Cedar Creek Mine Ride
1969

Cedar Creek Mine Ride is Cedar Point’s classic mine train roller coaster built by Arrow Development. It served as the centerpiece of the Frontier Town expansion in 1969. At the time, Cedar Creek Mine Ride was Cedar Point’s third roller coaster. Today, it is the second-oldest roller coaster in the park.

The 1950s were a difficult time for Cedar Point. The park was still struggling to recover from the Great Depression. Many buildings, attractions, and rides had fallen into disrepair. However, that would soon change. In 1956, Cedar Point was purchased by George Roose and Emile Legros. Their original plan was to demolish the park and redevelop the property as a housing community. After public backlash, they changed their plans and decided instead to transform Cedar Point into the “Disneyland of the Midwest.”

In 1961, Cedar Point added the Riverboat Cruise, which would be renamed several times over the years before eventually becoming Paddlewheel Excursions. Guests could enjoy views of the park from above when the Sky Ride opened in 1962. In 1963, the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad began giving guests a relaxing trip through the woods and along the park’s lagoons. Blue Streak opened in 1964 as the first major roller coaster built at Cedar Point since 1929. In 1965, Space Spiral opened and became the tallest ride in the world at the time, promoted with the slogan “New Heights in Fun.” In 1966, the Pirate Ride was relocated to Cedar Point from Freedomland.

Frontier Town opened in 1967 and quickly became one of the park’s most popular areas. The land expanded in 1968 with the addition of the Golden Palace Theater and the Chuck Wagon. Even more would arrive in 1969 when Cedar Creek Mine Ride opened. The story of Cedar Creek Mine Ride begins in 1967.

In 1967, Cedar Point opened Frontier Town. When the area first opened, it was very small. The only way to reach Frontier Town was by riding the Cedar Point & Lake Erie Railroad, and a new station stop was added so guests could get on and off the train. The original station looked similar to the main station.

Frontier Town opened with the General Store as its only gift shop. Today, the original General Store is home to The Emporium.

Frontier Town also had just one ride, Shoot-the-Rapids. It was a small log flume located near the train station. Although Frontier Town started out small, it would soon grow. The area was also home to Town Hall, which served as a guest services center.

In 1968, Frontier Town received several improvements that doubled the size of the area. Frontier Lift was added to help bring guests to this section of the park. Frontier Lift was a Sky Ride that traveled over the lagoons, with one station near the Main Midway and another in Frontier Town. The ride operated until 1985.
Next to Frontier Lift, the Town Hall Museum was expanded. Town Hall served both as a guest services location and as a small museum.


Near the train station, Cedar Point also added the Golden Palace Theater, Last Chance Saloon, and the Chuck Wagon.


Even with all of these impressive additions, Cedar Point was not finished expanding Frontier Town. The year 1969 would bring the biggest expansion yet. ​

In 1969, Frontier Town was expanded once again. The area received two new food stands, an arcade, a small restaurant, Antique Cars, and the star attraction of the area, Cedar Creek Mine Ride. This expansion created Frontier Town's basic circular midway that still exists today.

​
All of these new additions helped make Frontier Town a major midway at Cedar Point.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was built during the winter of 1968–1969 and officially opened on August 3, 1969. At the time, it became Cedar Point’s third roller coaster.

Frontier Town now had two major attractions when Cedar Creek Mine Ride opened for the 1969 season. The other major attraction was Shoot-the-Rapids.

When Cedar Creek Mine Ride opened in 1969, it occupied more space than any other roller coaster in the park.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was built by Arrow Development of Mountain View, California. Over the years, the company went through a series of name changes as ownership changed.
Arrow built several other rides for Cedar Point, including Turnpike Cars (1959–2014), Cadillac Cars(1958), Mill Race (1963–1993), Earthquake (1965–1984), Pirate Ride (1966–1996), Shoot-the-Rapids(1967–1981), and Antique Cars (1969-2021).
Arrow later returned to build several more thrilling attractions at Cedar Point, including Corkscrew(1976), Gemini (1978), White Water Landing (1982–2005), Iron Dragon (1987), Magnum XL-200 (1989), and Snake River Falls (1993-2024). ​

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was designed by Ron Toomer. Ron was a NASA engineer who became bored with his job and began looking for something new. After a job search, he joined Arrow Development, where he went on to help create some of the world’s most famous rides. Cedar Creek Mine Ride was the first ride at Cedar Point built by Arrow to be designed by Ron Toomer.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride is located in Frontier Town. It sits across from The Farmhouse Kitchen & Grill and beside Skyhawk.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride is a hybrid roller coaster. A hybrid roller coaster uses a combination of wood and steel. Cedar Creek Mine Ride features a steel track supported by a wooden structure, which means it is officially classified as a steel roller coaster.

