Action Park

The action never stops at Action Park!

The holidays always make me nostalgic. If you’re from the New Jersey or New York area, then you may remember Action Park (aka Traction Park aka Legal Action Park), the most dangerous amusement park of all time.

Action Park was in Vernon, NJ and featured “extreme” rides before there was any such thing as extreme. These rides could injure, maim, or even kill you. Plus they were operated by low paid, bored, and usually stoned high school kids.

The Alpine Slide, a signature Action Park ride and one of my favorites, was basically a big concrete bobsled track. You raced down the track on a sled resembling one of those old gym scooters with a completely useless brake. Not surprisingly, there were tons of injuries and one death I believe.

At some point, the park was finally closed after a ridiculous number of accidents and lawsuits. Surviving a trip to Action Park was definitely a badge of courage in Jersey. If you’re still curious, a recent issue of Weird N.J. has a great article or check out Action Park on Wikipedia.