Ravine Flyer II opened on May 17, 2008 at Waldameer & Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania, and immediately earned a Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride in the World. Designed by The Gravity Group and built with Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains, the wooden coaster plunges into an actual ravine, producing a first drop of roughly 118–120 feet — larger than its 80-foot lift hill — and generating strong airtime through the valley below.
What sets Ravine Flyer II apart from any other coaster on earth, and what photographers come from across the country to capture, is its 165-foot arch bridge, which carries riders twice over Pennsylvania Route 832 (known locally as Peninsula Drive), a four-lane highway. That singular engineering feat, combined with the coaster’s consistent presence in top-ten wooden coaster rankings, has made it one of the most photographed wooden coasters in the United States.
Quick Answer
The most striking Ravine Flyer II photos show the coaster’s two highway crossings — trains soaring over Pennsylvania Route 832 on the 165-foot arch bridge — along with the plunge into the wooded ravine and the ride’s four dark tunnels. You’ll find the best galleries on Waldameer’s official site, RCDB, and Theme Park Archive, and the best spot to shoot your own photos is the roadside pull-off along Peninsula Drive directly beneath the bridge.
What Ravine Flyer II’s Photos Capture
Because the coaster’s whole identity is built around a single dramatic feature — crossing a live four-lane highway — nearly every well-known photo of Ravine Flyer II centers on that bridge. The classic shot is a train silhouetted against the sky as it clears Route 832, with cars visibly passing underneath. It’s a genuinely unusual image in the coaster world, since Ravine Flyer II is the only ride anywhere that crosses a public highway this way, and it crosses it twice in a single 90-second run.
The rest of the ride photographs well too. The first drop sends the train down into a real forested ravine below the surrounding grade, so wide shots from the ravine floor show the structure towering overhead against the tree line. The four tunnels create strong light-and-shadow contrast for action shots, and the wooden lattice structure itself — supported on the natural terrain rather than flat ground — gives the ride a rugged, old-school profile that stands out from steel coasters at the same park.
Where to Find Ravine Flyer II Photos and Video
Waldameer’s own attraction page hosts an official photo gallery of the ride, including shots of guests riding and multiple angles of the bridge and ravine — see it at the official Ravine Flyer II page. The Roller Coaster Database (RCDB) also maintains a large fan-submitted photo and video archive for the ride, and enthusiast sites like Theme Park Archive and CoasterBuzz post additional galleries from different seasons and angles. For a full point-of-view experience, on-ride POV videos filmed from the front seat are widely available on YouTube and show the highway crossings, tunnels, and airtime moments in real time.
If you’re researching the ride before a visit, these galleries are the fastest way to see exactly what the bridge crossing and ravine drop look like before you experience them in person.
Best Spots to Photograph Ravine Flyer II Yourself
The single best vantage point for your own photos is from Peninsula Drive itself — there’s a roadside pull-off near the bridge where you can shoot trains passing directly overhead as they cross the highway. It’s the shot nearly every coaster photographer tries to get, since it’s the only place in the world where you can frame a roller coaster and a moving line of highway traffic in the same picture.
Inside the park, the queue line and station platform offer close-up angles of the first drop and lift hill, while the walkway near the ravine gives a wider view of the structure descending below grade. Because Waldameer sits along Lake Erie, late-afternoon light tends to backlight the bridge nicely for silhouette shots — a detail regular visitors and coaster photographers often plan around.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Waldameer & Water World, Erie, Pennsylvania. Manufacturer: The Gravity Group (design); Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (trains). Opened: May 17, 2008. Height: 80 ft (24 m). First drop: about 118–120 ft (37 m). Second drop: about 105 ft. Top speed: about 60 mph (97 km/h). Length: roughly 2,900–3,000 ft. Tunnels: 4. Inversions: 0. Duration: about 90 seconds. Minimum height: 48 inches.
The Ride Experience
Riders board at the station and ascend the chain-lift hill before cresting and diving into the ravine for the signature first drop. The plunge below grade — the coaster descends beneath the level of the surrounding terrain — is what creates a drop distance far exceeding the height of the lift hill, a design trick that delivers sustained airtime and forceful positive G’s in the valley.
The course then climbs back up to cross Pennsylvania Route 832 on its celebrated arch bridge before diving again, producing a secondary drop of roughly 105 feet, then crosses the highway a second time later in the layout. Four tunnels and constant changes in speed, direction, and elevation round out a layout that rides hard from start to brake run.
Awards and Legacy
Ravine Flyer II won Amusement Today’s 2008 Golden Ticket Award for Best New Ride in the World and has ranked among the top ten wooden coasters in that publication’s annual poll every year since 2009, peaking at fifth place in 2016. In USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, the coaster has repeatedly placed among the top wooden coasters and top overall coasters in the country in recent years, including a top-five finish among all coasters nationwide.
For a regional park like Waldameer, operating a wooden coaster that consistently out-ranks attractions at far larger parks is a remarkable achievement. The ride draws enthusiasts from across the country to Erie and has become one of the defining reasons many visitors make the trip to Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie shoreline.
Ravine Flyer II photos and ride facts FAQs
Where can I see photos of Ravine Flyer II?
Waldameer’s official attraction page has a photo gallery of the ride, and enthusiast sites including RCDB, Theme Park Archive, and CoasterBuzz host additional fan-submitted photos and video. On-ride POV videos are also widely available on YouTube.
What’s the best angle to photograph Ravine Flyer II?
The roadside pull-off along Peninsula Drive (Pennsylvania Route 832) directly beneath the arch bridge gives the classic shot of a train crossing the highway. Inside the park, the queue and station offer close-ups of the lift hill and first drop.
Where is Ravine Flyer II located?
Ravine Flyer II is located at Waldameer & Water World in Erie, Pennsylvania, near the shores of Lake Erie.
What makes Ravine Flyer II unique among wooden coasters?
It is the only coaster in the world to cross a four-lane highway — Pennsylvania Route 832 — on a 165-foot arch bridge, and it crosses that road twice during a single ride.
How tall is the drop on Ravine Flyer II?
The first drop is approximately 118–120 feet, which is actually larger than the 80-foot lift hill because the coaster plunges into a real ravine, descending below grade.
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