Boulder Dash (roller coaster)


Boulder Dash is a wooden roller coaster located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut. Construction for the coaster began in June 1999 and was completed in May 2000. The coaster was built by Custom Coasters International using Southern Yellow Pine wood; while the track is made of Douglas Fir. This ride was ranked the #1 Wooden Roller Coaster in the World by the Golden Ticket Awards in 2004 and from 2013 to 2016, until slipping into third place in 2017. The trains were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.

Statistics and additional information

This 4,672 foot wooden roller coaster uses the Lake Compounce's natural mountainous terrain, complete with trees and boulders within close proximity of the track. The lift climbs the mountainside and then 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. Most of the ride was retracked during the 2007 off season and during the 2008 off season the remainder was retracked. Lake Compounce bought PTC trains from Hersheypark's Wildcat for the 2008 season. For the 2017 Season, Boulder Dash received a retracking by Martin and Vleminckx 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.
Its layout was inspired by the Rollo Coaster, a small wooden coaster at Idlewild Park.

Awards and rankings

Boulder Dash was voted the world's number one wooden roller coaster in 2001 and 2004 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association, and it took the top spot in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards for Best Wood Coaster five times since 2004. It has been a top 5 wooden roller coaster since 2001. It is the longest wooden coaster on the East Coast.