Cedar Point

Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounce. Cedar Point, which is owned and operated by Cedar Fair, is the flagship of the company's amusement park chain. Known as "America's Roller Coast", the park features 16 roller coasters, which ranks third among amusement parks in North America behind Six Flags Magic Mountain (20) and Canada's Wonderland (18). One of Cedar Point's signature attractions, Steel Vengeance, opened as the tallest, fastest, and longest hybrid roller coaster in 2018. Cedar Point's normal operating season runs from early May until Labor Day in September, which is followed by weekend-only operation through Halloween during an annual event known as HalloWeekends. Other amenities and attractions featured within the park include a beach, an outdoor water park named Cedar Point Shores, an indoor water park named Castaway Bay, two marinas, and an outdoor sports complex called Cedar Point Sports Center. The park has reached numerous milestones over the years, including one in which Cedar Point became the only amusement park in the world with five roller coasters that exceed in height – Magnum XL-200, Millennium Force, Valravn, Steel Vengeance, and Top Thrill 2 – as well as the only park with roller coasters in all four height classifications. Cedar Point also received the Golden Ticket Award for "Best Amusement Park in the World" from Amusement Today for sixteen consecutive years from 1997 to 2013. Among seasonal amusement parks in North America, Cedar Point consistently ranks as the second-most visited, with an estimated 3.44 million visitors in 2022 behind only Canada's Wonderland. In addition, several of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. History In the late-19th century, the south shore region of Lake Erie became a popular vacation destination for the emerging middle-class in the United States. The Lake's islands, such as Kelleys Island and South Bass Island, were gaining a reputation for their freshwater bathing resorts. The Cedar Point peninsula, named for its abundance of cedar trees, was originally known for its fishing. Local fishermen leased land and built living quarters there. Sandusky, which featured an important shipping harbor and two railroads, transformed into a major economic center over the next three decades.