Roller Coaster Guide to Elitch Gardens: Every Coaster Ranked
Elitch Gardens has five coasters, with Twister III as the wooden flagship and Mind Eraser, a Vekoma inverted looper with five inversions, as the most intense ride in the park. The standout oddity is Half Pipe, a spinning shuttle coaster unlike anything else in the region. Ride Twister III in the morning and take the front row on Mind Eraser.
Elitch Gardens is a rare thing: a full amusement park wedged into a downtown skyline, with the Rocky Mountains on the horizon and a coaster collection that leans scrappy rather than record-breaking. None of these rides will top an enthusiast poll, but a mile above sea level with the Denver skyline wheeling past, they punch above their weight. Here is every coaster ranked.
1. Twister III: Storm Chaser
The park's wooden flagship, built as a tribute to the legendary Mister Twister from the original Elitch Gardens location.
- Ride experience: roughly ten stories of twisting wooden structure, a drop into a dark tunnel, and a middle section that stacks banked turns on top of each other. It runs rougher as the day heats up, which is part of the personality. The tunnel remains one of the better moments on any Colorado coaster.
- Height requirement: 48 inches.
- Best seat: back row for the drop, middle if you want mercy on your spine.
- Best time to ride: morning, when the track is cool and the train tracks fastest and smoothest.
2. Mind Eraser
A Vekoma SLC, the notorious inverted five-looper, and easily the most intense thing in the park.
- Ride experience: feet dangling, five inversions in rapid succession, and a pace that never gives you a breath. SLCs have a headbanging reputation, so ride it like a veteran: head pressed back, neck braced, and enjoy the chaos.
- Height requirement: about 52 inches.
- Best seat: front row, meaningfully smoother than anywhere else on the train.
- Best time to ride: early, both for the shorter line and because it is a better ride before the afternoon sun softens your resolve.
3. Half Pipe
A genuine oddity: a snowboard-themed shuttle coaster shaped like a giant halfpipe, with spinning seats on a car that rockets up both walls.
- Ride experience: repeated launches through the pipe while your car rotates freely, so every cycle is different. Nothing else in the region rides like it, and coaster collectors treat it as a must-log credit.
- Height requirement: around 54 inches for some seating positions; the board at the entrance has the final word.
- Best seat: they spin, so fate decides. Outside positions get the strongest whip.
- Best time to ride: whenever the line is short. Capacity is low, so pounce on a short queue when you see one.
4. Boomerang
The classic Vekoma Boomerang: pulled backwards up a spike, dropped through the station into a cobra roll and loop, then the whole thing again in reverse.
- Ride experience: six inversion moments in under two minutes, with the backwards half providing the genuine disorientation. Short, punchy, and exactly what it looks like.
- Height requirement: about 48 inches.
- Best seat: front, which becomes the back on the reverse run. Best of both directions.
- Best time to ride: midday is fine; one train means the line moves slowly, so avoid it right after a water park exodus.
5. Sidewinder
A compact shuttle looper that sends you forward through a vertical loop, then backward through the same loop.
- Ride experience: one great element experienced twice. The hang at the top on the backward pass is the highlight. It is a two minute investment for a real thrill.
- Height requirement: around 48 inches.
- Best seat: back car forward means you lead the reverse run.
- Best time to ride: anytime; it is rarely the longest line in the park.
6. Blazin' Buckaroo
The family mine-train style starter coaster, and a solid first credit for Denver kids.
- Ride experience: small drops, tight turns, western theming, zero fear factor.
- Height requirement: low; small kids ride with an adult.
- Best seat: back for a touch more speed.
- Best time to ride: early evening when little-kid crowds thin out.
First-timers guide Order
1. Twister III: Storm Chaser first, while the morning track is fast and smooth 2. Mind Eraser second, with your neck braced and expectations calibrated 3. Half Pipe when you spot a short line 4. Boomerang and Sidewinder in the afternoon 5. Twister III: Storm Chaser again before close
Enthusiast Order
1. All six credits before noon, starting with Twister III: Storm Chaser and Mind Eraser 2. Half Pipe re-rides for the spin lottery 3. Skip nothing, this is a six-coaster park and the oddballs are the point 4. Finish on Twister III: Storm Chaser at dusk with the skyline lit behind the lift
Thoosie