Height requirements decide which coasters your family can ride before you buy tickets or wait in line. California’s Great America in Santa Clara is a Six Flags park with a mix of big steel and wooden coasters and a Planet Snoopy area with family and kids’ coasters. Its coaster minimums run from 36 inches (91 cm) on the smallest kids’ coaster to 54 inches (137 cm) on the tallest-requirement rides.
This guide covers the roller coasters families ask about most, ride by ride, in inches and centimeters. Where the park publishes both a solo minimum and a reduced minimum with a supervising companion, both are shown. Where a ride has a maximum height, it is labeled as a maximum. Ride lineups and minimums change seasonally, and the official park page at sixflags.com/cagreatamerica is the final word. This list covers coasters only and is not a full list of the park’s attractions.
Stats at a Glance
- Shortest Requirement: 36 in (91 cm) with a supervising companion — Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbie
- Tallest Requirement: 54 in (137 cm) minimum — Flight Deck and Patriot (both also have a 78 in / 198 cm maximum)
- Ride-Alone Height (most rides): 48 in (122 cm)
- Companion Rule: Where offered, the park lists a lower height ‘and accompanied by a supervising companion’
Coasters by Height, Solo and Accompanied
Big coasters with a 54 in (137 cm) minimum and a 78 in (198 cm) maximum: Flight Deck (steel inverted coaster) and Patriot. The park lists both as 54 in minimum and 78 in maximum, and it does not list a reduced height with a companion for either ride.
Coasters with a 48 in (122 cm) minimum: Gold Striker (wooden coaster), RailBlazer (single-rail coaster), Demon, and The Grizzly (wooden coaster). The park’s ride pages list a single 48 in minimum for these rides and do not publish a lower height with a companion or a maximum height. RailBlazer, Gold Striker and The Grizzly show as open select dates through Nov. 1, 2026, so check the calendar before you go.
Psycho Mouse (family roller coaster): the park lists 48 in (122 cm) to ride alone, or 44 in (112 cm) when accompanied by a supervising companion. No maximum height is published on its page.
Woodstock Express (family roller coaster in Planet Snoopy): 46 in (117 cm) to ride alone, or 40 in (102 cm) when accompanied by a supervising companion. No maximum height is published on its page.
Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbie (kids’ roller coaster in Planet Snoopy): 40 in (102 cm) to ride alone, or 36 in (91 cm) when accompanied by a supervising companion. The park also notes that guests over 60 in (152 cm) must be accompanied by a child. That is a rule for adult-size riders and is not a maximum height for children.
Tips for Families Visiting California’s Great America
Measure your kids at home, without shoes, a few days before the trip, and compare the result with the numbers above. A child who is close to a cutoff can be a quarter inch under on the day, so prepare them for a possible ‘not yet’ and have a backup coaster in mind.
For the smallest riders, Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbie (36 in / 91 cm with a companion) and Woodstock Express (40 in / 102 cm with a companion) are the lowest coaster minimums we verified. Children who reach 44 in (112 cm) can ride Psycho Mouse with a supervising companion, and at 48 in (122 cm) they can ride Gold Striker, RailBlazer, Demon and The Grizzly.
Flight Deck and Patriot have a maximum as well as a minimum, 78 in (198 cm), so tall teens and adults should check before queuing. If your group splits up because one child is too short for a ride, the park’s family coasters in Planet Snoopy are the easiest place to regroup.
Ride status can change with weather, maintenance and select-date operating calendars. Confirm hours and ride availability on the official park website on the day of your visit.
Explore more: Theme Parks guide.
California’s Great America Roller Coaster Height Requirements FAQs
What is the minimum height to ride at California’s Great America?
Among the roller coasters we verified, the lowest minimum is 36 in (91 cm) on Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbie when the child is accompanied by a supervising companion. To ride that coaster alone, the park lists 40 in (102 cm). Other rides in the park may have different minimums, so check the official park page.
Can kids under 48 inches ride anything at California’s Great America?
Yes, on the coasters we verified. Psycho Mouse allows 44 in (112 cm) with a supervising companion, Woodstock Express allows 40 in (102 cm) with a companion (46 in / 117 cm alone), and Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbie allows 36 in (91 cm) with a companion (40 in / 102 cm alone). Gold Striker, RailBlazer, Demon and The Grizzly list a 48 in (122 cm) minimum.
Does California’s Great America measure height at the gate or at each ride?
The park publishes height requirements on each ride’s page, and we could not confirm a park-wide measuring wristband. Plan on your child being measured at the ride, and check with Guest Services on arrival for the current process.
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Photo: Jeremy Thompson / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.