Fun for All! — Life Downstream

Camden Park is a Huntington, West Virginia establishment and West Virginia’s only operational amusement park. The park opened in 1903 as a trolley park along the Camden Interstate Railway Company (one of only a dozen or so left in the United States). Trolley parks opened along or at the end of streetcar lines, which provided essential regional transportation most medium- and large-sized cities. Operated by the streetcar companies, the parks were a way to maintain business on weekends. Camden Park is located approximately halfway between downtown Huntington, West Virginia and Ashland, Kentucky, the termini of the Camden Interstate Railway. However, as personal autos become more and more popular, trolley began a slow decline as new ones were not opening and old ones were gradually closing up shop.

Happy Clown Enticing and Welcoming Guests Driving on U.S. Route 60

The park opened with little more than a carousel and a picnic grove, but over the years has hosted a variety of attractions. Indeed, listening to stories from Huntington-area locals, you are bound to hear about rides and attractions of years past and, after visiting the park, I discovered many classic rides in states of disrepair and even parted out. Excited to ride the Scrambler, I was disappointed to find it among the rides overgrown and parted out. Though with very little attention or fanfare to acknowledge it, the Scrambler was right next to a Native American burial mound. I could not help but think the exploitation of a holy place to the Native Americans of the region could be an ongoing problem for the park.

Camden Park is also home to the Big Dipper, a historical wooden rollercoaster built in 1958. The coaster is a historical example of the type and recognized by several roller coaster enthusiast groups for the history and uniqueness of the coaster. Of course, it, too, was closed and in desperate need to have quite a bit of the wood replaced or repainted.

The news is not all bad. Camden Park does have about 25 attractions that are open and in good repair. The odd thing was that ride operators were commonly covering multiple rides. The park did not have enough ride operators when I visited in late May 2021! I hope that the local high school students decide they need some spending money over the summer and help fill the void. Regardless, I could have ridden the Tilt-a-Whirl until I threw up in my husband’s lap.

Visiting Camden Park was both nostalgic and sad. The park could be so much more, especially when I think about some of the other remaining trolley parks, like Kennywood Park near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Even simple things like maps and wayfinding signage was missing or in disrepair.

The final surprise is another relic from the past. Pay toilets are extremely uncommon today. Prior to visiting Camden Park I had only ever seen a pay toilet mechanism at a Hardee’s in a rougher part of Los Angeles. That one was operational and I had to pony up a quarter. Camden Park is no longer using the pay toilet mechanism on each of the stall doors, but the mechanisms are still all there!

Pay Toilet Mechanism in Women’s Restrooms at Camden Park

Visit Camden Park, eat some funnel cake (don’t forget the strawberry topping!), and get yourself sick on the Tilt-a-Whirl. It could be better and it could have more operational attractions, but it is still a blast for 3-4 hours, and it is an honor to say that you have visited one of the very last trolley parks in America.