Adventureland’s Log Ride Going Away

Adventureland Amusement Park in Altoona has long been a summer destination for Iowa families.  The park opened a few years before I was born in 1974.  Located in the middle of the state just a few short miles from Des Moines, Iowans have been converging on Adventureland for the past four decades.  The park is always evolving, and now one of its old beloved rides is going away.

After Labor Day weekend, the dismantling of the Log Ride will commence.  The Log Ride has been at Adventurland since before I started going as a youngster.  Even though it's growing long in the tooth, it's still a fun, wet ride.  But it's a ride that requires a lot of upkeep.  The Log Ride will make way for "The Monster", a huge steel roller coaster that will debut in 2016.

My family will be making its annual trek to Adventureland in a couple weeks.  My 2 year-old is too young to have acquired any connection to a ride at an amusement park, but his Dad plans on taking one last ride.