​
Cedar Creek Mine Ride was Cedar Point’s first hybrid roller coaster. After 1969, Cedar Point added two more hybrid coasters: Gemini (1978) and Steel Vengeance(2018).

Cedar Creek Mine Ride: Ride Facts
Opened: August 3, 1969
Type: Mine Train (Hybrid Coaster)
​Location: Frontier Town
Manufacturer: Arrow Development
Designer: Ron Toomer
Cost: $600,000
Height: 48 feet
Drop: 
Length: 2,540 feet
Speed: 42 mph
Hills: 6
Trains: 5
Inversions: 0
Capacity: 2,400 riders per hour

Cedar Creek Mine Ride was the third roller coaster at Cedar Point when it opened in 1969.It was also the first roller coaster built in Frontier Town at Cedar Point.

Ride Experience

The Cedar Creek Mine Ride experience begins when riders enter the queue for the ride. The attraction features a basic Western-style entrance sign.

The queue is located between different sections of the ride. It includes a few switchbacks near the entrance, but it is very rare for this section to be needed.

The line then winds its way into the station building. When the park is slow, the ride is usually a walk-on. When the park is busy, the wait time typically does not get much longer than about 20 minutes. 

The station is themed as a mining company, although there is very little theming inside the building other than a few painted signs.

The trains on Cedar Creek Mine Ride are very small and compact. They feature individual seat belts, and riders share the same lap bar. The trains are manual, meaning the ride operator must open and close the lap bars by hand. The lap bars lock in only one position, which can make the ride feel somewhat restrictive.

After the ride operator gives the “all clear,” the ride begins. 

The ride leaves the station and then goes into a small dip. This dip gives the train enough speed to reach the lift hill. After the dip, the ride makes a turn to the right and heads into the mine shaft.

The mine shaft is a straight section of track that the train travels through. It gives riders the feeling of being in the Old West. The mine shaft also houses the transfer track, where crews can move trains on and off the main ride track.

After exiting the mine shaft, the coaster goes into a small dip and then makes a left-hand turn toward the lift hill.

The train then climbs the first lift hill. This hill is 48 feet tall and gives riders a great view of the ride and the nearby lagoon.

Because it is one of the older rides in the park, it takes about 25 seconds for the train to reach the top of the hill. The chain lift moves very slowly.

After dropping off the lift hill, the roller coaster enters a straight section of track that leads to the next element of the ride.

After passing through the straight section, Mine Ride dips and then banks to the left.

The coaster then turns left into a circular section of track. As the train moves through the circle, it travels up and down over several very small hills.

The turn then leads the ride into a short straight section of track. 

Cedar Creek Mine Ride then takes a turning drop to the left. It is a fun drop for guests and offers great views of the lagoon.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride then glides over the pond, making riders feel as if the train is racing slightly out of control. 

The ride then turns to the left and enters an upward helix. Helixes are often used on roller coasters to reduce speed. After the helix, the ride turns left toward the second hill. This turn is mostly hidden by the trees.

Before reaching the base of the second hill, the ride passes through a trim brake. The trim brake slows the train down so it can be pulled up to the top of the second lift hill.

The second lift hill on Cedar Creek Mine Ride is 48 feet tall. As the train climbs the hill, riders get a great view of Frontier Town and the surrounding area. The views from this part of the ride are impressive and offer a unique look at the park.
​
Cedar Creek Mine Ride is one of only two roller coasters at Cedar Point with two lift hills. The other coaster with two lift hills is Iron Dragon.

After dropping off the lift hill, the ride goes into a small dip and then enters a straight section of track. ​

Mine Ride then takes riders through an S-shaped section of track, twisting and turning through the middle of a grassy area.

The train then banks to the right and enters a straight section of track. The train moves very quickly through this part of the ride!

The train then climbs into a straight section of track. As it goes up, the track turns slightly.

The train then dives to the left and enters a double-down helix. This helix is very forceful and helps create the feeling of a runaway mine train adventure. As the train moves through this element, it is traveling very fast.

After the helix, the ride enters the final brake run.

