Dahlonega Mine Train is a genuine piece of American coaster history. It opened on June 16, 1967 with Six Flags Over Georgia itself, making it an original opening-year attraction — and one of the earliest examples of the Arrow mine train, the ride style that spread the runaway-train formula to parks across the country.
Nearly six decades later, the ore cars are still rolling through the Georgia pines, themed to the town of Dahlonega and the gold fever that once gripped the North Georgia mountains.
Key Stats
| Type | Mine train coaster (Arrow) |
| Opened | June 16, 1967 (park opening year) |
| Height | 37 ft (11 m) |
| Speed | 29 mph (47 km/h), up to ~35 mph in the tunnel |
| Length | 2,327 ft (709 m) |
| Ride duration | 2 minutes 51 seconds |
| Max vertical angle | 45° |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Lift hills | 3 chain lifts |
| Capacity | 2,200 riders/hr theoretical (~1,300 with 3 trains) |
| Trains | 5-car trains, 30 riders per train |
| Park | Six Flags Over Georgia — Austell, Georgia, USA |
Named for America’s First Gold Rush
The ride takes its name from Dahlonega, Georgia, the mountain town at the center of the gold rush of 1828 — the first gold rush in the United States, two decades before California’s forty-niners. The mine-train theming, from the ore-car trains to the timber trestles and mine tunnel, plays on that history, casting riders as prospectors aboard a runaway haul out of the diggings.
A 1967 Original
Dahlonega Mine Train was among the earliest mine train coasters Arrow built, arriving just one year after the genre debuted at Six Flags Over Texas. As an opening-day-era ride, it has operated for the park’s entire existence and is the oldest coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia. The ride originally cycled four trains at once; a mid-1990s refurbishment reduced the maximum to three, which yields roughly 1,300 riders per hour in practice against a theoretical 2,200.
The Ride Experience
Like most classic mine trains, Dahlonega builds its ride from three chain lifts, each launching a progressively wilder act of tight, swooping turns banked through the trees and over the park’s terrain. The finale is the ride’s signature: after the third lift, the train plunges into a dark tunnel where it hits its true top speed — around 35 mph, notably quicker than the 29 mph official figure for the rest of the course — before emerging back at the station. The tunnel sits low enough that it has occasionally flooded, most dramatically during the September 2009 Atlanta-area floods.
With a 45-degree maximum pitch, no inversions and compact ore-car trains, it remains a staple family coaster — rougher-edged than modern family rides, but that vintage Arrow rattle is half the charm.
FAQ
Is Dahlonega Mine Train the oldest ride at Six Flags Over Georgia?
It is the park’s oldest roller coaster, having opened with Six Flags Over Georgia on June 16, 1967. It is one of the earliest Arrow mine train coasters still operating anywhere.
How fast is the Dahlonega Mine Train?
The official top speed is 29 mph (47 km/h), but the train actually reaches about 35 mph in the ride’s final tunnel drop — the fastest and darkest moment of the layout.
What does ‘Dahlonega’ mean?
Dahlonega is a real town in the North Georgia mountains that was the center of the 1828 gold rush, the first in the United States. The coaster’s runaway-mine-train theming is a tribute to that gold-mining heritage.
Photo: Jeremy Thompson via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)