The History of Wilderness Run

Wilderness Run is a small coaster with a large place in history. It is a gentle nineteen-foot family ride, and it happens to be the very first roller coaster the great Intamin ever built.

Where Intamin started

Intamin is one of the most important roller coaster manufacturers in the world, the company behind Cedar Point's own Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster and a long list of record breakers. But for its first dozen years it built other kinds of rides, and its first roller coaster did not arrive until 1979, when this little ride opened at Cedar Point as Jr. Gemini. It was named as the junior version of the full-size Gemini racing coaster that had opened across the midway the year before, a beginner's coaster for the park's youngest guests.

A new name for a new home

In 2014 Cedar Point reworked the area and rethemed the ride to fit the neighboring children's section, repainting it and renaming it Wilderness Run. The layout is the same easy first ride it has always been, a single small hill and a slow, safe lap. The company that started here now builds some of the tallest coasters on earth, and its very first one is still running.

One thing to know

A manufacturer now known for giant record-breaking coasters launched its entire roller coaster catalog with this six-mile-per-hour kiddie ride, and it is still operating today under a new name.

Wilderness Run is one chapter in the history of Cedar Point.

Wilderness Run at a glance