Boulder Dash is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be ...

located at Lake Compounce in

Bristol, Connecticut Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, southwest-west of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The city is also 120 miles southwest from Boston, and approximately 100 miles northeast of New York City. The ...

. The coaster was built by Custom Coasters International using

Southern Yellow Pine In ecology and forestry, yellow pine refers to a number of conifer species that tend to grow in similar plant communities and yield similar strong wood. In the Western United States, yellow pine refers to Jeffrey pine or ponderosa pine. In the S ...

wood, while the track is made of

Douglas Fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is the tallest tree in the Pinaceae family. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Or ...

. ''

Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...

'' annual Golden Ticket Awards ranked Boulder Dash as the world's best wooden roller coaster in 2004 and from 2013 to 2016. The trains were built by

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B. Auchy and Chester Albright under the name Philadelph ...

(PTC).

History

Construction for the coaster began in June 1999 and was completed in May 2000. The ride cost $6 million and was built into the side of a mountain at Lake Compounce. In the four years prior to the ride's opening, Lake Compounce's owners had spent $40 million on improving the park. The opening of Boulder Dash helped increase attendance at Lake Compounce, which had suffered from declining attendance in prior years. During the 2007 off-season, about 80 percent of the ride was retracked, and some of the supports replaced, as part of a $3 million renovation. In addition, the end of the ride, which had an intentionally uneven track, was rebuilt. Lake Compounce bought PTC trains from

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the ...

Wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

for the 2008 season. For the 2017 season, Boulder Dash was retracked by

Martin & Vleminckx Martin & Vleminckx Ltd. (doing business as MV Rides) is a thrill ride and roller coaster manufacturing and construction company headquartered in Montreal, Québec, Canada with an affiliated office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, a manufa ...

to help smooth out rough patches and replace rotting wood. The retracking also removed the triple-up hill located near the end of the ride, replacing it with a double-up hill. For the 2023 season, 580 feet of the track were retracked with Titan Track by

Great Coasters International Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird (PowerPark), Thunderbird at ...

and Skyline Attractions. For the 2024 season, an additional 280 feet of track was replaced.

Characteristics

The wooden roller coaster uses Lake Compounce's natural mountainous terrain, complete with trees and boulders within close proximity of the track. It is the longest wooden coaster on the East coast. The lift hill climbs the mountainside and disappears from view. When it reappears, it has completed its first drop of 115 feet and is traveling sixty miles per hour as it crosses over itself and flies over the station. Much of the first half of the ride is hidden as the train climbs and drops along the mountainside. On the last drop, on-ride photos are taken and can be viewed and bought at the photo booth at the end of the exit line.

2001 incident

On June 13, 2001, a 23-year-old worker was killed after being struck by one of the coaster's trains.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA; ) is a regulatory agency of the United States Department of Labor that originally had federal visitorial powers to inspect and examine workplaces. The United States Congress established ...

(OSHA) officials subsequently visited Lake Compounce and found several safety violations, fining the park $29,000. In November 2001, this fine was halved as part of a settlement between the park and OSHA. The worker's family sued Lake Compounce in 2002 over the accident.

Awards and rankings

Boulder Dash was voted the world's top wooden roller coaster in 2001 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association. In addition, from 2001 to 2023, the ride was one of the top five wooden roller coasters as ranked by ''Amusement Today'''s Golden Ticket Awards. The 2004 Golden Ticket Awards was the first in which Boulder Dash was the top-ranked wooden coaster.

Notes

References

External links

* {{LC Rides Roller coasters introduced in 2000 Roller coasters in Connecticut