Knott's Berry Farm050

Knott's 150 acres include thrilling rides, exciting attractions, outstanding live entertainment, fascinating historic exhibits, world-famous dining and one-of-a-kind specialty shops.

Knott's Berry Farm (don't be fooled by the name) offers six themed areas: Ghost Town, Fiesta Village®, The Boardwalk, Indian Trails, Wild Water Wilderness® and Camp Snoopy - official home of Snoopy and the Peanuts characters.

Ghost Town is an 1880's California Boom Town with cowboys, gunfights, stagecoaches, a steam train, the world's first log flume ride and panning for real gold. Looming 118 feet over the park, GhostRider is the single-largest attraction in park history and one of the longest and tallest wooden roller coasters in the world. Brave GhostRiders enter a mysterious mine, only to be strapped into gold, silver, and copper mining cars and sent along 4,533 feet of twisting, unforgiving timber. Highlights of this massive themed white-knuckler include a dramatic, 108-foot initial banked drop, 13 additional drops, sudden dips, banked turns, and maximum G-forces of 3.14!

Once you recover from the coaster, Timber Mountain Log Ride will seem as easy as falling off a...On this ride, you'll careen through the darkness of a twisting 2,100-foot waterway at speeds of 8-12 feet per second, and plummet down a furious flume propelled by 24,000 gallons of water at your back. Then you're off to Calico Mine Ride, in which you descend into the dark depths of Knott's very own gold mine to the infamous Calico Glory Hole.

Younger kids get a different kind of thrill riding atop the Butterfield Stagecoach - a delightful and old-fashioned way to get a view of the park while being pulled by a team of coach horses. This ride is a particular treat at the end of the day, as the park's lights start coming on, and little eyelids start drooping.

Fiesta Village is Knott's tribute to Spanish California and features ride after ride of high-energy thrills, including the legendary Montezuma's Revenge (on which you'll blast from 0 to 60 in just 3 seconds, through two giant, seven-story loops) and Jaguar!, on which you'll take a ferocious journey high above - and through - the rides and attractions of the park. Younger kids can giggle themselves silly spinning around on the Mexican Hat ride, and the plaza is a great place to stop for a snack of tacos or quesadillas.

The Boardwalk area features Perilous Plunge, which purports to be just 34 feet shorter than mighty Niagara Falls. The Plunge sends guests to a height of 127 feet and then drops them down a world-record 115-foot water chute at a revolutionary 75-degree angle - just 15 degrees from a sheer vertical. Be prepared to get soaked on this exhilarating plunge! And then there's Supreme Scream, one of the world's tallest, most radical thrill adventures. In seconds, you're propelled straight up, 254 feet in midair, but there's no time to enjoy it. Suddenly, your body plunges straight down at a streaking speed that defies the laws of gravity - more than 50 miles an hour. In three terrifying seconds, you're back at the launch pad. And HammerHead, on which you will find yourself spinning head-over-head-over-heels, in colossal, 360-degree arcs, rising 82 feet in the air - as high as a ten-story building. Finally, the Boomerang puts you head-over-heels six times in less than 1 minute! Just when you think it's safe to breathe, it gives it to you all over again -- BACKWARDS!

Wild Water Wilderness offers Bigfoot Rapids, a thrilling, outdoor whitewater river raft ride that bounces, buffets, tosses, spins, and splashes passengers as they brave fast moving currents, race under cascading waterfalls and dodge soaring geysers. At the Mystery Lodge an Old Storyteller takes you on a mystical, multi-sensory journey deep into the Native American culture.

One of the nicest features about Knott's is Camp Snoopy, where small fry can get all the thrills they need in a six-acre section of the park devoted to 30 kid-size rides. The under 48" set can decide how high to fly while piloting their own planes on Red Baron, or use kid-power to push and pump a mining car around the track in Huff and Puff. Camp Snoopy also has one of the best starter roller coasters around; thrills equivalent to driving fast down a country road with lots of dips allow little ones to ride an exciting ride on their own - though there is room for Mom and Dad, too.

The lines move quickly in Camp Snoopy, meaning that the rides are short, but the trade off is well worth it. There is an outdoor stage where Lucy, Charlie Brown, and the gang do a character show roughly once an hour.

Although the tot area is large and fulfilling enough to keep youngsters happy all day, there is much to leave Camp Snoopy for, too, including the shows at the Charles Schulz Theater. The ice show at holiday time is particularly delightful. There are also some charming, low-key spots to visit along the way, like the glass-blowing studio.

Knott's Berry Farm is one of our favorite options for a family day out in the Southland. It feels older than some of its glitzier neighbors, without feeling outdated in the least, and the size is manageable for walkers of all ages.