Life Is A Roller Coaster

On our way back from a BBQ at my grandma’s, Kev and I decided to make a pit stop to Bowcraft Amusement Park in Scotch Plains, NJ.

It’s a “special” kind of park indeed!

The entrance to the park is clean and welcoming. I love how you do not need to purchase admission tickets or a wristband to enter the park, although you can get a Day (Open-4pm) or Nite (3pm-8pm) for $26.50. The park has also been offering a $12.95 Nite Pass during the weekdays, which is a great deal. If you opt to just pay per ride, each ticket costs $1 and they come in increments of 20. For reference, Crossbow requires 5 tickets per rider. Most of the other attractions are around 3 or 4 a piece.

To the right of the picture above is the arcade; unfortunately, we did not get quality photos of the inside of the arcade (there is an upstairs and downstairs!). There are some games that are outdated or out-of-order, but having an arcade is still a nice touch and offers some indoor activities for kids (and adults!).

The first attraction you see as you walk into the park is the swings.

The fountain is a nice centerpiece to Bowcraft. The characters, on the other hand, kind of creep me out. Above you can also get a glimpse of Galleon, the pirate ship, and Bowcraft’s own Zierer coaster-anyone know the name?

Bowcraft has a train that will show you around the park, equipped with a whistle and Railroad X-ing caution lights. Though the park does not require a train to see all the attractions, it seemed to be a popular ride.

The carousel with Galleon in the background.

A classic Moser Droptower. This particular ride seemed to be a crowd favorite.

Another crowd favorite! At Bowcraft, there is a nice array of mild flat rides to choose from, making it a perfect amusement park for younger children.

Then, we come to the first of two coasters: Dragon.

Dragon is a small, kiddy-coaster that still seems to pack nice punch for the younger visitors. The crowds were more concentrated around the flat rides, but we did still see some kids hop on and wave their hands in excitement.

A view of some of the track.

Going up, up, up (15ish feet)!

And spiraling down, down, down!

Who doesn’t love a good ol’ Scrambler? Uh oh, we’re getting closer to the back of the park-what’s that in the background?!

You have to walk past another flat ride before you get to you-know-what…

Drumroll please…

It’s Crossbow!

I used to live right near Bowcraft, and I remember watching Crossbow being built across Route 22 from a friend’s house. Recently, I have joined Kevin in following the construction of new roller coasters around the world, but I can say Crossbow was the first I really followed. Back in 2006, the new coaster’s construction was all we talked about. It was the local buzz since we spent so much of our free time at the park. My friends and I would always ask our parents to take us to the park on the weekends so we could ride Galleon (my personal favorite at the time) or play arcade games. I remember being so excited to ride Crossbow the week it first opened! I hope the local kids still feel the same way about the park as I did.

For such a small family-oriented park, Crossbow looks quite impressive at a height of 55 feet.

It’s tastefully twisty.

What a nice, compact layout.

Some more twists and turns to give its riders a thrilling ride, while still accommodating smaller kids, the park’s primary visitors.

Another view of the overall layout. Behind where this picture is taken there is still a decent amount of land under the ownership of Bowcraft…Will there be another addition to come?

Visitors entering the queue line.

There was not a large crowd at all, so Crossbow was only a one-train operation. Has anyone been to Bowcraft when they have needed to add the extra train? I wonder how crowded it gets.

Are you ready?!

Climbing the lift hill…

Riders fly around the helices at a notable maximum speed of 40 mph.

I guess the rider in the second row likes to add a soundtrack to the Crossbow experience.

Eight years ago, I remember being slightly disappointed in the slower speed of the coaster (I am a thrill-seeker, you know), but the fact we had a “large” roller coaster in town was still unbelievable.

Bowcraft Amusement Park may not be the go-to spot if you’re craving airtime or a 300-ft drop , but it is the perfect location if you have younger kids or want to avoid the bigger thrill rides. Bowcraft is clean, friendly, and well-kept-although they could do without the creepy animal and character sculptures placed throughout the park. It was uplifting to see the parking lot was still full and Crossbow was still a main attraction for the older visitors. Since this was once my “home park,” there is a special place for it in my heart, and I hope to see numerous parents and kids running through the park on my next visit.

If you want more information about the park, check out their website at Bowcraft.com.

[follow_me]

Hey, I'm Lexie! I'm Kevin's partner-in-crime during our roller coaster trips. I have currently ridden 247 different coasters and have visited 58 amusement parks. I can't wait to keep adding to my count and sharing our experiences with you.