GhostRider is the ride most Knott’s Berry Farm fans point to first: a 118-foot wooden giant that gallops through the park’s Ghost Town at 56 mph, delivering airtime hill after airtime hill over nearly 4,500 feet of timber track. It has carried that reputation since 1998, and a top-to-bottom 2015-2016 retracking only sharpened it.
This guide covers everything you need before you ride — exact stats, the height requirement, where to sit for the best airtime, how GhostRider earned its Ghost Town name, and how it stacks up against the world’s best wooden coasters today.
Quick Answer
GhostRider stands 118 feet tall, hits a top speed of 56 mph, and runs about 4,533 feet of track in roughly 2 minutes 40 seconds, making it the longest wooden roller coaster on the West Coast of the United States. Riders must be at least 48 inches tall, and the ride is widely regarded as Knott’s Berry Farm’s most intense classic wooden coaster, with its back row delivering the strongest airtime.
GhostRider Stats at a Glance
GhostRider’s numbers back up its reputation: a 118-foot lift hill, a 108-foot first drop at a 51-degree angle, a top speed of 56 mph, and roughly 3.1 G’s at its most forceful point. The layout is a double out-and-back spanning about 4,533 feet of track across 14 hills, with a ride time of around 2 minutes 40 seconds — longer than most wooden coasters built in the same era.
It opened on December 8, 1998, designed by Robin Hall and built by Custom Coasters International for roughly $24 million. Great Coasters International (GCI) retracked and reprofiled most of the course in 2015-2016, reopening it on June 11, 2016, with new Millennium Flyer trains in place of the originals.
Height Requirement and Who Can Ride
GhostRider requires riders to be at least 48 inches (122 cm) tall, the standard threshold for Knott’s Berry Farm’s biggest thrill rides. There’s no upper height or weight posted publicly beyond standard restraint fit, but the ride’s wooden-coaster laterals and sustained airtime make it a noticeably rougher, more intense experience than the park’s family-friendly coasters, so it’s best suited to riders comfortable with classic wood-coaster shaking and quick direction changes rather than first-time coaster riders.
Best Seat and Rider Tips
Enthusiasts consistently point to the back row as GhostRider’s best seat — the rear cars get whipped harder through the course, producing stronger ejector airtime on the hills added during the 2015-2016 renovation and sharper laterals through the helix turns. Riding after dark is also a popular recommendation, since the drops and turns feel noticeably more intense once you can’t anticipate them visually.
Because the course is a double out-and-back with no inversions, motion sickness risk is lower than on looping coasters, but the sustained airtime and lateral forces still make it one of the more physically intense rides at Knott’s Berry Farm. Lines tend to build quickly after opening and during evening hours, so riding early in the day or checking posted wait times on the park’s app can save significant time.
From Gold Mine to Modern Classic: GhostRider’s History
GhostRider sits in Knott’s Berry Farm’s Ghost Town, the oldest section of the park and a tribute to the Old West built by Walter Knott himself. The ride’s station is themed as a mining building, and its layout descends into what was originally the park’s Gold Mine pit, tying the coaster directly into Ghost Town’s decades-older gold-panning attraction.
When it opened in 1998, GhostRider immediately became the longest, tallest, and fastest wooden coaster on the West Coast. By the mid-2010s, the original wooden structure had grown rough from heavy use, prompting Knott’s to bring in Great Coasters International for a near-total retracking in 2015-2016. GCI replaced most of the track, added new banked turns and airtime hills, removed the original mid-course brake run, and swapped in Millennium Flyer trains — all while keeping the coaster’s footprint and Old West theming intact.
Records and Rankings
GhostRider remains the longest wooden roller coaster on the West Coast of the United States, a title it has held since its 1998 debut. It’s also a regular fixture in Amusement Today’s annual Golden Ticket Awards, placing among the world’s top wooden coasters year after year — it ranked 7th in the 2025 Golden Ticket Awards’ Top Wooden Coasters list, putting it in the same conversation as legends like Phoenix at Knoebels and El Toro at Six Flags Great Adventure.
Planning Your Visit
GhostRider is included with standard Knott’s Berry Farm admission — there’s no separate ticket required to ride it. If you want to skip the standby line, the park sells pay-per-ride Fast Lane access that covers GhostRider along with other major attractions; pricing is dynamic and changes by day and season, so it’s worth checking before you go rather than budgeting a fixed amount.
Park hours shift seasonally and around special events like Knott’s Scary Farm, so don’t rely on a single hour range for your visit. For current operating hours, admission pricing, and Fast Lane rates, check Knott’s Berry Farm’s official site, which also has a dedicated page for GhostRider’s ride details.
Photos
Rapids, log flumes and splash zones without the rice-bag aftermath. The touchscreen still works through the window, so you can still take photos.
Cheaper than the $15 poncho at the gift shop and you get a whole bag. Toss one in every backpack for water rides and pop-up storms.
Soak, snap and drape. A cooling towel takes the edge off a 45-minute midday queue in July.
GhostRider roller coaster FAQs
Is GhostRider still open at Knott’s Berry Farm?
Yes, GhostRider operates today in the park’s Ghost Town section, running on its 2015-2016 GCI-retracked layout with Millennium Flyer trains.
How tall and fast is GhostRider?
GhostRider is 118 feet tall and reaches a top speed of about 56 mph, with a first drop of 108 feet at a 51-degree angle.
What is the height requirement for GhostRider?
Riders must be at least 48 inches (122 cm) tall to ride GhostRider.
Who built GhostRider, and who retracked it?
Custom Coasters International originally built GhostRider in 1998 from a design by Robin Hall. Great Coasters International retracked and retrained the ride in a 2015-2016 renovation.
What’s the best seat on GhostRider?
The back row is widely considered the best seat, delivering the strongest airtime and laterals as the train whips through the course’s hills and turns.
Is GhostRider really the longest wooden coaster on the West Coast?
Yes. At roughly 4,533 feet of track, GhostRider has held the title of longest wooden roller coaster on the West Coast of the United States since it opened in 1998.
Does GhostRider have a Fast Lane or Lightning Lane option?
Knott’s Berry Farm sells pay-per-ride Fast Lane access that covers GhostRider and other major attractions, with pricing that varies by day and season — check the official Knott’s site for current rates.
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