Boulder Dash is a wooden roller coaster

Wooden roller coaster

A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...

 located at Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce is an amusement park located in Bristol, Connecticut, United States and a part of the neighboring town of Southington, Connecticut; the lake itself lies completely in Southington. It is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America, having operated every year...

 in Bristol, Connecticut

Bristol, Connecticut

Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...

. It first opened in 2000 and was built by Custom Coasters International

Custom Coasters International

Custom Coasters International was one of the premier wooden roller coaster manufacturers in the world and produced more wooden coasters in recent times than any other company...

. The ride's structure was built with Southern Yellow Pine

Southern Yellow Pine

Southern Yellow Pine doesn't refer to any one species of tree, but rather a group of species which are classified as yellow pine , and are native to the Southern United States. They grow very well in the acidic red clay soil found in most of the region. The varieties include Loblolly, Longleaf,...

 wood and the track is made of Douglas Fir wood.

The cars were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Incorporated.

Statistics and additional information

This 4,672 foot wooden roller coaster uses the Lake Compounce's natural mountainous terrain, complete with trees and boulders within close proximity of the track. The lift climbs the mountainside and then disappears from view. When it reappears, it has completed its first drop of 115 feet and is traveling sixty miles per hour as it crosses over itself and flies over the station. Much of the first half of the ride is hidden as the train climbs and drops along the mountainside. On the last drop, on-ride photos are taken and can be viewed and bought at the photo booth at the end of the exit line. Most of the ride was retracked during the 2007 off season and during the 2008 off season the remainder was retracked.
Lake Compounce bought PTC trains from Hershey Park's Wildcat

Wildcat (Hersheypark)

Wildcat is a wooden roller coaster located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The ride was named after a 1920s wooden roller coaster of the same name. The original Wild Cat was Hersheypark's first roller coaster, which operated from 1923 to 1945...

 and is expected to run them on the Boulder Dash for the 2008 season.

Awards and rankings

Boulder Dash was voted the world's number one wooden roller coaster in 2001 and 2004 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association

National Amusement Park Historical Association

The National Amusement Park Historical Association was founded in 1978 by a former employee of Chicago's Riverview Amusement Park, and NAPHA has grown throughout a long period of time to include amusement parks from all over the world. NAPHA preserves amusement park history and historic rides. ...

, and it took the top spot in Amusement Today's 2004 Golden Ticket Awards for Best Wood Coaster. It was the fastest, and longest wooden coaster on the East Coast until 2006, when these records went to El Toro

El Toro (roller coaster)

El Toro, meaning The Bull in Spanish, is a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. It opened to the public on June 11, 2006. It was designed by Intamin of Switzerland. It had the steepest drop of any wooden roller coaster in the world, at 76 degrees, until this record was broken by T...

 at Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure

Six Flags Great Adventure is a theme park in Jackson Township, New Jersey, owned by Six Flags Entertainment Corp., the world's largest amusement park corporation...

.

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Wooden Roller Coasters
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ranking	12	3	3	3	1	2	3	4	5	2	4	4

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ranking	5	3	2	4	2	3	5	6	4	4

NAPHA National Amusement Park Historical Association The National Amusement Park Historical Association was founded in 1978 by a former employee of Chicago's Riverview Amusement Park, and NAPHA has grown throughout a long period of time to include amusement parks from all over the world. NAPHA preserves amusement park history and historic rides. ... Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster
Year	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ranking	2 (tie)	-	-	-	-

External links

• Boulder Dash Article and Photos