Amusement Parks and Attractions

After 100 years, America’s top amusement park still doesn’t charge admission

As Knoebels celebrates its centennial, the family behind the park explains why free admission remains at the heart of its success.

Eve Chen

USA TODAY

Updated July 3, 2026, 9:02 a.m. ET

High Speed Thrill Coaster was replaced by Kozmo’s Kurves at Knoebels, but a High Speed Thrill Coaster car can still be seen in “The Rink,” a historical experience at the park.

Knoebels Amusement Resort, the nation's largest free-admission park, is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
The Pennsylvania park has been owned and operated by the Knoebel family for four generations.
While the park has grown to over 100 rides and attractions, it maintains free admission, parking, and entertainment.

The Fourth of July isn’t just America’s 250^th birthday.

It’s also the 100^th anniversary of Knoebels Amusement Resort, the nation’s largest free-admission amusement park and one of a few longstanding parks still in the hands of a single family.

Fourth-generation co-owner-operator and president Brian Knoebel remembers growing up in the Elysburg, Pennsylvania, park as a kid in the 1970s.

“It really wasn't all that busy,” he recalled. “I had a little red tractor or a big wheel, just like everybody else did, and I'd pull my little cousin around on a little wagon in the back. We'd play kickball in the middle of the park. In a 45-minute game of kickball, we would only have to stop twice to allow families to walk by.”

A lot has changed since then, but here’s what’s stayed the same.

Yesteryear

The Knoebels have welcomed visitors for more than a century. Even before their park opened, they invited visitors to swim in their swimming hole, picnic on their property and stay in cottages available to rent.

“Knoebels is in a grove, in a valley where two creeks come together, where we got our start,” Brian said.

According to the park’s website, his ancestors first acquired the tree-canopied farmland in 1828 and began welcoming visitors to a swimming hole there in 1890.

While the park doesn't charge for admission, there has always been a fee to enter Crystal Pool.

In 1926, Brian's great-grandfather, Henry Knoebel, opened a pool that would mark the official start of the family’s park. Crystal Pool was billed as “one of the largest and most sanitary pools in Central Pennsylvania,” according to an old ad on the park’s website.

Knoebels still has a Crystal Pool, among more than 100 rides and attractions that have been added over the years.

Dodgems was a bumper car ride at Knoebels. The park still has bumper cars, but not these.

Brian remembers a specific turning point in 1985. "We opened Phoenix and my dad flattened my kickball. Was just too many people, we got too busy,” he said. "We started buying more rides, more games. We started to need more food stands. That meant more garbage cans. That meant more restrooms. Then I started to pay attention to the placement of the rides, because now we needed to spread the crowd out.”

Even as the park grew, the grove of trees remained precious.

Knoebels still offers free entertainment at its Hawaiian Bandshell.

“(Dad) would instill those old-school principles in my generation of: ‘We have to have a canopy of trees for our guests. Nobody wants to go to a park that's a concrete jungle. They want shade and they want park benches and they want carousel music in the background,’” Brian said. “And it’s just continued. It just blossomed.”

Today, tomorrow

Today, guests can still relax under trees and listen to Knoebels’ century-old Grand Carousel.

Knoebels' Grand Carousel features hand-carved horses and classic organ music.

“I challenge any park our size to have as many park benches as we do,” Brian said. “(Some) parks take the benches away. Not us. We're building more. We encourage you to sit, people watch. It's OK if you want to bring food from home.”

There is no gate and no fees to enter or to park. Entertainment and attractions like the Bald Eagle Habitat, Kozmo’s Play Area and Mining Museum are also free to enjoy.

Knoebels' Phoenix is surrounded by trees, like the rest of the park.

The park does sell food and offer pay-as-you go rides and other experiences. Ticket books start at $5 online for approximately two rides. Ride All Day tickets, covering every ride except Haunted Mansion, start at $54 online.

Brian knows parks make money when they charge for things like entry. But, he said: “It just truly goes to our core and it's who we are. We found our niche. We're that step back in time.”

Knoebels offers many rides guests won't find elsewhere, like its Whipper.

Guests recognize how special that is. Knoebels was named America’s best amusement and water park for 2026 in Tripadvisor’s Travelers’ Choice Awards, which is based on reviews. The park also came in second on USA TODAY 10Best’s list of top 10 theme parks, which is based on readers' votes.

“Who would have thought that this little tract of land purchased for agricultural purposes would be getting so much national attention?” Brian said.

Guests can get a bird's-eye view of Knoebels on its Scenic Skyway.

As the park celebrates its 100^th anniversary, he didn’t offer any predictions for the its next century.

“We are a timeless hometown amusement resort,” he said. “Let's keep going. Why, why stop now?"

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