Utah's Family-Owned Amusement Park Is A Nostalgic Haven For Thrill Seekers Near Salt Lake City

At the base of the Wasatch Range sits a nostalgic amusement park often regarded as one of America's most underrated. Lagoon Amusement Park is located nearly 18 miles north of Salt Lake City in the town of Farmington, and the land it occupies has long been a summertime haven for Utah residents. In the 1880s, the old Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad built Lake Park, a resort once situated on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. Before the dawn of the 1900s, the park moved to its current home and the name changed to Lagoon, inspired by the small lake on the park's property. In the 1920s, the park started to gain popularity, adding new attractions like a million-gallon swimming pool, midway rides and shows, and the park's first roller coaster, which still operates today.

Lagoon Amusement Park stands apart from its contemporaries as one of the few remaining family-owned parks in America, and the Freed family hasn't rested on its historic laurels. The park now offers nearly 60 attractions catering to all ages and thrill levels, and yet still maintains its pioneer aesthetics. Despite its nostalgic atmosphere, Lagoon has evolved into a destination for thrill seekers, with a notable collection of roller coasters.

Lagoon Amusement Park features a collection of 11 roller coasters, each offering a different level of excitement. The park's first coaster was simply called the Roller Coaster, which is steeped in history. The wooden coaster was built in 1921, four years before Knoebles Amusement Park, a thrilling and free mountain beauty, opened in Pennsylvania, and is currently the fourth-oldest coaster still in operation in the U.S. Roller Coaster is the name of a classic double out-and-back coaster, providing plenty of airtime for riders of all ages. "I grew up riding the wooden Roller Coaster when I was 11 years old," wrote a parkgoer in a TripAdvisor review, noting that they rode the coaster "17 times in a row" when they were young.

While the Roller Coaster continues to produce memories, the park has added modern coasters to appeal to today's thrill-seekers. Among the newest is Primordial, a coaster set primarily inside a mountain that combines classic roller coaster drops with an interactive video game. Then, there's Cannibal, a steel coaster that lifts riders 208 feet into the air before plunging them down a 116-degree, beyond-vertical drop into an underground tunnel, and through a 140-foot inverted loop. For parkgoers who want milder thrills, The Spider is a spinning coaster designed for families, offering drops and "free spins" that can reach up to 20 rotations per minute. BomBora is another family coaster, providing high-speed turns and drops, but none as extreme as Cannibal.

A unique, long-standing attraction at Lagoon is Pioneer Village. Unlike other theme park replicas that use fiberglass to recreate historic areas, Pioneer Village features authentic historic structures that, according to the park's website, "send guests 100 years back in time." Pioneer Village was brought to life in 1938, when Horace and Ethel Sorensen collected unique pioneer-era structures and artifacts near Salt Lake City. In 1975, the collection was relocated to Lagoon.

Pioneer Village opened in 1976, and was designed as a re-creation of what a frontier town would have looked like in Utah during the late 1800s. The Village contains such buildings as the Rockport Schoolhouse & Co-Op, an old one-room schoolhouse and mercantile respectively. It's also home to the Rock Chapel, built in 1853, which served multiple functions, from a courthouse to a church. Most of the buildings in Pioneer Village aren't just for show as many still operate as active businesses within the park. These businesses range from the Peddler's Place gift shop to the Drug Store and Ice Cream Parlour, which offers ice cream and displays historic artifacts. 

If you want to explore more of the state's Wasatch Mountain Range, head to Mapleton, a perfect suburban city with outdoor fun heralded as an outdoor sanctuary. Alternatively, if you want to experience a unique Salt Lake City attraction, visit Gilgal Sculpture Garden, an outdoor space filled with curious sculptures.