Find a slice of heaven in SoCal

Review of Calico Mine Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm

4 (out of 5)

For this month’s Rode It! Loved It! review (which is exclusively for paid subscribers; kindly consider becoming one), we head west to the self-proclaimed “America’s 1st theme park,” Knott’s Berry Farm in Southern California, and climb aboard one its first major attractions.

Calico Mine Ride is to Knott’s Berry Farm what Pirates of the Caribbean is to Disneyland. It is a grand-scale, engaging, and classic dark ride that is one of the park’s highlights. It dates back to 1960. A 2014 makeover restored Calico Mine Ride to its former glory and added some wonderful new elements as well. No visit to Knott’s (which, I should add, is among my favorite parks) would be complete without a trip into the trippy mine.

All aboard the ore cars (Arthur Levine)