Most roller coasters get built once and that’s the end of the story. Yankee Cannonball had two lives: one that ended in failure at a long-gone Connecticut park, and a second that’s now lasted nearly nine decades at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire.
It’s also the only wooden roller coaster currently running at Canobie, which is why it carries the park’s “classic ride” reputation even as steel coasters like Untamed and Dragon have joined the lineup. Here’s the full story of where it came from, how it rides, and why coaster historians treat it as a genuine landmark.
Quick Answer
Yankee Cannonball is Canobie Lake Park’s wooden roller coaster — and its only one. Originally built in 1930 at a since-closed park in Waterbury, Connecticut, it was dismantled, shipped to New Hampshire, and reopened at Canobie in 1936. It’s a classic out-and-back design standing 65 feet tall, running 2,000 feet of track at up to 35 mph, with zero inversions.
From Lakewood Park to Canobie: The Move That Made History
The ride’s roots are in Connecticut, not New Hampshire. Herbert Paul Schmeck of Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters designed the coaster for Lakewood Park in Waterbury, Connecticut, where it opened in 1930 under the name Roller Coaster and was later rebranded Meteor. It ran there for only about two years before Lakewood Park closed, and the ride was taken apart, leaving its lumber and hardware sitting dismantled on the property.
In 1935, Canobie Lake Park acquired the dismantled structure and had it shipped north. Rebuilding it meant more than reassembly — each section of track had to be trimmed by about six inches to fit Canobie’s smaller footprint. The rebuilt coaster reopened in 1936 under yet another name, Greyhound, and wasn’t renamed Yankee Cannonball until 1983. Coaster historians regard this as the earliest successful relocation of a large-scale wooden roller coaster, a rescue-and-rebuild approach other parks later copied instead of demolishing their own aging wood coasters.
Why Yankee Cannonball Is Canobie’s Only Wooden Roller Coaster
Canobie Lake Park runs three full-size roller coasters today, and Yankee Cannonball is the lone wood structure among them. The park’s other coasters, Untamed (a steel ride with a grizzly-bear theme) and Dragon (a steel family coaster that opened in 1991), are both tubular-steel designs. A third steel coaster, Canobie Corkscrew, operated for years before being removed in the early 2020s, leaving Untamed as the park’s only other full-size coaster and Yankee Cannonball as its only wooden one.
That distinction matters if you’re searching for “Canobie Lake Park wooden roller coaster” — there’s no ambiguity. Yankee Cannonball’s wooden lift hill, trestle, and track structure, built in the style typical of 1930s Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters rides, give it a completely different feel from the steel coasters sharing the midway, with the rattle, sway, and airtime that only a wood coaster produces.
Ride Stats and What the Layout Feels Like
Stats at a glance: Park — Canobie Lake Park, Salem, New Hampshire. Manufacturer — Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. Designer — Herbert Paul Schmeck. Opened — 1936 at Canobie (originally built 1930). Height — 65 feet. First drop — about 63.5 feet. Length — 2,000 feet. Top speed — about 35 mph. Inversions — zero.
The layout is a straightforward out-and-back: a chain lift pulls the train up the 65-foot hill, then the track runs out toward the back of the property and returns along a parallel line, stacking airtime hills the whole way. Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters originally supplied two three-car trains seating 18 riders each, but Canobie has run the ride with a single train since 2001 (more on why below), so typically only one train operates at a time. Riders are secured with lap bars and seatbelts rather than modern over-the-shoulder restraints, which keeps the ride experience close to how it felt decades ago.
Hurricanes, a 2001 Accident, and Decades of Retracking
A wooden coaster built in 1930 doesn’t survive nearly a century without some damage along the way. Hurricane Carol tore through New England in August 1954 and destroyed Yankee Cannonball’s lift hill, forcing the park to rebuild it before the ride could reopen for the following season.
The ride’s more serious incident came on July 27, 2001, when one train failed to stop at the station and collided with a second train that was loading passengers, injuring five people. Investigators traced the cause to the operator not properly engaging the ride’s manual skid brakes. In response, Canobie moved Yankee Cannonball to single-train operation and added seatbelts to its trains — both of which remain standard today.
Ongoing wear on a wood coaster’s track is routine maintenance, not a crisis, and Canobie has turned to Martin & Vleminckx, a Belgium-based firm that specializes in wood coaster track fabrication and retracking, to keep Yankee Cannonball’s structure running smoothly through repeated New England winters.
A Certified Coaster Landmark
American Coaster Enthusiasts awarded Yankee Cannonball its ACE Coaster Landmark designation on June 20, 2013, an honor reserved for rides of genuine historic significance. Combined with its unlikely origin story — a coaster rescued from a defunct Connecticut park and given a second life in New Hampshire — it’s a big part of why Yankee Cannonball draws coaster enthusiasts from well outside New England, not just Canobie’s regular summer crowd.
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.
Yankee Cannonball roller coaster FAQs
How old is the Yankee Cannonball roller coaster?
Its structure dates to 1930, when it was originally built at Lakewood Park in Waterbury, Connecticut. It has operated continuously at Canobie Lake Park since 1936, making it one of the oldest wooden coasters still running in the United States.
Is Yankee Cannonball the only wooden roller coaster at Canobie Lake Park?
Yes. Canobie’s other two coasters, Untamed and Dragon, are both steel rides. Yankee Cannonball is currently the park’s sole wooden roller coaster.
What happened in the 2001 Yankee Cannonball accident?
On July 27, 2001, one train failed to stop at the station and collided with a second train that was loading passengers, causing five minor injuries. The cause was traced to operator error in engaging the manual brakes, and Canobie has run the ride with a single train plus seatbelts ever since.
Who designed and built Yankee Cannonball?
It was designed by Herbert Paul Schmeck and built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, the same firm behind many of the country’s surviving classic wood coasters.
How fast and how tall is Yankee Cannonball?
The coaster reaches a top speed of about 35 mph and stands 65 feet tall, with a first drop of roughly 63.5 feet across its 2,000-foot out-and-back layout.
Where can I find Canobie Lake Park’s current hours and ticket prices?
Hours and pricing change by season, so check Canobie Lake Park’s official website for the current calendar and ticket options before you visit.
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