Rushing Downhill On Mountain Coaster In Mercer

Wikipedia credits Camden Park’s Big Dipper as West Virginia’s largest and oldest roller coaster. What Wikipedia leaves out is that up until just a couple of months ago, it was also one of only two coasters in the state – the other being the Little Dipper, which is at the same park.

In July, West Virginia got its third roller coaster – sort of. It’s a mountain coaster in Mercer County at Brush Creek Holl’r, just off I-77 not far from Winterplace Ski Resort. 

So, what is a mountain coaster? 

“It’s a gravity fed ride. You actually control the speed on the sled, so you have little handlebars on the left- and right-hand side. You push forward to go, you pull back to slow,” General Manager Jeremiah McKendree said. “You can go up to 27 miles an hour. The computer will not let you go any faster than that.”

The 360 image above shows how the Brush Creek Holl’r coaster is full of twists and turns and you control the speed. Photo Credit: Eric Douglas/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Mountain coasters work pretty much the same way as most other roller coasters work. Cars are towed to the top of a very steep slope and then released. Gravity, mass and resistance take over from there. The cars race up and down the course until they get to the end.

But this mountain coaster is quieter than your average roller coaster, and it’s also lighter. Instead of being part of a string of cars on a chain, you ride in a single car alone or with a partner.

“Definitely, you don’t have that loud whoosh. That’s the speed that you hear, like at the amusement parks,” McKendree said. “Where this is more gravity fed, it’s quieter, and you kind of get to enjoy nature a little bit.”

Mountain coasters have been a popular attraction in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee for years. There are about 10 around Gatlinburg and Dollywood, but this is the first in West Virginia. 

So far, it’s been a hit. In the middle of a weekday afternoon in mid-October, Brush Creek Holl’r was doing brisk business. They were drawing a fair amount of traffic from the nearby highway and the little mountain coaster cars were running at a steady pace.

Alex Weaver and his two boys were on their way to Tennessee from Pennsylvania and stopped in to ride the mountain coaster after seeing a brochure in Lewisburg.

“Oh, man, we had lots of fun,” Weaver said. “Yeah, it was really fun. No brakes. Pretty fast.”

Phoenix Woody, a 15-year-old from Kentucky, was in Mercer County visiting family and came out to Brush Creek Holl’r with his aunt and cousins. 

“It was great,” he said. “Great view from the top. Great ride down. So we’re all great.”

McKenree said Brush Creek Holl’r had high hopes for the upcoming ski season and beyond. The roller coaster is meant to run year-round – within reason.

The manager said, “We can run this in the snow. We have shields that go over top of the cart to keep you dry and keep you out of the elements. So hopefully, the skiers that are coming into the local area will be bundled up for skiing. They can stop by and ride the coaster.”

The mountain coaster may be the first of several attractions at Brush Creek Holl’r, according to McKendree. He said they have lots of space and big ideas.

“Yeah, we have almost 100 acres here,” he said. “So, there’s definitely room for expansion. As of right now, we’re trying to get the coaster operation 100% before we move on to our next project. But there’s definitely room for possibilities.”