The Top 10 Rides at Six Flags Great Escape
Six Flags Great Escape Rides
Six Flags Great Escape, located in Queensbury, New York, has 35 rides and attractions (45, including the water rides in Hurricane Harbor) at the park, including family rides, kid’s rides, thrill rides, and, of course, roller coasters.
But what are the best rides at Six Flags Great Escape? The top 10 rides at the park must be exciting, well-maintained, of higher quality than the rest, and, most importantly, fun!
The following ten attractions fit the bill the most out of all the rides at Six Flags Great Escape. On your next trip to the park, these should be the “must-try” rides during your day!
Without further delay, these are the best rides at Six Flags Great Escape!
#10 – Greezed Lightnin’
At number 10 is Greezed Lightnin’, a Larson Ring of Fire Super Loop ride. A Super Loop ride is a straightforward concept but always proves to be one of the most popular attractions wherever it appears. Greezed Lightnin’ doesn’t change the formula and remains one of the most fun rides at the park.
Greezed Lightnin’, like all Super Loops, contains only one element, an inverted loop. Unlike on most roller coasters with an inverted loop, on a Ring of Fire, the train goes through the loop slowly to create a feeling of weightlessness for all riders, especially at the peak. The train moves forward, then back, gradually building momentum and speed until it eventually takes riders around the loop. Then, with the built-up speed and acceleration, it takes riders around multiple times.
Greezed Lightnin’ is a great thrill ride for families and one of the best at Six Flags Great Escape!
#9 – Desperado Plunge
Number nine is Desperado Plunge, the first, but not last, water ride on the list. What makes Desperado Plunge unique is that it is one of the only attractions at the park with legitimate theming during the ride.
Sure, the theming doesn’t come close to what you’ll find at a Disney or Universal theme park, but at Six Flags, you take the wins in whatever form they come.
In the case of Desperado Plunge, the theming is in the form of Logger animatronics that sometimes even move! It’s a neat addition to an otherwise standard flume boat ride.
Even without the animatronics, Desperado Plunge is one of the most fun rides in the park. Beautiful trees surround you, with great views of the mountains in the distance, creating one of the most relaxing experiences at Six Flags Great Escape. Then, the finale of the plunge into the catch pool is refreshing and guaranteed to bring laughs and smiles to all in the boat.
#8 – Alpine Bobsled
Alpine Bobsled is not a style of ride that you find in most theme parks. Alpine Bobsled is a Bobsled roller coaster, a rare roller coaster variant with only eight still operating in the world (with one of the four appearing at Six Flags Over Texas as La Vibora).
Unlike traditional roller coasters, Alpine Bobsled is primarily a trackless ride, similar to one giant slide. The only track portions of the ride are at the beginning, where the chain lift hill takes you up to the slide, and the end, where the track brings you back to the station.
You’ll roll down to the bottom on the ride, making quick turns along the way, just like on a bobsled race. Alpine Bobsled is one of the best attractions in the park and fun for the entire family.
#7 – The Condor
The Condor is a unique ride as only three operate in America (Six Flags Great Escape, Six Flags Great America, and Worlds of Fun). The Condor is a high-speed tower aerial spinning ride that offers a scenic view of the surrounding area. You can think of Condor as an adult aerial carousel.
Since Condor is a spinning ride, it may be a hard ride to get on for those who easily get motion sickness from those types of experiences. If you don’t get sick from spinning rides, the Condor is worth trying and unlike anything else in the park!
#6 – Sasquatch
Sasquatch is a two-part attraction that is unlike anything else in Six Flags Great Escape and one of the best rides in the park. Sasquatch is a 192 ft tower ride containing two versions, each with a separate line.
The first line is a standard drop experience where you slowly go up the tower and get the best aerial view of Six Flags Great Escape. Then you drop straight down before rising a short distance and slowly falling until you reach the bottom.
