The Best Amusement Parks Near Youngstown, Ohio for Families

Youngstown sits in the Appalachian foothills on the eastern edge of Ohio at the Pennsylvania border. Given its rural location, this industrial town offers plenty of outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, and hiking. However, if you prefer more excitement, some great amusement parks within easy driving reach offer fun for the whole family. Let’s take a look at some of the best amusement parks around Youngstown.

Conneaut Lake Park

If you need some fun for the whole family, Conneaut Lake Park has something for everyone. Located one hour north of Youngstown on the shores of Lake Conneaut, Conneaut Lake Park offers everything from beach parties and concerts to amusement park rides and water slides. The amusement park features rides for the little ones like the carousel and spinning swings. Older kids love getting dizzy on the Octopus and Tilt-a-Whirl. For a good scare, take a walk through the Devil’s Den—if you dare!

Don’t forget your bathing suit because when it’s time to cool off, you can skip on over to Splash City. For $15, you get an all-day wristband. You can float along the lazy river and relax or brave Cliffhanger Falls, a fast, wet, and winding waterslide. Splash City also has Connie’s Kiddie Cove, a splash pad with a slide and water features the little ones will love.

Bring the little ones to Kiddie Land for some age-appropriate excitement. Kiddie roller coasters, gentle spinning rides, and even an air pillow jumping pad let the children laugh and play.

Cedar Point Amusement Park

In under two hours, you can reach Cedar Point on the shores of Lake Erie to the west of Cleveland. Cedar Point features 17 world-class roller coasters, plus an abundance of rides for the kids. Adults can enjoy Boardwalk Cruiser Bike and Brew tours or Wine Tours, sipping on your favorite beverages while you relax in a bike-drawn carriage along the boardwalk.

For excitement, you can ride the Blue Streak or Cedar Creek Mine roller coasters. Thrill-seekers love the Corkscrew, an ultra-fast roller coaster that corkscrews you upside down. You won’t want to miss out on the Iron Dragon, Gemini, or GateKeeper coasters, filled with twists, turns, and loops at super-fast speeds. Perhaps the most popular coaster in Cedar Point, the Maverick, offers pure roller coaster pleasure as it drops, turns, and twists you around the park.

After an adrenalin-filled morning of coaster riding, you can take the family to one of the many water rides and splash pads in Cedar Point. The Point Plummet waterslide twists you round and round before dumping you in the splash pool. Portside Plunge and Riptide Raceway offer more waterslide action for the whole family. Finally, snake River Falls delivers that classic flume ride experience, floating along in your log until you plummet into the pool, getting doused in cool water.

Fun Fore All

Less than an hour southeast of Youngstown, you’ll find Fun Fore All, a combination of indoor and outdoor games and rides that make for a fantastic family-friendly outing. Indoor rides such as XD Dark Ride, a 4D adventure that has you flying, falling, and riding along with friends as you shoot your laser blaster to score points. An indoor video arcade has games galore where you can earn prizes as you play.

Outdoor activities include mini-golf, go-karts, and batting cages where you can test your skills against your family and friends. In addition, Fun Fore All has various kiddie rides that the little ones love, like bumper cars, swings, and more. Outdoor activities are weather permitting, but indoors, the fun never stops.

Waldameer and Water World

One hour and 30 minutes north of Youngstown sits Waldameer and Water World, a world-class amusement and water park. With over 100 attractions, five roller coasters, and 31 water slides, you can’t help but have fun at one of the area’s most popular water parks.

The kids can cool off at The Battle of Lake Erie, a water complex with seven slides, over 100 water features, and a giant 400-gallon bucket of water dumping over everyone every few minutes. Older kids will love the selection of water slides like the Cannon Bowl that spins you around on a tube before dumping you in a giant bowl of water. You can get lost in the Bermuda Triangle, a twisting, turning body slide that leaves you wondering where you ended up.

A giant wave pool offers refreshing fun as huge waves toss you around. The Endless River offers relaxing fun as you float around the park on your personal tube. Next, thrill-seekers need to check out Chaos, a 60-foot tall spin that will leave you lurching when you land. XScream will take you even higher before dropping you 140 feet in this free-fall extreme ride. You and your family can have more fun on the Steel Dragon, a roller coaster that spins around as you fly along the tracks.

For a truly relaxing break, you can slip into the giant hot tub. This relaxing pool stays at a balmy 98 degrees and can fit up to 120 people. When you’ve warmed up a bit, you can return to the water slides and enjoy the thrill of Raging River’s open slide alone or with a friend on a double tube. Presque Isle Plunge lets you ride alone on this twisting and turning body slide that plunges into a pool. If you’re a competitive family, take a ride on Rally Racer, a head-first water slide on a mat that pits you against your friends in a race to the finish.

Youngstown, OH, may be a rural community, but it’s close enough to some of the finest amusement parks in the country. So the next time you feel like having a fun day with family and friends, check out one of these four amusement parks. You can test your skills, ride for thrills, or get scary chills at these fun local parks.

At Cochran Chevrolet, we know these parks provide incredible fun for everyone, but there are more out there. So if we’ve left out your favorite park, give us a call or contact us online, and we’ll happily add it to our list.

Image via Flickr by craiglloyd