Pioneer Park. C'mon.

Wrangell-St Elias, Kennicott Mine.

Gates is incredible but you can’t “just” visit it.

Kenai (+ exploring the surrounding areas) is great. Depending on your schedule you could plan a dope road trip for Glacier Bay > Wrangle > Kenai.

I would recommend this over say Denali. Seeing Denali is wild but it’s very weather dependent. The park is also insanely large so a lot of it is underwhelming, IMO.

Penland park

valley of the moon

Dang my 5 year old needs the full report of all the playgrounds.

The Valdez one almost looks worth the drive.

The Seward one is our fave.

Talkeetna was nice, we drove by it for years before checking it out finally.

There's a nice one in Soldotna Creek park in Soldotna (behind the stage). The park is right on the Stirling Highway, so you're probably passing through anyway.

That photo doesn’t do Seward justice. I can’t think of another public outdoor space that has that ocean front view. The amusing thing is I still remember our first time there. We randomly ran into our cats’ vet who was visiting with her family from Fairbanks. It was then that I realized the truth in why people say that Alaska is just one really large small town.

Check out Talkeetna

Juneau has been renovating all the playgrounds for a few years now. Hope it makes the list in the future!

My kids say Apple Playground aka South Anchorage Sports park

balto seppala park off Wisconsin is decent.

Valley of the Moon, otherwise known as Rocket Park

Kincaid with its sleeping lady views

Chanshtnu looks pretty good (DeBarr and Muldoon).

Knoebels Grove. World class roller coaster, wonderful kiddie rides, cheap food or bring-your-own-picnic, tree-shaded, nice pool, free entertainment, family-owned. A throw-back oasis.

Cedar Point

Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio…”Rollercoaster Capital of the World.” If coasters are your thing, this is a great place to go! Nowadays, there could be other theme parks that have more coasters altogether, but Cedar Point seems to break some kind of record with each new rollercoaster they introduce, in terms of speed & height, for example.

Lots of other rides & stuff to do there, too. 

It subjectively doesn't have the biggest and best rides, not even in the same city, but Disney World Florida is a whole different level. The sheer size, iconic rides, theming, etc... I know Universal has great theming, too, and some noteworthy iconic rides of their own, but the massive size difference tips it in Disney Worlds favour.

Female body.

Go to Alaska for the scenery, not the rave. And that’s coming from someone who’s been raving for 10+ years and has been to Alaska almost 10 times.

Sacred Acre looks really cool but it's not until september.

Sundown Solstice Fest

Shockwave. Man. So many memories. I would ride that with my mom. Was up front was always the first ride. Then condor was next. Ahhh. Good times.

1. Whizzer
2. Demon
3. American Eagle
4. Batman: The Ride
5. Viper
6. Sprocket Rockets
7. Raging Bull
8. THE FLASH: Vertical Velocity
9. Superman: Ultimate Flight
10. THE DARK KNIGHT Coaster
11. Little Dipper
12. X-Flight
13. Goliath
14. The Joker
15. Maxx Force
16. Wrath of Rakshasa

Defunct coasters:

1. Gulf Coaster
2. Tidal Wave
3. Z-Force
4. Shockwave
5. Rolling Thunder
6. Iron Wolf
7. Deja Vu
8. Rajin Cajun

That line-up is really goated.

(Edit - thanks for putting my top three at the top!)

To me, we have many destination and amazing coasters. Unique, quirky… awesome. Great flats and flumes too.

Happy to call Great America my home park. Started riding Whizzer 81 and Demon in 82. Over 500 coasters later those two still rank very high with me.

Probably moving to Michigan soon, I will sure miss the park.

1. Leviathan
2. Behemoth
3. Yukon Striker
4. Backlot Stunt Coaster
5. Minebuster
6. Shockwave
7. Psyclone
8. Soaring Timbers
9. Drop Tower
10. Tundra Twister

1. Yukon Striker

2. Leviathan

3. Behemoth

4. Backlot

5. Vortex

6. Psyclone

7. Shockwave

8. Sledgehammer

9. Dragon Fyre

10. Tundra Twister

Honourable mention for me: Wilde Beast. Yes, it’s rough but it’s also kinda fun.

1. Leviathan
2. Yukon Striker
3. Behemoth
4. Vortex
5. Shockwave
6. Sledgehammer
7. The Bat
8. Tundra Twister
9. Drop Tower
10. Wilde Beast

Drop down ur list

My personal top 10:

1. Leviathan
2. Yukon Striker
3. Behemoth
4. Drop tower
5. Vortex
6. Mighty Canadian Minebuster
7. Windseeker
8. Shockwave
9. Psyclone
10. Tundra Twister

Honorable mentions:

• The Bat: fun but the roughness brings the quality down
• Flight Deck: unpopular opinion but this would be my number 6 if not for the extreme headbanging.
• Backlot Stunt Coaster: might be a smaller ride but it packs a thrilling punch. Seats are a bit confining though.

Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio is arguably the best roller coaster park in the world, I grew up about 2 hours away so we'd go there a few times every year. It's right on Lake Erie, the drive there was through farm country and along the lake and small towns, just an idyllic All-American place for many reasons.

Busch Gardens, Williamsburg VA. Stationed in Norfolk in the 80s. Rollercoasters & beer!

Grew up less than two hours away, right on the other side of the National Park. My best friend’s family kept season passes and brought me along pretty frequently and we always had a blast. After moving away, I always thought it was probably a rinky-dink little place that I remembered fondly just because of nostalgia. Went last year after close to 20 years for the first time as an adult and was impressed. Dollywood punches way above its weight for a relatively small regional amusement park. Atmosphere is great, it’s kept very clean, food is way above par for amusement park food, staff is friendly, and the rides are great! Some of the newer coasters have pretty innovative designs beyond just “UP DOWN FAST” and many take full advantage of the unique mountain landscape. There’s no alcohol sales in the park which I’m sure some people would count as a point against it, but I think it reduces some of the trashy guest behavior you deal with at other parks. I mostly compare it to Carowinds (the other park I’ve been to most often) which is kind of a dump in comparison. 

If the kid who built the flimsy wooden ramp that every kid in the neighborhood jumped their bike over grew up and built an amusement park … that would be Action Park.

Disneyworld in Florida. It's also the only amusement park I've ever been to. When I was 4. Trips like that were too expensive to do more than once.

Valley of the moon...South Anchorage Sports Park

Polar Bear Playground at Russian Jack Park on Pine St.

Jewel Lake Park recently underwent renovations and now has a pretty sweet pirate ship to play on. Check it out!

Cuddy park. Close to the library, fountain, and ducks!

Westchester Lagoon