Maverick doesn’t look like much on paper. At 105 feet, it’s dwarfed by nearly every other major coaster at Cedar Point — yet ask enthusiasts to rank the park’s best rides and Maverick almost always lands near the top, often ahead of coasters twice its height. That gap between modest stats and outsized intensity is the whole story of this ride.
Below is everything you need on Maverick’s height, drop, speed, g-forces, trains, and height requirement, plus where to find it in the park, the records it holds, how to pick a seat, practical tips for riding it, and a full FAQ.
Quick Answer
Maverick stands 105 feet (32 m) tall in Cedar Point’s Frontier Town section, with a 100-foot drop angled at a beyond-vertical 95 degrees and a top speed of 70 mph reached off its second LSM launch. Riders must be between 52 and 78 inches tall. The ride uses two launches and a twisted horseshoe roll — the first ever built — for its two inversions, and it’s widely regarded as one of the most intense coasters at Cedar Point despite being one of the shortest.
How Tall Is Maverick at Cedar Point?
Maverick’s lift hill and overall structure reach 105 feet (about 32 meters) — roughly the height of a 9- or 10-story building. That figure covers the full climb of the initial LSM launch section, which is the tallest point on the ride’s layout.
The 105-foot height is deceptive, though. From that peak, Maverick doesn’t simply fall — it tips riders over a 100-foot drop angled at 95 degrees, meaning the track actually leans past straight-down before leveling out. Combined with a top speed of 70 mph, that steep, low, whip-fast profile is why Maverick feels far more intense than its modest stats suggest.
For context, 105 feet makes Maverick one of the shorter coasters at Cedar Point — well below giants like Top Thrill 2 (420 feet), Millennium Force (310 feet), Valravn (223 feet), Steel Vengeance and Magnum XL-200 (around 205 feet each), and GateKeeper (170 feet). Only a handful of Cedar Point’s coasters, such as Raptor (137 feet) and Gemini (125 feet), come closer to Maverick’s height. That gap is part of Maverick’s reputation: it proves a coaster doesn’t need extreme height to deliver an extreme ride.
Maverick Stats at a Glance
Park: Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio. Manufacturer: Intamin. Designer: Werner Stengel. Opened: May 26, 2007. Height: 105 ft (32 m). Drop: 100 ft (30 m) at 95°. Top Speed: 70 mph (113 km/h), reached in about 3 seconds off the second launch. Length: 4,450 ft (1,360 m). Duration: about 2 minutes 30 seconds. Inversions: 2 (twisted horseshoe roll). Launches: 2 (LSM, linear synchronous motor). Trains: 6, with 3 cars each. Capacity: 12 riders per train, 2 across in 2 rows per car, with a theoretical throughput of roughly 1,200 riders per hour. Minimum height to ride: 52 inches; maximum height: 78 inches.
Where Is Maverick Located at Cedar Point?
Maverick sits in Cedar Point’s Frontier Town section, on the site formerly occupied by the White Water Landing flume ride and the Swan Boats. It’s on the peninsula’s west side, an easy walk from Steel Vengeance and Cedar Downs — enthusiasts commonly pair the two big launch/hyper coasters into a single rope-drop run at park opening.
The ride’s low, ground-hugging layout (rather than a single towering lift hill) means Maverick is easy to spot by its twisting red track and dark launch tunnel rather than by height alone, unlike most of Cedar Point’s skyline-dominating coasters. The queue also runs alongside a small lagoon where the track skims the water on its way into the tunnel, which doubles as a built-in effects area on rides where the water feature is running.
How Strong Are Maverick’s G-Forces?
Cedar Point doesn’t publish an official maximum g-force figure for Maverick, but riders and coaster enthusiasts consistently describe it as one of the most forceful rides in the park relative to its size. The 95-degree first drop delivers a strong burst of ejector-style airtime right out of the gate, an overbanked turn later in the layout stacks lateral force on top of that airtime sensation, and the low-to-the-ground transitions between elements pile on direction changes in quick succession with almost no breathing room.
The twisted horseshoe roll — two 360-degree corkscrews executed back-to-back — compounds that further by inverting riders twice in rapid succession right after the first launch’s opening airtime hill, just before the train ducks into the dark tunnel that leads to the second launch. It’s worth knowing that Maverick’s original heartline roll element was scrapped during pre-opening testing in 2007 because it produced excessive g-forces, and Intamin swapped in the S-curve transition riders experience today. That history is a good reminder that even the version that made it to the public was tuned specifically to sit right at the edge of comfortable intensity — which is exactly why the ride has such a reputation for punching above its height.
Trains, Seating & Best Seat to Ride
Maverick runs six three-car trains, each seating 12 riders — 2 across in 2 rows per car — for a theoretical capacity of roughly 1,200 riders per hour, which keeps the line moving briskly even during Cedar Point’s busiest summer days. The trains use a hydraulic over-the-shoulder harness paired with an interlocking lap belt; the original hard restraints were swapped for a softer, more form-fitting vest-style design in 2015 to improve rider comfort without changing the ride’s intensity.
