This list ranks the world’s fastest wooden roller coasters by top speed in mph. “Wooden” here means the ride runs on a wood structure or wood track system, including modern hybrids like RMC Topper Track coasters and rides that mix in some steel track sections. Coasters that started wooden but were fully converted to steel track are left off — this is a ranking of what’s still genuinely wood underfoot.
Goliath at Six Flags Great America tops the list at 72 mph, edging out Kolmården’s Wildfire by just under two miles per hour and El Toro by a full two. That trio sits in a speed tier of its own — the next fastest, Colossos at Heide Park, trails the leader by nearly four mph, and by the time you reach the back half of the list, a wide band of classic wooden coasters cluster right around 57-60 mph, a speed ceiling that held for decades before modern track technology pushed past it.
Goliath, Wildfire, and El Toro: the new wave at the top
The three fastest wooden coasters on earth are all relatively recent builds, and none of them look like the wooden coasters most riders grew up on. Goliath opened in 2014 running on RMC’s Topper Track system — a steel cap bolted over a wood support structure that lets the ride hold tighter curves and steeper drops than traditional wood track ever could. It launched into its record run with a first drop steep enough to set Guinness marks for fastest wooden coaster, steepest drop, and longest drop at the time.
El Toro, by contrast, earned its speed and reputation the older way: Intamin’s prefabricated wooden track technology, which lets the ride hold incredibly precise, smooth geometry through sharp drops and hills that throw riders out of their seats. Outlaw Run at #5 is worth a mention too — it was the first RMC Topper Track coaster ever built, in 2013, and it proved the technology that Goliath would later push even faster.
| # | Coaster | Park | mph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Goliath | Six Flags Great America | 72 |
| 2 | Wildfire | Kolmården Wildlife Park | 70.2 |
| 3 | El Toro | Six Flags Great Adventure | 70 |
| 4 | Colossos – Kampf der Giganten | Heide Park | 68.4 |
| 5 | Outlaw Run | Silver Dollar City | 68 |
| 6 | The Voyage | Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari | 67.4 |
| 7 | The Boss | Mid America Adventure | 66.3 |
| 8 | American Eagle | Six Flags Great America | 66 |
| 9 | The Beast | Kings Island | 64.8 |
| 10 | Monimo RUSH | Everland | 64.6 |
| 11 | Montezum | Hopi Hari | 64 |
| 12 | Wodan Timbur Coaster | Europa-Park | 62.1 |
| 13 | Screamin’ Eagle | Mid America Adventure | 62 |
| 14 | Boulder Dash | Lake Compounce | 60 |
| 15 | Coney Island Cyclone | Luna Park, Coney Island | 60 |
| 16 | Hades 360 | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | 60 |
| 17 | Ravine Flyer II | Waldameer Park | 60 |
| 18 | Zeus | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | 60 |
| 19 | Le Monstre | La Ronde | 59.7 |
| 20 | Coaster-Express | Parque Warner Madrid | 59 |
| 21 | The Legend | Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari | 59 |
| 22 | Cyclops | Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park | 58 |
| 23 | Tornado | Adventureland (Iowa) | 58 |
| 24 | Thundercoaster | TusenFryd | 57.8 |
| 25 | Great American Scream Machine | Six Flags Over Georgia | 57 |
Why height — not just track type — decides top speed
A wooden coaster’s top speed comes down to simple physics: how far the train drops before the speed is measured, and how little friction the track and trains create along the way. That’s why the fastest entries on this list tend to pair a very steep, very tall first drop with modern trains and smoother rail systems — whether that’s a steel-capped Topper Track, Intamin’s engineered wood track, or a well-maintained traditional wood structure. Older wooden coasters built to lower height limits simply can’t reach the same speeds no matter how well they’re run, which is part of why so many classics top out in the high 50s and low 60s rather than climbing toward 70.
The surprises: a 1927 landmark still keeps pace
Not every entry here is a product of modern engineering. The Coney Island Cyclone has been running at Luna Park since 1927 and still clocks 60 mph — tying it with several coasters built decades later, including Boulder Dash, Ravine Flyer II, and Zeus. The Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Over Georgia, dating to 1973, isn’t far behind at 57 mph. For riders used to thinking of speed records as a modern-technology story, it’s a reminder that a well-designed drop on a classic wood structure can still hold its own against coasters built nearly a century later.
Explore more: Browse more roller coasters.
Rub-on sunscreen that fits in a pocket — reapply in the queue without greasy hands on the lap bar.
Folds into its own pocket. Pop it on when the storm rolls in and the rides reopen to short lines.
Keeps your phone strapped to you, not in a loose-article bin. Zip it before the lift hill and walk straight off the exit ramp.
Fastest Wooden Roller Coasters FAQs
What is the fastest roller coaster in the world?
Among wooden roller coasters specifically, Goliath at Six Flags Great America is the fastest at 72 mph. Steel roller coasters elsewhere in the world reach considerably higher top speeds, but this list covers only wood-track and wood-structure coasters.
What is the fastest wooden roller coaster?
Goliath at Six Flags Great America, which reaches 72 mph, making it the fastest wooden roller coaster currently operating.
Do RMC Topper Track coasters count as wooden roller coasters?
Yes. Topper Track coasters like Goliath and Outlaw Run run on a wood support structure with a steel cap on the running surface, and they’re widely classified as wooden coasters. This list also includes rides with some steel track sections, as long as the ride isn’t fully converted to steel.
Get More from Fastest Wooden Roller Coasters
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate Fastest Wooden Roller Coasters, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Photo: Jeremy Thompson from United States of America / CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.