Camden Park: The Place to Visit

Last year, in May, I decided to pick up the phone as soon as I walked in the door from school. I decided to phone a local amusement park, the only amusement park in the state of West Virginia, Camden Park. I talked to an older woman and she told me that they were currently accepting applications. After hearing great news, I got in my car and headed down Route 60 which only took about five minutes. In total, it took me about twenty minutes to complete an application. The next day I got a call from the owner of the park wanting to give me an interview the coming day. So, on Friday I went in for the interview and after a few questions I got the job.

Here is a little background information on the park: As I stated before Camden is located just to the west of Huntington, West Virginia, on US 60. It is now 106 years old. There is a large, neon-lit (although only lit in the evenings) smiling clown sign presiding over the parking lot makes the park easy to find. Once you pull into the parking lot and you have to pay a $3 parking charge to proceed and look for a place to park. The parking lot is usually full, but it's not terribly tragic, as the lot is just a little larger than your average grocery store lot. The walk to the entrance gate brings you alongside the chairlift ride and a non-operable Arrow Coaster, The Thunderbolt Express. Some new-looking landscaping graces an old wall just to the left of the entrance gate. Just behind the wall sits a very entertaining ride called the Skydiver.

Before you can enter the park, you have to buy an all-day admission ticket that can be purchased at the ticket booth. The tickets are $18.99 for General Admission, $12.99 for Children under four feet tall and $12.99 for seniors ages 60 and older. Children under the age of two get in free. All prices include the West Virginia tax of .06%.

Although, there are only two bathrooms in the entire park -- men and women's -- and while they are near each other, there is no cost to use them. The bathrooms are adequate but they could be a little cleaner and they could have had a bit more soap in the dispensers.

The rides available to you are as follows: The Whip is a classic 8-tub model that is a different ride from the giant 16-tub whip at Kennywood in Pittsburgh, as there is very little lag time between whips. The ride cycle is generous, a trend that would is continually repeated throughout the day. The park is usually crowded, hence the crowded parking lots, so expect some lines.

The Scrambler (located alongside the Adena Indian Mound) bumps and groans but still delivers the fun a family should expect from a "Scrambler". It's one of the few spin and spews that doesn't cause anyone to spew, albeit it varies from person to person.

The Haunted House is a great-looking ride and it usually has one of the longest lines in the park. It only provides four, two-person cars. The ride could almost be considered a roller coaster. A short chain lift brings the car up to a quick turnaround to a small hill and then you go down and up again to enter the building. The car quickly traverses a number of hairpin turns, mostly in the dark with a few stunts every so often. The car is manually braked (a ride attendant literally grabs the car to stop it). It's a neat ride nonetheless.

The Skyliner (chairlift) runs right alongside the standing but not operating Thunder Express and over a decaying section of the parking lot. It's a round-trip ride that lets you oversee a big part of the Westmoreland area.

The Train (International Amusement Device) is next to the chairlift entrance and is a nice slow ride around the Log Flume and Swan Lake.

The Lil' Dipper is a small National Amusement Device Jr. wooden coaster built in 1961. The coaster is nearly identical to the defunct Comet Jr. that once ran at Nay Aug Park in Scranton PA. The Lil' Dipper is a good ride and reasonably smooth, with some shuffling around the turns. The shuffle was particularly noticeable in the final turnaround. It's a neat ride for adults but I find that it is very enjoyable to the kids as well.

Across from Lil' Dipper is the Log Flume. The ride is nicely situated with a lightly landscaped, naturalistic setting. There are five boats in use with another sitting on the "dock" not being used. It's just strictly for show. This is by far one of the park's most popular rides. It's a ride with logs floating at ground level in a concrete trough. A small lift and hill appears after a couple of turns. The logs roll down this hill and they make quite a splash at the bottom. There are few more turns and a run through a marshy area surrounded by tall cattails. After it lands with a splash it returns to the station for "docking".

There are many places to eat as well. Popcorn, Cotton Candy, Pretzels, Hot Dogs, Pizza, and there is also an air-conditioned park cafeteria where one can dine and enjoy themselves. All in all, Camden Park is a great experience for a family to have. One of the best choices of my life was to call Camden Park and become an employee of such a storied amusement park.