So I had heard for years that wooden coaster track survived in the woods from the legendary Puritas Springs Cyclone in Cleveland. I was naturally skeptical because the coaster has been closed since 1958, but alas, there are fully intact track rails deep in the woods, with minimal rot. There are also lots of footers. This John Miller coaster was built in 1928 and shares a similarity to his design on the Pippin (reconfigured to Thunderbolt) at Kennywood, saving its largest drop for the end in what looked like an incredibly thrilling and eccentric design. The coaster careened through the woods and down a giant ravine, at the entrance to what is now the Rocky River Reservation on the southern outskirts of Cleveland near North Olmsted. I will preface this by saying that if you are going to check out this site, it is not very large and located on naturally steep terrain, so be careful if you visit, but also do not expect exploring to take too long, since most of the amusement park's property was covered by typical suburban development in the time. Fortunately though, the whole area is filled with hiking trails, golf courses, and riverside recreation in what is one of the many jewels of the Cleveland Metroparks system, which brings public access to natural areas all across the metro area.
I accessed it by parking at the parking lot at the bottom of Puritas Ave, near the Mastick Woods Golf Course. From there, I walked up along the giant retaining wall that makes this aggressive road cut possible, up to a decrepit looking driveway area.
The first visible remnant.
Multiple footers like this remain.
For an idea of what the ride course was like, check out this NoLimits creation by Youtube's RaptorAlex. I am not sure how accurate this layout is, but it appears to follow the pattern of the land and John Miller's work.
It is just incredible to me that any wood remains intact on this track after sitting abandoned since the 1950s.
The only part you could see from the midway. Photo Courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society
An aerial showing how the layout went through these same thick woods. Photo Courtesy of the Western Reserve Historical Society
I have not ventured around abandoned park sites in a while, mainly because I have pretty much exhausted the different park sites around western PA that require no planning to go check out. I tried to go to this one years ago, but did not have enough time to get up to the site. I had an opportunity recently while I was in Cleveland to finally go seek this place out, and I am glad that I did. The only other park that I can think of that has been abandoned for this long and still has recognizable ride remnants to it, is the old Rock Point Park in Ellwood City, which has sat abandoned for more than a century, yet still has the concrete troughs from its old shoot-the-chutes ride.
It is definitely worth checking out the remains of the Puritas Springs Cyclone if you are in the Cleveland area.
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