the park special. Located in Elysburg Pennsylvania, one has to drive a good ways into rural country to reach Knoebels, and once there the rustic and country feeling does not leave. Knoebels is literally covered in trees, the park itself open on all sides as they do not charge admission. Knoebels avoids heavy theming, instead seeking a rustic simplicity in all it's buildings architectures. Tickets are sold like raffle style, with tickets representing 10cents and 20 cents being bought in rolls from ticket clerks located throughout the park.

Though it may seem like I'm describing a small park, Knoebels is fairly large, more about a medium sized park in scale and rides. And the rides are something special in themselves.

Knoebels rides specialize somewhere between a travelling fair and a museum for amusement parks. Knoebels often buys older rides from other parks, classic rides, renovates and refurbishes them and reopens them on their property. This creates. Their roller coasters are no exception. Knoebels boasts two classic wooden roller coasters. One literally transported piece by piece and rebuilt from a Texas park that was going to tear it down, and another lost roller coaster classic rebuilt from scratch using the designers' original plans.

Other classic rides offered at Knoebels includes a whip, a flyers ride driven at top speed for maximum cable snapping, a beautiful antique carousel, a very old and very bumpy bumper cars, and a classic style haunted house that dark ride enthusiasts rate the best in the country, higher then Walt Disneys' and Universals' multi-million dollar creations.

Knoebels food is also outstanding, specializing in homemmade classic carnival fair that is quite delicous for the taste buds and rioutous on the belly. Cheese on a stick, really fantastic ice cream on hot waffles and similar carnival oddities and confections are offered at Knoebels, leading enthusiasts to marvel it as the best amusement park food in the country.

Tent camping is offerred on site at Knoebels for a very reasonable rate, as are very hard to reserve rustic cabins.

All this adds up together to lead one to feel as if they are re-experiencing their childhood at Knoebels, at the small park on their corner. Of course, there was never a park quite like Knoebels in the past, as Knoebels is so dedicated to recreating the past. Consider it like a flourish of post-modernism. In so romanticizing and remaining to feverishly dedicated to a past time of amusement parks, Knoebels has created an experience that is far superior to the classic parks it is emulating.

It seems that I have begun using the same hyperbole that other enthusiasts have to describe Knoebels in writing. So let me brief to conclude. Just go there.