Coal Cracker
Coal Cracker is an attraction in Pennsylvania, at a modelled elevation of 115 m. Big Lick Mountain stands 545 m to the north, 22 miles off. The nearest named place is Twizzlers Twisted Gravity, a attraction less than a tenth of a mile away. Route 419 Scenic Byway passes 11 miles off. 46 named summits stand within 25 miles.
The story
Coal Cracker is a classic log flume ride located at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The ride was installed by Arrow Development in 1973, making it the oldest water ride at Hersheypark still in daily operation. It has a unique layout, due to the terrain features of this part of the park. Riders are seated in 12-foot (3.7 m) boats for the three and a half minute ride along a water channel over 2,000-foot (610 m) long. Once the fiberglass boat has ascended the first lift hill, riders are only 55 feet (17 m) off the ground. A second lift carries riders above the Twin Turnpike ride, preparing them for the final 35-degree, 49-foot (15 m) drop. Riders' photographs are taken midway through the drop. The Coal Cracker shares space with several newer rides, including the SooperDooperLooper (built in 1977) and the Great Bear (1998). The water supply for the ride is pumped through pipes connected to a 14,000-square-foot (1,300 m2) man-made lake. This lake has the capacity to store 100,000-US-gallon (380,000 L) of water, and the pump system can handle approximately 25,000-US-gallon (95,000 L) a minute. Guests are loaded into the boats from a revolving turntable; as the boats are always in motion this permits a higher ride capacity while providing more stability during loading and unloading. Coal Cracker ride photos are produced and sold by Get The Picture Corporation. Beginning in 2016, the Coal Cracker began operation during Hersheypark in the Dark. The Coal Cracker also begin operating during Springtime in the Park beginning in 2019. The Coal Cracker ride is not in operation during winter events at Hersheypark, such as Christmas Candylane.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Wikidata Q5137712, referenced by the OpenStreetMap record.
How to reach it
- 10.9 mi off the Route 419 Scenic Byway
Named places within 25 miles
- Twizzlers Twisted Gravity: 0.0 mi
- Great Bear: 0.0 mi
- Wave Swinger: 0.1 mi
- Twin Turnpike - Speedway: 0.1 mi
- Sweet Swing: 0.1 mi
- Chocolate Town Square: 0.2 mi
- Hershey Gardens: 0.8 mi
- Founder's Park: 1.0 mi
- Swatara Creek Park: 1.3 mi
- Palmdale Park: 1.5 mi
- Michael Horrocks 9/11 Memorial: 0.9 mi
- Abandoned Mount Gretna Prison Foundations: 8.5 mi
- Highspire War Memorial: 8.9 mi
- The "Governor's Troop": 9.6 mi
- 16th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry at Camp Hastings.: 9.7 mi
- The Hershey Story: 0.1 mi
- Education Center: 0.8 mi
- Pennsylvania State Police Historical, Educational, & Memorial Center: 1.3 mi
- Kinderhaus: 1.6 mi
- AACA Museum: 2.1 mi
- Round Top: 5.1 mi
- Conewago Hill: 9.5 mi
- Governor Dick Hill: 10.8 mi
- Mount Ararat: 10.8 mi
- Hulls Hill: 11.7 mi
- Milton S. Hershey: 0.2 mi
- The Boy with the Leaking Boot: 0.7 mi
- Girl Chasing Butterflies: 0.8 mi
- Winter: 0.8 mi
- Fall: 0.8 mi
- State Game Lands Number 246: 5.0 mi
- Bellaire Woods: 8.2 mi
- Shaw Family Nature Preserve: 8.5 mi
- State Game Lands Number 145: 8.9 mi
- State Game Lands Number 275: 9.0 mi
- Historic Hershey Rose Garden: 0.7 mi
- Bill Bowman Garden: 0.8 mi
- Northside Garden: 3.6 mi
- Palmyra Community Library: 4.6 mi
- Prayer Garden: 7.2 mi
- Original Carrousel Circle: 0.1 mi
- Quitte Creek Nature Park: 8.2 mi
- Hemlock Grove: 9.7 mi
- Main Campfire Circle: 14.0 mi
- Swing Circle: 14.0 mi
- Spring Creek Springs: 1.2 mi
- Penryth Spring: 8.8 mi
- Donegal Spring: 13.6 mi
- Spring Lake Spring: 14.5 mi
- Eichelberger Spring: 14.6 mi
- Chickies Rock: 17.6 mi
- Chinese Wall: 19.0 mi
- Round Head: 23.6 mi
- Mt. Gretna Lake & Beach: 9.7 mi
- Concrete Beach: 12.8 mi
- Rausch Gap: 15.0 mi
- Acrigg's Falls: 17.0 mi
Summits around it
The highest named summits within 25 miles of Coal Cracker. Elevation from each summit’s own record; bearing measured between the two coordinates.
| Summit | Bearing | Elevation | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Lick Mountain | N 10° | 545 m | 21.9 mi |
| Short Mountain | N 350° | 500 m | 20.8 mi |
| Good Spring Mountain | NNE 18° | 500 m | 24.9 mi |
| Bear Mountain | N 5° | 496 m | 22.6 mi |
| Stony Mountain | N 352° | 491 m | 12.7 mi |
| Third Mountain | NW 318° | 488 m | 12.4 mi |
| Panther Head | NNE 28° | 473 m | 23.1 mi |
| Berry Mountain | NNW 332° | 435 m | 19.4 mi |
When to go
Light through the year
| Date | Sunrise | Golden hour | Sunset |
|---|---|---|---|
| March equinox | 07:11 | 18:43 | 19:19 |
| June solstice | 05:38 | 20:00 | 20:41 |
| September equinox | 06:55 | 18:30 | 19:06 |
| December solstice | 07:27 | 16:01 | 16:44 |
Local time (America/New_York).
Climate normals
Months averaging 50–80 °F: Apr–Oct.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg °F | 31 | 33 | 42 | 53 | 63 | 73 | 77 | 75 | 68 | 56 | 45 | 36 |
| Precip in | 3.0 | 2.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 3.8 | 4.8 | 3.8 | 3.0 | 3.4 |
1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, NOAA NCEI — Middletown Harrisburg Intl AP, 9 mi away.
Where this comes from
Location and category confirmed against OpenStreetMap.
OpenStreetMapWikidataOpenStreetMap element node/12994494579
Day trips start here
- Wrightsville · 19 mi
- York · 23 mi
- Lancaster · 25 mi
- Lancaster County · 27 mi
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