Seat placement matters more on Maverick than on most coasters. The front row gives the clearest view into the 95-degree drop and the dark launch tunnel ahead, with nothing blocking your sightline as the track disappears below you. The back row, on the other hand, gets whipped hardest over the airtime hills and through the horseshoe roll, since the rear of the train trails the front through every transition at a slight lag — riders who want the most forceful version of the ride tend to favor the last row over the first.
Riding Tips: What to Expect Before You Get in Line
Maverick’s queue is mostly outdoors with limited shade, so expect sun exposure while waiting in peak summer months. Loose items, hats, and glasses without a strap can come off during the launches and inversions, and the station has small bins or pouches at the loading platform rather than full lockers — leave bulky bags and phones with a non-riding member of your group or in a park locker near the entrance if you’re not comfortable securing them on your person.
The ride’s water feature near the lagoon and tunnel entrance has historically sprayed riders as the train passes, though whether it’s running on a given day depends on weather and maintenance — don’t count on getting soaked, but don’t be surprised if you do. For shorter lines, ride early in the morning or pair Maverick with a Steel Vengeance rope-drop run, since both sit close together in Frontier Town. Cedar Point’s paid Fast Lane queue is also available on Maverick for guests who want to skip the standard line. Night rides are worth seeking out too: the drop and tunnel lighting are far more disorienting — and more fun — after dark.
Records, Awards & Fun Facts About Maverick
Maverick opened May 26, 2007 at a reported cost of around $21 million, after its debut was pushed back from an original mid-May date so Intamin could re-engineer one element for safety. That element — a heartline roll — produced excessive g-forces in pre-opening testing and was replaced with the S-curve transition riders experience today.
The ride went on to win the Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride of 2007 and a NAPHA (National Amusement Park Historical Association) award for Best New Attraction the same year, and it has continued to place on Golden Ticket’s annual top steel-coaster rankings in most years since. Its twisted horseshoe roll — two 360-degree corkscrews executed back-to-back — was the first element of its kind ever built, designed by veteran roller coaster engineer Werner Stengel. In October 2024, Cedar Point even sold off original pieces of the scrapped heartline-roll track to collectors, a rare bit of the ride’s unbuilt history made tangible almost two decades after it was pulled from the layout.
Maverick Photo Archive: 2007–2026
These are original ThrillZing photos of Maverick taken at Cedar Point on June 9 and September 29, 2007, its opening season, restored and upscaled from the original camera files, plus a 2023 shot of the banked turn over the water at dusk. They show the Intamin launched coaster brand new: the entrance signs, trains crossing the water and cresting the hills, the twisted first drop, the track across the pond with Millennium Force behind, and the station at dusk. The October 2026 group was shot after dark on October 29, 2026, during HalloWeekends, with a night grade (deeper blacks, local contrast on the lit structure, sky noise reduced). All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
2026 · 2 photos
October 2026
2007 · 21 photos
Build a working coaster on the kitchen table and learn why the first drop has to be the tallest. A good gift for young coaster fans.
Over 3,700 pieces, a real vertical loop and a working chain lift. Display it on a shelf in the coaster room.
Rub-on sunscreen that fits in a pocket — reapply in the queue without greasy hands on the lap bar.
Maverick Cedar Point ride guide FAQs
How tall do you have to be to ride Maverick at Cedar Point?
Riders must be between 52 and 78 inches tall. There’s both a minimum height for safety restraint fit and a maximum height, which is unusual among Cedar Point’s coasters and comes down to how the over-the-shoulder harness is sized.
How fast does Maverick go?
Maverick reaches a top speed of 70 mph (113 km/h), hit in roughly 3 seconds off its second LSM launch — the most abrupt acceleration on the ride.
How many g-forces does Maverick pull?
Cedar Point hasn’t published an official maximum g-force number for Maverick. Enthusiasts and riders consistently rank it among the park’s most forceful coasters for its size, thanks to the steep first drop, an overbanked turn, and the back-to-back twisted horseshoe roll.
Is Maverick scarier than it looks?
Yes — that’s its reputation. At 105 feet, it’s one of the shortest major coasters at Cedar Point, but the 95-degree drop, two launches, and tightly packed inversions give it an intensity that many riders rank above much taller coasters in the park.
Does Maverick get you wet?
It can. The track passes a small lagoon and tunnel area that has historically included water spray effects, though whether they’re running depends on weather and maintenance on any given day.
What’s the best seat on Maverick?
The front row offers the clearest view into the drop and launch tunnel, while the back row delivers the strongest airtime and whip through the horseshoe roll. Pick front for the view, back for maximum intensity.
Where is Maverick located at Cedar Point?
Maverick is in the Frontier Town section on the west side of the peninsula, near Steel Vengeance and Cedar Downs.
How many inversions does Maverick have?
Two, both part of a single twisted horseshoe roll — two 360-degree corkscrews performed back-to-back. It was the first element of its kind ever built on a coaster.
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