The train waits on the brake run until the station is ready for it to enter.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride is a fantastic roller coaster that will continue to entertain Cedar Point guests for generations to come!

Becoming A Classic

When Cedar Creek Mine Ride opened in 1969, it was considered one of the most thrilling and intimidating rides Cedar Point had to offer at that time. There were only two other roller coasters in the park then, and they didn’t compare to the experience this new coaster provided.

Over the years, the standards of what is considered “thrilling” have changed. Cedar Creek Mine Ride gradually went from being a thrilling roller coaster to a family coaster. By 2026 standards, Cedar Creek Mine Ride is considered a relatively tame ride.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride has seen several changes over the years. When the ride opened in 1969, it had five trains, although only four could operate at one time. By the mid-1990s, the park typically ran only three trains on the ride.

In the mid-2000s, Cedar Creek Mine Ride received air gates to prevent the next group of riders from crossing the yellow line on the ride platform. The addition of air gates and seat belts slowed down the ride’s operations.

In 2014, the ride was modified again to include individual seat belts for each rider. Before that change, riders shared a seat belt with the person next to them. That same year, the park reduced operations to two trains on the ride. ​

On June 30, 1977, a tornado moved across the upper section of the Cedar Point peninsula. The storm passed through Camper Village and Frontier Town, damaging several rides and buildings. Cedar Creek Mine Ride was one of the rides that sustained damage. The park worked quickly to repair it, and the ride reopened on July 16, 1977.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride has always been known for having very small trains. After all, real mine cars are small, so a mine train coaster naturally uses smaller trains to match the theme.

In the spring of 2012, Cedar Point experimented with using Gemini’s extra trains on Cedar Creek Mine Ride so the ride could be more accessible to a larger audience. However, the experiment did not work.

Cedar Creek Mine Ride has been an important part of Cedar Point’s history for the past 57 years.

After Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Cedar Point went on to add: Cedar Point’s 100th Anniversary Celebration (1970), Frontier Trail (1971), Jumbo Jet (1972-1978), Matterhorn (1972), Giant Wheel (1972), Cedar Point Cinema (1975-2001), Corkscrew (1976), Troika (1976), Witches’ Wheel (1977-2018), Gemini (1978), Gemini Chilrden’s Area (1979-2013), Wave Swinger (1979), WildCat (1979-2011), Oceana (1980), Ocean Motion (1981), Kid Arthur’s Court (1982-2005), White Water Landing (1982-2005), Demon Drop (1983-2009), Avalanche Run (1985-1989), Berenstain Bear Country (1985-1998), Thunder Canyon (1986), Iron Dragon (1987), Soak City Water Park (1988-2016), Magnum XL-200 (1989), Disaster Transport (1990-2012), Mean Streak (1991-2016), Challenge Park (1992-2016), Snake River Falls (1993-2024), Kiddy Kingdom (1993), Raptor (1994), Cedar Point’s 125th Anniversary Celebration (1995), RipCord (1996-2016), Mantis (1996-2014), Chaos (1997-2011), Swan Boats (1997-2003), Power Tower (1998), Camp Snoopy (1999), Millennium Force (2000), Lighthouse Point (2001), Wicked Twister (2002-2021), Good Time Theatre (2002-2014), Top Thrill Dragster (2003-2021), Castaway Bay Resort (2004), maXair (2005), Skyhawk (2006), Maverick (2007), Planet Snoopy (2008), Shoot the Rapids (2010-2015), WindSeeker (2011), Dinosaurs Alive! On Adventure Island (2012-2018), GateKeeper (2013), New Gemini Midway (2014), Rougarou (2015), Valravn (2016), Cedar Point Shores Waterpark (2017), Steel Vengeance (2018), Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island (2019-2022), Cedar Point’s 150th Anniversary Celebration (2021), Snake River Expedition (2021-2023), The Boardwalk (2023), Top Thrill 2 (2024), and Siren’s Curse (2025)

Since 1969, the park has changed tremendously. It has truly become a fun place to be!

Cedar Creek Mine Ride is a great attraction at Cedar Point. Over the last 57 years, the ride has been a favorite among many different groups of guests. In its early years, the ride attracted thrill-seekers and teenagers. Today, Mine Ride is most popular with families and young kids, and it is often one of the first roller coasters that younger guests experience.

Riders must be at least 48 inches tall to ride Cedar Creek Mine Ride. 

Last Updated: 05/01/2026

Photos by: Jake Hamons, COASTER-net, Cedar Point, and Russ Hauden.