The second line (and the more exciting version of the ride) is a launch tower. On this version of Sasquatch, riders launch from the ground up the 192 ft tower at full speed, then drop from the top at high speed. Then the ride continues with the slight bounces like on the first version before reaching the ground.
Both versions are excellent in their own ways, but combined create one of the best experiences at Six Flags Great Escape.
#5 – Extreme Supernova
Extreme Supernova is a pendulum swing ride and one of the best attractions at Six Flags Great Escape, especially if you like thrill rides.
The best way to describe Extreme Supernova would be an incredible rush. As you swing back and forth, gaining momentum each time, going higher and higher into the air to the point where you even go upside-down, you’ll feel a massive rush of adrenaline and excitement that is hard to replicate.
#4 – Flashback
Flashback is a special ride for Six Flags theme parks as it’s the first iteration of the iconic Boomerang: Coast to Coaster roller coaster to come to one of their parks.
Like most versions of Boomerang, Flashback starts by pulling riders back through the station and up a chain lift hill, where the train is then held in place by a catch car. The catch car releases, then the train passes through the station at full speed.
After going through the course that contains three inversions (a cobra roll and vertical loop), riders go up a second chain lift hill, but this time, it leads nowhere. Instead, the train moves at high speed backward, going through the course and all the inversions a second time in the opposite direction!
Flashback is one of the best roller coasters at Six Flags Great Escape and one you don’t want to skip!
#3 – Raging River
Raging River is the best water ride at Six Flags Great Escape and one of the best rides in the park. Raging River is the definition of fun for the entire family.
Raging River is a ride that takes you down a scenic river surrounded by trees and even artificial canyon walls (making it one of the most appropriately themed attractions in the park). Even though the ride is beautiful, the best part about Raging River is how much it gets you wet (which is the entire purpose of a water ride).
Unlike on Desperado Plunge, this isn’t a flume boat ride. All the passengers sit in a round raft that floats along the moving river. As the raft crashes into waves, the water gets into the boat drenching all passengers. Along the river are waterfalls, sprinklers, and sprayers that also wet riders as they pass by.
Overall, there isn’t a ride at Six Flags Great Escape that will generate more smiles amongst your family than Raging River!
#2 – Adirondack Outlaw
Adirondack Outlaw is by far the scariest ride at Six Flags Great Escape and arguably one of the most intense rides at any Six Flags rides. This tower ride takes you 164 ft into the air and, like a 4-D coaster, uses physics to quickly rotate you multi-directionally 360 degrees.
At the same time, the tower brings you down and then back up, flipping you upside and around. It’s one of the most intense experiences you can have at the park, with some cases of people even blacking out while on the ride!
If you think you can handle the experience, the Adirondack Outlaw will be the highlight of your trip!
#1 – The Comet
At number one is The Comet, the oldest roller coaster at Six Flags Great Escape. You might be surprised that the oldest ride in the park, first operating in 1927, would beat all the newer rides to be the best at Six Flags.
Well, the Comet isn’t only considered just one of the best rides at Six Flags Great Escape, but it is also ranked yearly as one of the top 25 wooden roller coasters in the world (based off of a 2022 Golden Ticket Awards).
The Comet is the definition of the classic roller coaster, with its smooth ride experience that is equally thrilling and fun. The Comet is great fun for people of all ages and an experience that may not be unique to Six Flags Great Escape but is one of the best you can have.
Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor
Though these might be the top 10 rides at Six Flags Great Escape, these aren’t the only attractions available! Six Flags Great Escape has 35 total rides, including kid’s rides and family rides made for people of all ages.
In addition, with every purchase of a Six Flags ticket, you gain access to Hurricane Harbor, an incredible water park with tons of slides of all sizes, a huge wave pool, a lazy river, and a kid’s play water play area!
Hurricane Harbor alone is a reason to take a trip to Six Flags Great Escape but combined with the theme park, you’ve got a recipe for a fantastic day!