Two of USA’s Most Thrilling Roller Coasters Were Surprisingly Created in Idaho

Does that headline have you scratching your head? We don’t blame you. Idaho’s only home to one amusement park. That park’s a further drive from the Gem State’s capital city than Lagoon in Farmington, Utah. It has five high thrill coasters. Is it possible that two of them made the list?

Of course the amusement park we’re talking about is Silverwood in Athol and their coasters are pretty darn good. Especially the Stunt Pilot that opened in 2021. But, no. None of them made USA Today’s 10 Best list of the “10 Best Roller Coasters of 2023” So, how does Idaho have a connection to this list?

READ MORE: 5 Movies You Didn't Know Were Filmed at Utah's Lagoon Amusement Park

Thanks to a company named Rocky Mountain Construction. Based in Hayden, they’re a roller coaster manufacturing company that builds the biggest, fastest and most thrilling coasters in the world. They got their start more than two decades ago and created something called I-Box technology. It’s a replacement steel track for wooden coasters and it’s the reason that some of the most beloved wooden roller coasters in the county are still around. In fact, that’s the technology they used on the coaster that placed #4 on the USA Today list. 

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So which incredible coasters did Idaho give America? Sneak a peek! 

#5 Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH

We have a soft spot for Steel Vengeance. This author happened to grow up in Northeast Ohio, so new the Mean Streak. It was a wooden roller coaster that operated from 1991-2016. According to Coasterpedia, it was the tallest and fastest wooden coaster when it opened…but we remember it as an “eh” coaster that was a super rough ride. Idaho’s Rocky Mountain Construction came in and built the new ride using a lot of the support structure left behind by Mean Streak. When it opened in 2018, it broke 10 different hybrid coaster records for height, speed, inversions and airtime.

#4 Iron Gwazi - Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, FL

In the coaster world, Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was one of the most anticipated rides of 2022. According to Coasterpedia, Rocky Mountain Construction used about 40% of the structure and track layout of a wooden coaster called the Gwazi that closed in 2015. The park’s website says that it is North America’s tallest and the world’s fastest and steepest hybrid coaster. It reaches a top speed of 76 miles per hour and drops riders 206 feet into a 91 degree drop.

So, that’s how Idaho is responsible for four of the greatest coasters in America! You may have to travel to ride them, but they’ll be worth it. Don’t feel like traveling? Remember those five coasters at Silverwood? Their newest one, The Stunt Pilot, was designed by Rocky Mountain Construction. You can read more about that coaster HERE.