{"id":211423,"date":"2026-06-05T10:03:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211423\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T10:03:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T10:03:09","slug":"pennsylvanias-knoebels-amusement-resort-still-refuses-to-charge-admission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/211423\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania’s Knoebels Amusement Resort still refuses to charge admission"},"content":{"rendered":"

In an era of\u00a0pricey theme parks<\/a>\u00a0and gated admission, one Pennsylvania amusement park is still letting guests in for free.<\/p>\n

Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, has been admission-free since it opened nearly a century ago.<\/p>\n

Knoebels opened its doors on July 4, 1926 \u2014 and will celebrate its 100th anniversary this year, as the nation celebrates America\u2019s semiquincentennial<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Many of the earliest\u00a0amusement parks\u00a0in the late 19th and early 20th centuries operated without admission fees, especially so-called \u201ctrolley parks,\u201d which made money from charging guests for rides, food and drink.<\/p>\n

Park owner Brian Knoebel, 52, recently told PA Local he \u201chad to pinky-swear\u201d to never change the free-admission model.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s who we are,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s that traditional park.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knoebels Amusement Resort in Pennsylvania has not had a general admission fee since opening in 1926.<\/p>\n

Knoebel said he recognizes that grandparents \u201cget more satisfaction out of\u00a0watching their grandkids\u00a0ride the rides than they do themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Grandma and Grandpa are on a limited income,\u201d he said. \u201cSo they don\u2019t pay to park. We don\u2019t force you to buy food in the park \u2014 if you want to bring a picnic lunch, then bring a picnic lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knoebel, who said his ancestors came to America\u00a0from Germany\u00a0and worked as lumberers, said the amusement park began as a modest venture.<\/p>\n

Park owner Brian Knoebel says the old-fashioned atmosphere remains central to its identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter church on Sunday, they\u2019d come down and park their horse and buggy off to the side, and frolic in the stream and have a little picnic,\u201d he told\u00a0PA Local<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy great-grandfather would feed and stable your horses for, I believe, a quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knoebel added, \u201cLittle by little, he started building some picnic tables and park benches, and on July 4, 1926, we opened a swimming pool, a restaurant \u2014\u00a0appropriately named \u2018The Restaurant\u2019\u00a0\u2014 and we rented a steam-powered carousel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pennsylvania theme park has grown from a family picnic spot into a major regional attraction over several decades. AP<\/p>\n

Despite the park\u2019s growth<\/a>, Knoebel said its old-fashioned atmosphere has remained intact, including the canopy of trees, shaded walkways, creekside seating and classic attractions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow has it changed? We started with one ride, and one food stand, and the pool,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have 60 rides, I believe 38 food stands, 24 games, and water slides \u2026 Quarter-mile down the road, we own the 18-hole golf course, complete with a bar and tavern.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, Knoebel said that he and his family \u201cabsolutely know our brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knoebels Amusement Resort is the largest free-admission park in the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know our fans,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that throwback amusement park from yesteryear is exactly who we continue to be,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have\u00a0roller coasters that reach the clouds. We have rides for thrill seekers \u2026 but, of course, we have more traditional rides.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knoebels is the largest free-admission park in the United States. \u201cKnoebels does not have a gate, and you only pay for what you want once you are at the park,\u201d the venue says on its website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an era of\u00a0pricey theme parks\u00a0and gated admission, one Pennsylvania amusement park is still letting guests in for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211424,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[50093,837,22840,28,30,29,50094,68411],"class_list":["post-211423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pennsylvania","tag-amusement-parks","tag-lifestyle","tag-nostalgia","tag-pennsylvania","tag-pennsylvania-headlines","tag-pennsylvania-news","tag-roller-coasters","tag-theme-parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211423\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}