It’s long. It’s fast. It caused the cameraman to vomit. The very fun Ghostrider at Knott’s

Aug. 6, 2024 9:14 AM PT

GhostRider was one of the last projects to be approved by the Knotts before the family sold the park to Cedar Fair, and it remains one of the longest and fastest wooden roller coasters on the West Coast, reaching a top speed of 56 miles per hour.

GhostRider is a behemoth of a coaster, coming in at nearly a mile long. Opened in 1998, it was also the first major addition to Knott’s Ghost Town since 1969. The ride is relatively long for a coaster, lasting about 2½ minutes. GhostRider was built with 2.5 million board-feet of yellow pine wood and 50,000 pounds of nails.

Los Angeles Times amusement park aficionado Todd Martens brings you a new series, breaking down his favorite amusement park rides in Southern California and pulling the curtain back on how they were made, what they mean to the park and why you cannot miss them.

Lifestyle Travel & Experiences

Todd Martens

Todd Martens is a features columnist at the Los Angeles Times who writes about theme parks and West Coast Experiences, among other topics. Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and has covered a mix of interactive entertainment as its game critic and pop music as a reporter and editor. Previously, he reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. Martens has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

Mark E. Potts

Mark E. Potts is the senior editor for video at the Los Angeles Times. A native of Enid, Okla., Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism. He has created and edited video for DreamWorks, YouTube, Microsoft, Sony and BET.